South Dakota’s Kritenbrink, IUPUI’s Howard Capture Weekly Volleyball Honors

9/16/2013 12:00:00 AM

ELMHURST, Ill. – South Dakota's Kendall Kritenbrink and IUPUI's Beth Howard were named The Summit League's Volleyball Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week for their performances Sept 9-15.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kendall Kritenbrink, South Dakota
Jr. // OH // Gretna, Neb.
Kritenbrink collects her fifth career Offensive Player of the Week award and first of the season after leading the Coyotes to an undefeated (3-0) weekend and tournament title at the Bobcat Classic and being named the tournament MVP. South Dakota swept all three of its opponents and has now won six of its last seven matches. The junior outside hitter recorded her 1,000^th career kill in the first set of Friday's win over Akron and tallied a 21-kill, 11-dig double-double, along with a .381 hitting percentage and seven blocks. On Saturday, she added 16 kills in the victory against Gonzaga and seven versus Montana State. For the weekend, Kritenbrink posted 44 kills, averaging 4.89 kills per set to go with a .305 hitting percentage. She also chipped in 22 digs (2.44 per set), 13 blocks (1.44 per set), five service aces and three assists. The Gretna, Neb., native leads the league averaging 4.22 kills per set this season.

Also nominated: Colleen King, Denver; Emily Spencer, Fort Wayne; Moriah Fair, IUPUI; Emily Miron, North Dakota State; Kelley Wollak, Omaha; Ann Miller, Western Illinois.

Previous honorees: 9/3 – Emily Spencer, Fort Wayne; 9/9 – Colleen King, Denver.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Beth Howard, IUPUI
Jr. // DS // Fort Wayne, Ind.
Howard earns her first career Defensive Player of the Week honor after posting 15-plus digs in all four matches on the week and being named to the Sports Imports DC Koehl All-Tournament Team. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native opened the week with 20 digs in a four-set victory over Indiana State, recording her 1,000^th career dig. She then notched 21 digs against No. 13 Ohio State and 16 more versus Xavier. In the final match of the tournament, the junior defensive specialist posted a season-high 33 digs in a five-set loss to SEMO. On the week, Howard tallied 90 digs to average 6.00 digs per set and added 19 assists (1.27 per set). She currently leads the league averaging 4.95 digs per set on the season.

Also nominated: Kate Acker, Denver; Jen Milligan, Fort Wayne; Kimberly Bailey, Omaha; Audrey Reeg, South Dakota; Molly Murphy, Western Illinois.

Previous honorees: 9/3 – Jen Milligan, Fort Wayne; 9/9 – Audrey Reeg, South Dakota.

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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