IUPUI’s Hickey and Mapes, USD’s Firtko Named #SummitVB Players of the Week

10/13/2014 12:00:00 AM

ELMHURST, Ill. – IUPUI's Kaitlyn Hickey was named The Summit League's Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week, while IUPUI's Alexis Mapes and South Dakota's Melissa Firtko earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for their performances Oct. 6-12.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kaitlyn Hickey, IUPUI
Jr. // OH // Granger, Ind.
Hickey collects her first career Offensive Player of the Week award after leading IUPUI with 6.00 kills per set in a sweep over South Dakota State. She tallied 2.6 kills per set better than her season average entering the week. The junior outside hitter posted a .359 clip with 18 kills and 15 digs (5.00 digs per set) for her fifth-straight double-double and 10^th of the season. She also added two assists and a block and averaged 6.2 points per set.

Also nominated: Emily Spencer, Fort Wayne; Emily Miron, North Dakota State; Kelley Wollak, Omaha; Sara Pope, Oral Roberts; Sydney Dimke, South Dakota; Ann Miller, Western Illinois.

Previous honorees: Sept. 2 – Laura Milos, Oral Roberts; Sept. 8 – Emily Spencer, Fort Wayne; Sept. 15 – Kendall Kritenbrink, South Dakota; Sept. 22 – Bailey Karst, Denver; Sept. 29 – Nola Basey, Denver; Oct. 6 – Nola Basey, Denver.

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Alexis Mapes, IUPUI
So. // S // Westfield, Ind.
Mapes garners her first career Defensive Player of the Week honor after more than doubling her season digs per set average in a sweep of South Dakota State. The Westfield, Ind., native matched a career-high with 17 digs and averaged 5.67 digs per set, more than 3.7 digs per set better than her season average entering the week. The sophomore setter also dished out 42 assists, averaging 14.00 assists per set, 2.25 assists per set more than the NCAA leader.

Melissa Firtko, South Dakota
Sr. // MH // Racine, Wis.
Firtko earns her third career Defensive Player of the Week award and second of the season after helping South Dakota to a 1-1 record in league play. In a sweep of Western Illinois, the middle hitter posted six blocks, including a pair of solo blocks. She then tallied six block assists and two solo blocks along with 11 kills and a .348 hitting percentage in a four-set loss to Denver. For the week, Firtko posted 14 blocks, 10 block assists and four solo blocks, and averaged 2.00 blocks per set, besting the NCAA leader. She also added 18 kills, 10 digs and three assists.

Also nominated: Sarah Heckman, Fort Wayne; Emily Milligan, North Dakota State; Mackenzie Horkey, Omaha; Nika Mostahinic, Oral Roberts; Molly Murphy, Western Illinois.

Previous honoree: Sept. 2 – Kate Acker, Denver/Hailie Ripley, Fort Wayne; Sept. 8 – Melissa Firtko, South Dakota; Sept. 15 – Anna Wrede, Fort Wayne; Sept. 22 – Riley Haug, South Dakota; Sept. 29 – Beth Howard, IUPUI; Oct. 6 – Riley Haug, 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 nine institutions, including four 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), Oral Roberts University, 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 along with over 65 All-Americans, 60 Academic All-America selections and numerous former student-athletes competing at the highest professional level. For more information about the league and to "See The Summit", visit www.thesummitleague.org, follow on Twitter @thesummitleague, download The Summit League's Front Row app, and watch the weekly "Inside The Summit League" show at www.thesummitleague.org/itsl.

#SummitVB