Mid-American Conference

MAC East Offensive Player of the Week
Katie Kidwell, Bowling Green, Middle Blocker
Junior - Watseka, Illinois/Watseka Community
Bowing Green junior Katie Kidwell rattled off 34 kills for the Falcons in wins over Miami and Northern Illinois. Registering 20 against the Huskies, Kidwell matched her career-high for kills while also maintaining a .545 hitting percentage.  Not only did Kidwell hit .545 against NIU but sustained a .429 hitting percentage the entirety of the weekend. Kidwell also chipped in seven blocks to increase her career totals to 326 block assists and 384 total blocks, both of which are in the top 10 all-time in program history for Bowling Green. 
 
MAC West Offensive Player of the Week
Kia Holder, Ball State, Outside Hitter
Junior - Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township
Junior outside attacker Kia Holder closed the 2019 regular season with another solid weekend, helping guide the Cardinals to a third consecutive Mid-American Conference West Division Championship by averaging 4.00 kills per set and hitting a combined .253 (32-9-91) in wins over Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. She opened the weekend with a solid match versus the Eagles, tying for team-high honors with 13 kills to lead Ball State to a 3-1 victory. She also collected four digs and a pair of block assists in the win. Holder followed with an even more impressive performance in the 3-1 victory over the Chippewas, smashing a match-high 19 kills and collecting a career-high five total blocks, including three solo stuffs.
 
MAC East Defensive Player of the Week
Tia Jimerson, Ohio, Middle Blocker
Junior – Sugar Hill, Georgia/Norcross
Junior Tia Jimerson (Sugar Hill, Ga.) helped Ohio pick up its third-straight sweep and fourth-straight win on both offense and defense. Jimerson racked up 10 blocks over the weekend (two solo, eight assisted) and had seven (two solo, five assisted) in Ohio’s four-set win over Akron on Senior night. Also, against Akron, Jimerson piled up 11 kills and hit .250. Over the weekend, Jimerson tallied 15 hammers on 46 swings.
 
MAC West Defensive Player of the Week
Kate Avila, Ball State, Libero
Senior – Yorktown, Indiana/Yorktown
Ball State libero Kate Avila celebrated her senior weekend on a high note, putting together her best weekend of the season to guide the Cardinals to a third consecutive Mid-American Conference West Division Championship. The Yorktown, Indiana, native averaged an astonishing 6.75 dig per set to led a Ball State backcourt which averaged 23.50 digs per set and held the opposition to a .180 (117-50-372) attack percentage. She collected match-highs of 26 digs versus Eastern Michigan and 28 digs versus Central Michigan. In addition, she continued her assault on the Ball State record books, with her 54 digs raising her career total to 2,170 which is 104 shy of breaking the program record of 2,273 set by Avila’s high school coach Stephanie Keller (2002-05) during her playing days with the Cardinals. Avila also led Ball State from the service line, with six aces on the weekend, including a career-high tying four in Friday’s win over the Eagles.One more career note from the weekend, with her eight sets play over the two matches, Avila has now played in all 474 career sets for Ball State; more than any other player to ever don the Cardinal and White. 
 
MAC East Setter of the Week
Vera Giacomazzi, Ohio, Setter
Junior – San Vendemiano, Italy/ Liceo Scientifico G. Marconi
Junior setter Vera Giacomazzi helped Ohio rack up 98 kills and hit .251 as Ohio picked up its third-straight sweep and its fourth-straight win. In Ohio’s four-set win over Akron, Giacomazzi had earned 17th double-double of the season with 49 assists and 12 digs. Ohio was red-hot, hitting .337 while racking up 54 kills in the win. Giacomazzi had 35 helpers in Ohio’s sweep of Buffalo to begin the weekend. In total, Giacomazzi had 15 digs, five blocks and three kills over the weekend. 
 
MAC West Setter of the Week
Esther Grussing, Ball State, Setter (R-Freshman – Wilmar, Minnesota/Wilmar)
Amber Seaman, Ball State, Setter (Senior – Carmel, Indiana/Brebeuf)
Led by the combined effort of senior setter Amber Seaman and redshirt freshman setter Esther Grussing, the Ball State women’s volleyball program claimed a third consecutive Mid-American Conference West Division Championship with a pair of 3-1 wins over Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan last weekend. The pair led the Ball State offense to a .209 (118-42-364) attack percentage for the weekend and led the league’s top attacking team in league play to 14.75 kills per set over the two matches. They also combined for 42 digs over the two matches for a 5.25 digs-per-set average. Seaman collected a pair of double-double on the weekend, with 20 assists and 13 digs against the Eagles and 29 assists and 17 digs versus the Chippewas. She averaged 7.00 assists per set, 4.29 digs per set and collected three kills in the win over CMU. Grussing averaged 5.43 assists per set, with 25 versus EMU and 13 against CMU. She also tallied 12 total digs for a 1.57 digs-per-set average.

