Contact: Lou Groce, Director of Media and Information, 920-229-8157
GRINNELL, Iowa – Illinois College’s outside hitter Lisa Lowry and Lake Forest College libero Brianne Honda have been named the Midwest Conference’s Offensive and Defensive Volleyball Performers of the Week, respectively.
Weekly Notes
Lowry averaged 4.00 kills per set in three matches this week, helping Illinois College go 2-1 in matches against Monmouth College, Beloit College and Lake Forest. In a four-set win over Beloit, Lowry established a new career high with 22 kills against the Buccaneers. Lowry also had 13 kills against Lake Forest and nine more against Monmouth.
Honda tallied 33 digs in Lake Forest's four-set victory at Illinois College on Saturday, surpassing her previous career-high by nine. She also had six assists and served up a pair of aces in the match. In addition, Honda recorded 20 in a three-set win at Marian University on Wednesday to move into the top 10 in program history in career digs.
Notable Defensive Performances
Aubree Antosch led St. Norbert College defensively in a pair of 3-0 road wins at Monmouth and Knox Collegelast weekend. Antosch finished with 18 digs in the Green Knights' win over Monmouth and then added 19 digs in their victory over Knox. Antosch's 37 digs for the week averaged a robust 6.17 digs per set.
Nicole Ciari compiled 10 total blocks (1.43 bps) in helping the Rams to key wins over Ripon College (3-0) and Carroll University (3-1), which propelled Cornell into a first-place tie atop the MWC standings. The freshman middle blocker accounted for seven stuffs (six assisted) in the win over Carroll. Ciari also posted 1.86 kills per set and went 28-of-28 from the service line as the Rams extended their home winning streak to 30 matches against conference competition.
Cyra Bammer paced the Lawrence University defense as the Vikings rank their win streak to four by sweeping a pair of Midwest Conference road matches this past weekend. In a 3-2 win at Knox, Bammer piled up a season-high 26 digs and also picked up a block. Bammer also chipped in with six kills and three assists against the Prairie Fire. Bammer then picked up 12 digs, a block and four kills in Lawrence's 3-0 win at Monmouth. For the week, Bammer averaged 4.75 digs per set.
Illinois College defensive specialist Allison Perkins continued to deny opposing MWC teams with a 5.64 digs per set average in three matches this past week. She came up with 16 digs in a sweep of Monmouth, had 24 in a four-set win over Beloit and contributed another 22 in a tight four-set loss to Lake Forest.
Notable Offensive Performances
Halie Ferry led St. Norbert to a pair of road wins last week, leading the team in kills in 3-0 triumphs over Monmouth and Knox. In Friday's match against Monmouth, Ferry had 12 kills in 27 attempts with nine digs, one block and two service aces. In Saturday's win over Knox, Ferry had 10 kills in 28 attempts with 19 digs, two service aces and one block. For the week, Ferry hit .200 (22-11-55) and averaged 4.67 digs per set.
Dana Volt led the Carroll attack this past week as the Pioneers split two MWC matches. Against Grinnell, she had 11 kills and hit .385 and added two block assists defensively. Against Cornell, she had another 11 kills and another block assist.
Diamond Boyd was an offensive force in pivotal home wins for Cornell. The junior hitter averaged 4.43 kills per set and posted a .339 attack percentage. Boyd led the team with 35 points and added six blocks (0.86 bps). She hit .419 with a match-high 17 kills in the victory over Carroll. The Rams (7-13 overall, 4-1 MWC) have now won 30 consecutive home matches in conference competition.
Arianna Neumeyer led the Lawrence offense to two MWC wins this week. In a 3-2 win at Knox, Neumeyer piled up a match-high 16 kills to go with 15 digs, two aces and two blocks. Neumeyer followed that with a match-high 10 kills as the Vikings romped past Monmouth 3-0 the following day. She also added 15 digs, a block and pair of assists. On the weekend, Neumeyer averaged 3.25 kills per set with a .172 hitting percentage and 3.75 digs per set.
Grace Larson led Lake Forest with 20 kills in the team's four-set victory at Illinois College on Saturday. She also recorded 20 digs in the contest for the program's first 20/20 performance since 2012. Larson also contributed to three of the Foresters' school record 18 blocks in the match.