There were big-time POW performances all over the country last week, from Yosianna Pressley of Baylor and Kathryn Plummer of Stanford averaging almost six kills per set to LIU Brooklyn’s Natalia Rivera averaging 6.46 digs to Loyola Marymount’s Tessa Reid averaging 13.5 assists.
There were sisters honored again, as Jacksonville State’s Lexie Libs was the Ohio Valley Conference setter of the week and Northern Kentucky’s Haley Libs was the Horizon League player of the week.
They’re just some of the POWs from around the country honored this week by their respective conferences.
You can look forward every week to the VolleyballMag.com roundup of the POWs around the country.
POWs, of course, are players of the week, and we will do our best to list the honorees from all 32 Division I conferences here.
ACC
Player of the week: Pitt sophomore RS Kayla Lund
Freshman: Clemson OH/RS Solei Thomas
Worth noting: Lund won for the second time in three weeks and Thomas went back-to-back. Lund led a 3-0 week by getting 48 kills, 24 digs and hitting .411. Thomas hit .312 in three matches, getting 39 kills and seven blocks.
The complete ACC release
Big 12
Offensive: Baylor sophomore OH Yossiana Pressley
Defensive: Iowa State junior libero Hali Hillegas
Rookie: TCU freshman OH élan McCall
Worth noting: Pressley had a remarkable week, averaging 5.85 kills, which included 32 in an upset of Wisconsin. Hillegas and McCall went back-to-back after Hillegas had 30 digs against Wichita State and McCall averaged 5.09 kills.
The complete Big 12 release
Big Ten
Co-Player: Illinois sophomore OH Megan Cooney
Co-Player: Nebraska senior OH Mikaela Foecke
Defensive: Ohio State sophomore L Hannah Gruensfelder
Setter: Illinois junior Jordyn Poulter
Freshman: Penn State MB Kaitlyn Hord
Worth noting: Cooney averaged 4.33 kills in three sweeps, while Foecke had 25 kills, 13 digs, five blocks and four aces against Creighton and then had nine more kills against Iowa State. Gruensfelder averaged 6.7 digs in three wins. Poulter went back-to-back, averaging 11.78 assists and 3.11 digs. And Hord averaged a team-best 3.38 kills against Stanford and Oregon.
The complete Big Ten release
Pac-12
Offensive: Stanford junior OH Kathryn Plummer, also the AVCA national POW
Defensive: Stanford junior L Morgan Hentz
Freshman: Oregon L Brooke Nuneviller
Worth noting: Plummer averaged 5.71 kills in wins over Penn State and Minnesota and was honored for the seventh time in her career. Hentz averaged 5.43 digs in those victories. Nuneviller averaged 6.29 digs and had two aces and four assists against Minnesota and Penn State.
The complete Pac-12 release
Southeastern Conference
Offensive: Georgia sophomore OH T’ara Ceasar
Co-Defensive: Alabama senior MB Cidavia Hall
Co-Defensive: South Carolina sophomore MB Mikayla Robinson
Setter: Georgia junior Meghan Donovan
Freshman: Auburn OH Taylor Rowland
Worth noting: Ceasar had 57 kills and 28 digs over three matches. Hall and Robinson both averaged 1.2 blocks, while Donovan averaged 11.7 assists and Rowland 4.36 kills.
The complete SEC release
America East
Co-Player: Hartford junior MB Jenna Bridges
Co-Player: New Hampshire senior MB Gabri Olhava
Setter: Hartford sophomore Megan Anderson
Defensive specialist: Albany senior L Nicole Otero
Rookie: New Hampshire freshman MB Maddie Wiedenfeld
Worth noting: Bridges averaged 5.0 kills in three matches, while Olhava averaged 3.72 and hit .392. Anderson averaged 11.64 assists and 1.09 blocks, while Otero, a fixture for these honors, averaged 5.55 digs and won the honor for the 17th time. Wiedenfeld averaged 2.89 kills, hit .281 and had 13 blocks.
The complete America East release
American Athletic
Offensive: Cincinnati junior OH Jordan Thompson
Defensive: USF sophomore MB Jaeden Brown
Worth noting: Thompson went back to back after averaged 5.46 kills, hitting .274. Brown had 20 blocks in three wins and also 2.82 kills/set while hitting .300 .
The complete American Athletic release
Atlantic Sun
Player of the week: Stetson senior MB Hao Jin
Defensive: FGCU freshman L Dana Axner
Freshman: UNF OH Solimar Cestero
Worth noting: Jin had 40 kills and hit .308 in three matches. Axner, last week’s freshman of the week, set the school single-match record with 39 digs against West Virginia. Cestero had 45 kills and 13 digs for UNF.
The complete ASUN release
Atlantic 10
Player of the week: Dayton senior OH Lauren Bruns
Defensive: VCU junior MB Jasmin Sneed
Rookie: La Salle freshman OH Elizabeth Osborn
Worth noting: Bruns averaged 4.56 kills and hit .339. Sneed averaged 1.43 blocks in four matches. Osborn had 34 kills and 40 digs in three matches.
