Fort Wayne’s Spencer, IUPUI’s Howard Repeat as Honorees
Fort Wayne’s Spencer, IUPUI’s Howard Repeat as Honorees
ELMHURST, Ill. – Fort Wayne's Emily Spencer and IUPUI's Beth Howard were named The Summit League Volleyball Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week for their performances Oct. 21-27.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emily Spencer, Fort Wayne
Jr. // OH // Jenison, Mich.
Spencer captures her sixth career Offensive Player of the Week honor and her second-straight after leading the Mastodons to an undefeated weekend (2-0) over the top-two teams in the league. In a sweep of Denver, she tallied 19 kills and a hit a .378. The junior outside hitter followed that up with her seventh double-double of the season recording 26 kills, her second-most kills in a match this season, 13 digs and a .379 hitting percentage. For the week, Spencer posted 45 kills, averaging 5.62 kills per set, nearly 1.00 kill per set over her season average (4.68). She also chipped in 19 digs, four blocks, two assists and one service ace and averaged 6.12 points per set. This award marks Spencer's fourth this season, the second most offensive honors in a single-season in league history.
Also nominated: Colleen King, Denver; Kaitlyn Hickey, IUPUI; Kendall Kritenbrink, South Dakota; Sarah Fetter, Western Illinois.
Previous honorees: 9/3 – Emily Spencer, Fort Wayne; 9/9 – Colleen King, Denver; 9/16 – Kendall Kritenbrink, South Dakota; 9/23 – Colleen King, Denver & Emily Spencer, Fort Wayne; 9/30 – Samantha Fournier, Western Illinois; 10/7 – Kendall Kritenbrink, South Dakota; 10/14 – Alexis Meeks, IUPUI; 10/21 – Colleen King, Denver & Emily Spencer, Fort Wayne.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Beth Howard, IUPUI
Jr. // DS // Fort Wayne, Ind.
Howard earns her third Defensive Player of the Week award of the season and her career and her second in as many weeks after helping IUPUI to its second consecutive undefeated (2-0) weekend in league play. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native posted two 15-plus dig efforts against the league's top-two teams. In a four-set victory on Friday, she tallied 17 digs as the Jaguars handed South Dakota its first league loss this season. The junior defensive specialist came back the next day to record 24 digs in another four-set win over Denver. On the week, Howard totaled 41 digs, averaging 5.12 digs per set and chipped in 12 assists.
Also nominated: Brea Muhle, Denver; Jen Milligan, Fort Wayne; Tori Kroll, South Dakota; Molly Murphy, Western Illinois.
Previous honorees: 9/3 – Jen Milligan, Fort Wayne; 9/9 – Audrey Reeg, South Dakota; 9/16 – Beth Howard, IUPUI; 9/23 – Melissa Firtko, South Dakota; 9/30 – Sarah Schmid, Denver; 10/7 – Hailie Ripley, Fort Wayne; 10/14 – Molly Murphy, Western Illinois; 10/21 – Beth Howard, IUPUI.
ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
In its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 120,000 at eight institutions, including three located in top 60 U.S. metro populations and two land-grant universities. Member institutions include: Denver (University of Denver), Fort Wayne (Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), North Dakota State 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 eight NCAA Champions, 62 All-Americans and 50 Academic All-America selections.
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