USD’s Kritenbrink and SDSU’s Birath Garner Weekly Volleyball Honors
USD’s Kritenbrink and SDSU’s Birath Garner Weekly Volleyball Honors
ELMHURST, Ill. – South Dakota's Kendall Kritenbrink and South Dakota State's Shay Birath were named The Summit League's Offensive and Defensive Volleyball Players of the Week for their performances Sept. 10-16.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kendall Kritenbrink, South Dakota
So. // OH // Gretna, Neb.
Kritenbrink collects her second career Offensive Player of the Week honor and first of the season after recording a .308 clip and averaging 5.62 kills per set to open league play. The sophomore outside hitter led the Coyotes to a 3-1 victory over Western Illinois in USD's league opener with a .325 hitting percentage and 18 kills. Against IUPUI, she posted a double-double with 27 kills and 12 digs. For the week, Kritenbrink tallied a .308 hitting percentage with 45 kills, averaging 5.62 kills per set, 18 digs, six blocks, an assist, a service ace and 50 points (6.2 per set).
Also nominated: Kendall Wienkes, Fort Wayne; Kelsey Hoefer, IUPUI; Emily Lucas, Kansas City; Brynn Joki, North Dakota State; Meghan Bray, Oakland; Kaitlin Klingemann, South Dakota State; Sarah Fetter, Western Illinois.
Previous winners: Aug. 27 – Kelli Fiegen, SDSU; Sept. 4 – Meghan Bray, OU; Sept. 10 – Kaitlin Klingemann, SDSU.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Shay Birath, South Dakota State
Sr. // L // Marshall, Minn.
Birath earns her fifth career Defensive Player of the Week award and first of the season after helping the Jackrabbits go undefeated (2-0) with back-to-back 20-plus dig performances to open league play. The senior libero collected 20 digs in the sweep of Omaha. She then came back to tally 27 digs in a four-set victory over preseason favorite and 2011 league champion, North Dakota State. On the week, Birath recorded 47 digs, averaging 6.71 per set and eight assists.
Also nominated: Kendall Wienkes, Fort Wayne; Beth Howard, IUPUI; Taryn Miller, Kansas City; Alli Kirk, Oakland; Kim Bulaga, South Dakota; Bridget Murphy, Western Illinois.
Previous winners: Aug. 27 – Tessa McGill, IPFW; Sept. 4 – Kelli Fiegen, SDSU; Sept. 10 – Alli Kirk, OU.
ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
Entering its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 144,000 at nine universities, four of which are located in top 58 U.S. metro populations (Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Omaha). Member institutions include: Fort Wayne (Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), Kansas City (University of Missouri-Kansas City), North Dakota State University, Oakland University, Omaha (University of Nebraska Omaha), the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University. Previously known as the Mid-Continent Conference, The Summit League rebranded in 2007 and has since produced 54 All-Americans, 37 Academic All-America selections and seven NCAA Championships. For more information about the league and its history, visit www.thesummitleague.org to "See The Summit" or follow on Twitter @thesummitleague.
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