 

Other Nominees 
Grace Balensiefer, NIU, Setter
Sophomore – Lafayette, Indiana/McCutcheon
Grace Balensiefer averaged 10.25 assists per set in the last week of the regular season. On Nov. 16, she had her ninth double-double of the season with 55 assists and 11 digs at Bowling Green. It was the second-most assists in a single match this season. 
 
Taylor Daignault, Miami, Outside Hitter
Senior – Newark, Ohio/Newark Catholic
She played her usual six rotations, but senior Taylor Daignault made her presence felt on the defensive side. She recorded 36 digs, an average of 4.50 digs per set. That included a career-high 29 digs in the five-set match against Bowling Green. She added seven more digs in the sweep of Western Michigan on Saturday. Daignault also recorded 14 kills on the weekend, putting down seven in each match. She had three blocks (one solo and two assisted) in the two matches.
 
Rose Duffy, Western Michigan, Setter (Freshman – Fishers, Indiana/Fishers)
Mary Marzo, Western Michigan, Setter (Junior – La Grange, Indiana/Gonzaga)
Duffy led the Broncos over the weekend with 32 assists in the 6-2 formation, averaging a team-high 5.33 assists per set. Duffy also collected 11 digs with a six-dig performance at Northern Illinois followed by a five dig performance at Miami. Recording double digit digs in both matches over the weekend, Duffy ends the regular season having done so in 14 straight matches. In WMU’s sweep of Northern Illinois, Duffy had 20 assists, marking the 15th match in which she has gone over 20 assists. Ranking second on the team was Mary Marzo with 31 assists, averaging 5.17 assists per set as Marzo helped WMU split a pair of matches on the road. In WMU’s sweep of Northern Illinois, Marzo posted 17 assists to go along with one service ace and two digs. Against Miami, Marzo led the Broncos with 14 assists. On the weekend, Marzo had two service aces, averaging 0.11 per set. Marzo has recorded double digit assist in every match this season.  
 
Alex Haffner, Kent State, Setter
R-Sophomore – Lee’s Summit, Missouri/Lee’s Summit North
Alex Haffner posted averages of 10.88 assists, 1.88 digs and 1.12 blocks per set as Kent State finished the regular season with a 1-1 home weekend. Haffner matched her previous career-high with three total blocks on Friday against Akron and then bested that the following night with six against Buffalo.
 
Cassie Haut, Eastern Michigan, Middle Blocker
R-Senior – Monroe, Michigan/Monroe
Redshirt senior Cassie Haut, the Eagles’ best offensive weapon, finished her collegiate volleyball career with a pair of good outings as Eastern Michigan battled Ball State, Nov. 15, and Toledo, Nov. 16. Despite being eliminated from the MAC Tournament race against Ball State, Haut rallied her team and helped EMU close the season with a sweep over MAC-West rival, UT. Overall, Haut compiled 31 kills on the weekend. She ranks third in the MAC in kills and is the league’s second-best point getter. Haut finished the season with 20 matches of 10 kills or better.
 
Miranda Karlen, NIU, Libero
Junior – Evansville, Wisconsin/Evansville
Miranda Karlen averaged 7.25 digs per set in the final week of the regular season. Her 39 digs at Bowling Green were a career-high and tied for the fourth-most in a single match in NIU history. 
 
Scout McLerran, Buffalo, Setter
Senior – Friendsville, Tennessee/Webb School
Senior Scout McLerran averaged 12.38 assists per set on the road this past weekend as the Bulls split a pair of matches to qualify for the MAC Tournament.  On Friday night in Ohio, McLerran dished out 43 assists in a three-set match, while she added four kills and no errors on six attacks.  On Saturday in the win at Kent State, McLerran had seven more kills and just one error, helping her hit .500 for the weekend.  She added 56 assists in the victory and 10 digs.  McLerran also had six total blocks on the weekend.
 
Brinley Milbrath, NIU, Right Side
Senior – Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy
Brinley Milbrath averaged 3.00 kills per set this week against Western Michigan and Bowling Green.   She had 12 kills in both matches, hitting .321 at Bowling Green in the season finale. Milbrath finished the season with double-digit kills in four straight matches.
 