The complete A-10 release
Big East
Player of the week: Marquette junior OH Allie Barber
Defensive: Creighton senior OH Jaali Winters
Freshman: Villanova OH Clare Delaplane
Worth noting: Barber had 29 kills against USC and hit .473 in three matches. Winters averaged 4.54 digs and .23 blocks. Delaplane had 30 kills in three matches.
The complete Big East release
Big South
Player of the week: Radford senior S Haley Kleespies
Defensive: High Point sophomore L Abby Bottomley
Freshman: Radford libero Grace Green
Worth noting: Kleespies had 21 kills, 25 dig and 113 assists in three wins. Bottomley, going back-to-back, averaged 5.9 digs, while Green averaged 4.36 digs.
The complete Big South release
Big Sky
Offensive: Northern Arizona junior MB Abby Akin
Defensive: Sacramento State sophomore L Paige Sweeney
Worth noting: Akin averaged 2.69 kills and hit .424 in three matches, including an upset of Florida. Sweeney averaged 4.76 digs and .35 aces.
The complete Big Sky release
Big West
Player of the week: Cal Poly junior OH Torrey Van Winden
Defensive: Hawai’i senior L Reyn Akiu
Freshman: Cal Poly S Avalon DeNecochea
Worth noting: Van Winden won for the third time in her career after averaging 5.5 kills, 2.63 digs, .88 blocks and .38 aces in two wins over UCLA. Akiu averaged 5.38 digs, while DeNecochea averaged 12.63 assists against UCLA and had 13 digs and six blocks.
The complete Big West release
Colonial Athletic Association
Co-Offensive: UNCW senior OH Maddy Kline
Co-Offensive: Elon senior OH Kam Terry
Defensive: UNCW junior MB Kendall Bender
Rookie: Charleston freshman OH Sylvia Duggan
Worth noting: Terry and Bender went back-to-back. Kline was MVP of the Jefferson Cup after three sweeps in which she had double-doubles in each and hit .309. Terry has 32 kills against Georgia Southern, the most for a CAA player in a four-set match since 2005. Bender had 23 blocks last week to go with nine digs and 31 kills as she hit .361. And Duggan averaged 3.31 kills and 3.62 digs.
The complete Colonial release
Conference USA
Offensive: WJU senior MB Rachel Anderson
Defensive: UAB senior MB Victoria Young
Setter: FAU senior Ivone Martinez
Freshman: WKU MB Katie Isenbarger
Worth noting: Anderson had 27 kills in 12 sets to go with eight digs and seven blocks. Young had 22 kills and six digs against Alabama State. Martinez averaged 12.4 assists in a 3-0 week, while Isenbarger had 27 kills, 11 blocks and seven digs in three matches.
The complete C-USA release
Horizon League
Offensive: Northern Kentucky senior OH Haley Libs
Defensive: Green Bay senior L Vanessa Buman
Worth noting: Libs hit .300 while averaging 4.75 kills in two wins. Buman averaged 5.27 digs.
The complete Horizon release
Ivy League
Player: Brown senior RS Sabrina Stillwell
Rookie: Dartmouth freshman MB Francesca Meldrum
Worth noting: Stillwell had 68 kills, five blocks and five aces while hitting .321 in a 2-1 week. Meldrum had 24 kills, 14 blocks and five aces and hit .388 in three matches.
The complete Ivy League release
Metro Atlantic
Player of the week: Fairfield junior OH Mayda Garcia
Libero: Rider junior Rachelle Runyon
Co-Rookie: Canisius freshman MB Camila Vazquez
Co-Rookie: Rider freshman S Anilee Sher
Worth noting: Garcia averaged 4.61 kills. Runyon averaged 4.11 digs, while Vazquez getting 35 kills in three matches. She hit .420 and had 11 blocks. Sher averaged 8.63 assists and 2.84 digs and had 11 blocks in four matches.
The complete MAAC release
Mid-American
MAC East offensive: Buffalo sophomore OH Andrea Mitrovic
MAC West offensive: EMU senior OH Jordan Smith
MAC East defensive: Buffalo junior MB Kristina Nieves
MAC West defensive: Toledo senior L Maurissa Leonard
MAC East setter: Buffalo sophomore Tia Gleason
Co-MAC West setter: Eastern Michigan senior Mallory Rajewski
Co-MAC West setter: Eastern Michigan junior Riley Taylor
Worth noting: Buffalo dominated with three awards and Eastern Michigan shared the setter honors in the West.
The complete MAC release
Mid-Eastern
Co-Player of the week: Bethune-Cookman sophomore OH Jordan Jefferson
Co-Player of the week: Morgan State junior OH Cristen Coryatt
Defensive: Bethune-Cookman senior Meraiah Hill
Co-Setter: Morgan State junior Roi Wallace
Rookie: Morgan State freshman OH Zoe McBride
Worth noting: Jefferson, Coryatt, Wallace and McBride all repeated.
