Spencer, Murphy Named Volleyball Players of the Week
Spencer, Murphy Named Volleyball Players of the Week
ELMHURST, Ill. – Fort Wayne's Emily Spencer and Western Illinois' Bridget Murphy were named The Summit League's Offensive and Defensive Volleyball Players of the Week for their performances Sept. 17-23.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emily Spencer, Fort Wayne
So. // OH // Jenison, Mich.
Spencer garners her first career Offensive Player of the Week award after leading the Mastodons to undefeated (3-0) week in league play. Fort Wayne opened the week defeating IUPUI, previously undefeated in league play and tied for the league lead, in a four-set match as the sophomore chipped in 14 kills. The Jenison, Mich., native tallied a weekly-best of 20 kills in a victory over South Dakota and 13 kills and only two errors in a sweep of Kansas City. For the week, Spencer recorded 47 kills and a .349 clip, averaging 4.27 kills per set, with 30 digs (2.73 digs per set), 10 blocks (0.91 blocks per set), two service aces and 54 points (4.9 points per set).
Also nominated: Bethany Fogler, IUPUI; Emily Lucas, Kansas City; Megan Lambertson, North Dakota State; Brittany Holbrook, Oakland; Tori Kroll, South Dakota; Kaitlin Klingemann, South Dakota State; Ann Miller, Western Illinois.
Previous winners: Aug. 27 – Kelli Fiegen, SDSU; Sept. 4 – Meghan Bray, OU; Sept. 10 – Kaitlin Klingemann, SDSU; Sept. 17 – Kendall Kritenrbink, USD.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bridget Murphy, Western Illinois
Sr. // DS // New Lenox, Ill.
Murphy collects her third career Defensive Player of the Week honor and first of the season after helping the Leathernecks post a 2-1 record, defeating Oakland and North Dakota State for the first time since 2007. The defensive specialist collected three-straight matches of 20-plus digs, including 32 against North Dakota State. On the week, Murphy tallied 85 digs, averaging 6.07 digs per set along with 16 assists and five service aces. The New Lenox, Ill., native now ranks second all-time in program history with 1,561 career digs.
Also nominated: Hailie Ripley, Fort Wayne; Beth Howard, IUPUI; Taryn Miller, Kansas City; Alli Kirk, Oakland; Katie Bunkers, South Dakota; Shay Birath, South Dakota State.
Previous winners: Aug. 27 – Tessa McGill, IPFW; Sept. 4 – Kelli Fiegen, SDSU; Sept. 10 – Alli Kirk, OU; Sept. 17 – Shay Birath, SDSU.
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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