Maggie Nedoma, Ohio, Opposite
Junior - Brook Park, Ohio/Midpark
Junior Maggie Nedoma (Brook Park, Ohio) had a team-high 29 kills as Ohio earned its third-straight sweep and fourth-straight win. Nedoma started the weekend red-hot with a .458 attacking percentage with 12 kills. In Ohio’s four-set win over Akron, Nedoma piled up 17 hammers. Nedoma averaged 2.14 digs per set over the weekend and also added two aces and a block. 
 
Kathleen Reilly, Western Michigan, Defensive Specialist/Libero
Senior – Overland Park, Kansas/St. James Academy
Reilly helped WMU split its pair of matches over the weekend, sweeping Northern Illinois before falling in three sets at Miami. Reilly led the Broncos in digs in both matches with 16 and 15-dig performances. With the 31 digs over the weekend, Reilly ended the season with 601 digs, the eighth most in a single season in program history. Reilly also on the weekend had two service aces and recorded no receiving errors as WMU held its opponents to a .198 attack percentage. 
 
Ashley Richardson, Akron, Middle Blocker
Senior – Doylestown, Ohio/Chippewa
Ashley Richardson had a strong weekend offensively for the Zips. In the match against Kent State, she finished with 8 kills to just one error, good for a .500 hitting percentage, to go along with 6 blocks. She followed that up with another strong performance against Ohio, as she finished 12 kills and 5 digs. 
 
Rachel Sanks, Buffalo, Outside Hitter
Senior – Alexandria, Virginia/Thomas A. Edison
Senior Rachel Sanks concluded the regular season averaging 4.88 kills per set in the pair of matches for the Bulls. She had 16 kills and just three errors against Ohio on Friday night and in UB’s five-set win over Kent State, Sanks recorded 23 kills, the fifth time she has hit 20 or more kills in match this season. Sanks ended up averaging 5.00 points a set during the two matches.
 
Taylor Sharrtis, Akron, Defensive Specialist
Junior – Concord, Ohio/Lake Catholic
Taylor Sharrits had a strong weekend in the back row this weekend. She finished with 36 digs and 6 assists, good enough for 5.14 digs per set.
 
Haley Stewart, Miami, Middle Hitter
Senior - Wyoming, Ohio/Wyoming
Senior Haley Stewart had an extremely efficient week, putting down 14 kills in two matches. She made only one error in 25 swings for an incredible attack percentage of .520. Against Bowling Green, Stewart had six kills and a .417 attack percentage. She was even better against Western Michigan, tying her career high with eight kills and hitting .615. Stewart also scored with her block, putting down three in each match. She scored 18 points over the weekend, averaging 2.25 points per set.
 
Riley Taylor, Eastern Michigan, Setter
Senior – Indianapolis, Indiana/Perry Meridian
Senior Riley Taylor was impressive is her final two collegiate matches, against Ball State, Nov. 15, and Toledo, Nov. 16. With a spot in the MAC tournament on the line, Taylor put forth an incredible effort against the Cardinals which included 50 assists, and 15 digs. Against Toledo, she racked up an additional 34 assists en route to a straight-set, season sweep over the Rockets. Although EMU fell just short of MAC Tournament qualifications, Taylor certainly capped an amazing career in impressive fashion. In all, she finished the season with 13 matches of 30-plus assists, six of which were efforts of greater-than 50 assists. She led all Eagles in that category and finished sixth in the conference.  
 
Savannah Thompson, Central Michigan, Outside Hitter
Sophomore – Thornton, Illinois/Marist
Central Michigan sophomore Savannah Thompson played a major role as the Chippewas split a pair of MAC matches. Thompson contributed 23 digs and five kills in CMU’s five-set victory over Toledo on Friday as CMU wrapped up its first divisional championship in 16 years. In the Chippewas’ four-set loss on Saturday at Ball State, the Thornton, Ill. native posted season highs in digs (24), blocks (2) and aces (2). Thompson finished the weekend with a team-high 47 digs (5.22 per set) and 18 kills (2 per set)  The Chippewas finished 11-5 in the MAC and are 21-7 heading into the league tournament.
 
Danie Tyson, Kent State, Middle Blocker
Sophomore - South Holland, Illinois/Chicago Christian
Danie Tyson averaged 3.44 points per set and hit at a .395 clip over the final weekend of the regular season. Tyson posted double-digit kills (14) for the eighth time this season with 14 Saturday against Buffalo.