The complete MEAC release
Missouri Valley
Player of the week: Loyola junior S Delilah Wolf
Defensive: Loyola senior L Alex Nunez
Freshman: Missouri State S Chloe Rear
Worth noting: Wolf averaged 10.06 assists, 2.03 digs, 0.78 kills, 0.75 blocks and 0.22 aces while hitting .444 (8-0-18). Nunez averaged 6.08 digs, while Rear averaged 1.21 kills on .359 hitting, 7.29 assists, 1.93 digs and 0.71 blocks.
The complete Valley release
Mountain West
Offensive: UNLV sophomore OH Mariena Hayden
Defensive: Wyoming senior MB Reed Copeland
Worth noting: Hayden had 49 kills, 16 aces and 26 digs in three wins, while Copeland had 28 blocks in three victories, including 24 kills while hitting .438.
The complete Mountain West release
Northeast Conference
Player of the week: Bryant senior OH Julia Flynn
Defensive: LIU Brooklyn junior L Natalia Rivera
Rookie: Bryant freshman OH Carolina Kennedy
Worth noting: Kennedy went back-to-back after averaging 3.6 kills and hitting .342 to be named MVP of Hampton Inn tournament. Flynn averaged 3.8 kills and 1.7 digs. Rivera averaged 6.46 digs in three matches.
The complete Northeast release
Ohio Valley
Offensive: Morehead State sophomore OH Olivia Lohmeier
Defensive: Eastern Illinois junior L Anne Hughes
Setter: Jacksonville State sophomore Lexie Libs
Newcomer: Southeast Missouri sophomore OH Laney Malloy
Worth noting: Lohmeier repeated because she had 45 kills, four aces and eight blocks in three matches. Hughes had 78 digs, while libs had 102 assists in two matches. Malloy had 63 kills in four matches.
The complete OVC release
Patriot League
Player of the week: Navy sophomore OH Maddi Sgattoni
Rookie: Lehigh freshman S Alina Lam
Worth noting: Sgattoni had 53 kills and 47 digs in three matches, while Lam had 35 assists and eight digs in her first start.
The complete Patriot release
Southern Conference
Offensive: ETSU senior S Alyssa Kvarta
Defensive: Samford junior L Grace Tiesman
Worth noting: Kvarta averaged 10.56 assists, while Tiesman had 69 digs in three wins.
The complete SoCon release
Southland Conference
Offensive: Central Arkansas senior OH Haley Tippett
Defensive: Stephen F. Austin junior MB Danae Daron
Worth noting: Tippett was MVP of her team’s tournament after getting 49 kills and 38 digs in three wins. Daron had four blocks or more in five matches.
The complete Southland release
Southwestern
Co-Offensive: Prairie View junior OH Jaylan Thomas
Co-Offensive: Jackson State freshman OH Camry Dabney
Defensive: Prairie View senior L Christen Augustin
Setter: Jackson State freshman Sapphire Simpson
Newcomer: Alcorn State freshman S Jurnee Calhoun
Worth noting: Thomas had 40 kills in 13 sets, while Dabney had 44 kills. Augustine averaged 4.07 digs.
The complete SWAC release
Summit
Offensive: Denver senior OH Becca Latham
Defensive: South Dakota State senior MB Payton Richardson
Worth noting: Latham won the honor for the third time. She averaged 3.78 kills and hit .538. Richardson had 25 total blocks, 1.67 per set.
The complete Summit release
Sun Belt
Offensive: Texas State senior OH Amy Pflughaupt
Defensive: Little Rock senior MB Veronica Martin
Setter: Appalachian State senior Becky Porter
Freshman: Coastal Carolina OH Anett Nemeth
Worth noting: Porter won for the second straight week after averaging 10.67 assists. Pflughaupt had a huge week, averaging 4.0 kills and 2.08 digs. Martin had 22 blocks in three matches and Nemeth had 42 kills in three matches to go with 24 digs.
The complete Sun Belt release
West Coast
Player of the week: Loyola Marymount junior S Tess Reid.
Worth noting: LMU went 3-0 and Reid averaged 13.5 assists per set. She also had eight kills, four aces, 26 digs and a block.
Also Nominated: Lindsey Calvin, Saint Mary’s; Kathya Garcia, San Francisco; Lyndie Haddock-Eppich, BYU; Tiyanna Hallums, Gonzaga; Kaitlyn Lines, Pacific; Hana Lishman, Pepperdine; Addie Picha, San Diego.
The complete WCC release
Western Athletic
Offensive: NM State senior OH Tatyana Battle
Defensive: UT Rio Grande Valley senior L Gysell Zayas
Worth noting: Battle averaged 3.25 kills and was MVP of the Borderland tournament. Zayas averaged 5.92 digs.
The complete WAC release
