Western Illinois’ Fournier, Denver’s Schmid Named Volleyball Players of the Week
Western Illinois’ Fournier, Denver’s Schmid Named Volleyball Players of the Week
ELMHURST, Ill. – Western Illinois' Samantha Fournier and Denver's Sarah Schmid were named The Summit League's Volleyball Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week for their performances Sept. 23-29.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Samantha Fournier, Western Illinois
Jr. // RS // Coal Valley, Ill.
Fournier captures her first career Offensive Player of the Week honor after leading Western Illinois to a victory in its league opener with a sweep of Omaha. The Coal Valley, Ill., native, recorded 15 kills and two errors in 20 attempts for a career-high .650 hitting percentage along with a career-best four service aces. On the weekend, Fournier averaged 5.00 kills per set and 6.33 points per set. She also added five digs and one assist. She is the first Fighting Leatherneck to be named the Offensive Player of the Week since 2006.
Also nominated: Brea Muhle, Denver; Emily Spencer, Fort Wayne; Kaitlyn Hickey, IUPUI; Jenni Fassbender, North Dakota State; Megan Schmale, Omaha; Kendall Kritenbrink, South Dakota.
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.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sarah Schmid, Denver
So. // MH // Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Schmid earns her first career Defensive Player of the Week honor after helping the Pioneers to an undefeated (2-0) opening weekend in league play against preseason co-favorites Fort Wayne and IUPUI. The sophomore kicked-off league play with five blocks against the Jaguars, the defending regular season league champion and added 11 kills with only one error in 19 attempts for a .526 hitting percentage. She bettered that performance with seven blocks against the Mastodons, the 2013 Summit League Tournament champion. For the weekend, she posted 12 block assists, averaging 1.71 blocks per set, along with 12 kills, a .458 hitting percentage and two digs.
Also nominated: Sarah Heckman, Fort Wayne; Beth Howard, IUPUI; Emily Milligan, North Dakota State; Bailey Baxter, Omaha; 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.
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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