Denver’s King, Fort Wayne’s Spencer, South Dakota’s Firtko Earn Weekly Volleyball Honors

9/23/2013 12:00:00 AM

ELMHURST, Ill. – Denver's Colleen King and Fort Wayne's Emily Spencer were named The Summit League's Volleyball Offensive Players of the Week, while South Dakota's Melissa Firtko collected the Defensive Player of the Week award for their performances Sept 16-22.

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Colleen King, Denver
Sr. // RS // Steamboat Springs, Colo.
King garners her second Offensive Player of the Week award this season after recording three-straight triple-doubles at the Black & Gold Challenge. The senior opened the tournament with her best offensive match of the weekend recording 17 kills with a .333 hitting percentage, 21 assists and 12 digs against UT-Arlington. On day two of the tournament, she posted a 12-kill, 19-assist, 12-dig performance in the Pioneers' five-set victory over East Carolina and added 15 kills, 21 assists and 14 digs versus Appalachian State. For the weekend, King posted 44 kills (2.93 kills per set), 61 assists (4.07 assists per set), 38 digs (2.53 digs per set), nine blocks and one service ace.

Emily Spencer, Fort Wayne
Jr. // OH // Jenison, Mich.
Spencer collects her second Offensive Player of the Week honor this season and the fourth of her career after tying a Fort Wayne single-match record and being named to the Huskie Invitational All-Tournament Team. The junior outside hitter posted double-digit kills in all four matches on the week. Her best match came against Northern Illinois as she recorded a .338 hitting percentage with 29 kills to tie the Fort Wayne single-match four-set record. In the Mastodons' sweep of George Washington, she tallied 17 kills and a .342 clip. On the week, Spencer totaled 79 kills, averaging 5.64 kills per set for the week, which is better than the NCAA leader and her league-leading 4.53 kills per set average for the season. The Jenison, Mich., native also added 28 digs, nine blocks, three service aces, three assists and 88.5 points (6.3 points per set).

Also nominated: Kelly Wachtel, IUPUI; Megan Schmale, Omaha; 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.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Melissa Firtko, South Dakota
Jr. // MH // Racine, Wis.
Firtko claims her first career Defensive Player of the Week award after averaging 1.83 blocks per set last week. She opened the week with a career-high 12 blocks in a four-set victory over North Dakota. At the Shocker Volleyball Classic, the middle hitter posted four blocks against No. 7 Hawai'i and five versus Wichita State. For the week, Firtko tallied 22 blocks (20 block assists and two solo blocks), averaging 1.83 blocks per set. She also chipped in 17 kills, six digs and one service ace.

Also nominated: Kate Acker, Denver; Jen Milligan, Fort Wayne; Logan Walling, IUPUI; Kimberly Bailey, Omaha; Molly Murphy, Western Illinois.

Previous honorees: 9/3 – Jen Milligan, Fort Wayne; 9/9 – Audrey Reeg, South Dakota; 9/16 – 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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