Green Bay's Van Zeeland and Valparaiso's Victor Named Volleyball Players of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS -- Green Bay senior Leah Van Zeeland has been named Horizon League Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week, while Valparaiso junior Kelsey Victor has earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for the period of Sept. 2-8.

Van Zeeland, a senior from Kaukauna, Wis., was named Tournament MVP of the Auburn Active Ankle Challenge after leading the Phoenix to the tournament title. Van Zeeland opened the tournament with a career-high 20 kills on a .326 hitting percentage as the Phoenix scored a come-from-behind victory over Troy, 3-1. In GB’s next match, Van Zeeland had another double-double with 16 kills and 11 digs as the Phoenix defeated a previously undefeated Auburn team, 3-2. The Tigers entered the match 4-0 on the season and had defeated 10th-ranked Nebraska, 3-1, the previous week.

Van Zeeland ended the weekend with 44 kills (3.67 per set) on a .311 attack percentage. Both marks ranked among the League’s best from the weekend.

Green Bay (4-2) returns to action on Saturday when it plays a double-header at Northern Iowa.

Victor, a junior from Logansport, Ind., had a League-best 18 blocks last week for the Crusaders as Valpo won the Popcorn Classic to remain undefeated. The All-Tournament selection had four or more blocks in three of Valparaiso’s four matches last week, including seven in the Crusaders’ 3-1 win over Iowa. The win marked Valpo’s first home win over a Big Ten opponent in program history.

For the weekend, Victor averaged 1.20 blocks per set, the third-highest average in the League. Victor was also a force offensively as she paced the Crusaders with 40 total kills in their four matches.

Valparaiso (8-0) can set the mark for the best start in program history with a Friday against Memphis in Evansville, Ind.   

Other Top Performers for the Week:
Ally Beck, Cleveland State (Jr., OH) - Beck was named the CSU Invitational MVP after recording 31 kills for the Vikings. She had a team-best 14 kills in CSU’s five-set victory over UC-Irvine. She averaged 2.58 kills per set and 1.92 digs per set.
Morgan Beil, Valparaiso (Jr., MH/RS) - Beil was named MVP of the Popcorn Classic after hitting at least .300 in three of Valpo’s four wins. She finished with 39 kills in the tournament, including 14 kills on a .321 hitting percentage against Army. She also tallied five blocks in Valpo’s 3-2 win over Eastern Michigan.
Taylor Golabowski, Milwaukee (Jr., L) - Golabowski had 54 digs for the Panthers last week and was named to the All-Tournament team at the Akron Invitational. She averaged 4.91 digs per set and had a collegiate-best 25 digs in UWM’s 3-1 win over Akron.
Alli Gutschow, Oakland (Fr., DS) - Gutschow led the Golden Grizzlies with 60 digs last week. She averaged 4.29 digs per set and had four service aces.
Nikki Holmes, Cleveland State (So., DS) - Holmes recorded double-digit digs in all three matches over the weekend. She had a weekend-high of 15 in CSU’s straight-set win over High Point. She averaged 3.42 digs per set over the weekend.
Taylor Humm, Oakland (Jr., OH) - Humm finished with 52 kills and hit .270 for the tournament as the Golden Grizzlies went 3-1 at Syracuse’s Tournament. She was named to the All-Tournament team and also contributed 54 digs.
Missy Hundelt, Youngstown State (Sr., OH) - Hundelt averaged 3.38 kills, 3.85 digs and 0.92 blocks per set for the Penguins last week. She surpassed the 1,000-kill career mark on Saturday against Toledo. She finished the match against the Rockets with 19 kills and a .341 attack percentage. She also had 16 digs and five blocks against Toledo.
Katie Mroczenski, Green Bay (Sr., MB) - Mroczenski was named to the All-Tournament team at the Auburn Active Ankle Challenge after recording a team-high 14 blocks in GB’s three matches. She had nine blocks in Green Bay’s 3-2 win over Auburn.
Rachel Neuberger, Milwaukee (Sr., MB) - Neuberger was named MVP of the Akron Invitational after hitting .458 for the weekend. She committed just four errors in 72 total attacks. She led UWM in kills and tied for the team-lead in blocks as the Panthers won the Invitational Championship.
Miranda Puthoff, Wright State (Fr., L) - Puthoff had 77 digs last week for the Raiders, including 28 in WSU’s win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday.
Heidi Splinter, Wright State (Sr., OH) - Splinter had 65 kills in five matches for the Raiders last week. She hit .324 in WSU’s win over Saint Peter’s and had a double-double with 16 kills and 16 digs against Lehigh.
Sara Sternard, UIC (Jr., MH) - Sternard had 48 kills and hit .320 in UIC’s four matches last week.  She reached the 500-kill career milestone in UIC’s win over Chicago State on Saturday.
Maggie Strus, UIC (Jr., DS) - Strus had a season-high 22 digs in UIC’s win over Marshall on Friday. The 22 digs are the season-best for a UIC player this season. She led the Flames with 53 digs last week.

Horizon League Offensive Players of the Week
Aug. 26 - Sarah Dooms, Valparaiso
Sept. 2 - Leah Van Zeeland, Green Bay

Horizon League Defensive Players of the Week:
Aug. 26 - Katie Mroczenski, Green Bay
Sept. 2 - Kelsey Victor, Valparaiso