INDIANAPOLIS -- Cleveland State senior Kara Koch has been named Horizon League Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week, while Valparaiso senior Taylor Root was named Defensive Player of the Week honors for the period of Oct. 22-28.
Koch, from West Salem, Ohio, led Cleveland State to two big road victories last weekend as the Vikings opened a 2 1/2 game lead on second-place Valparaiso. The Preseason Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year, who has now been named Offensive Player of the Week three times this season, had 23 kills on Friday night as the Vikings dispatched UIC, 3-1. She also had 18 digs in the match. Koch had another double-double, 12 kills and 11 digs, as CSU dropped Loyola, 3-1.
Koch and the Vikings can clinch the regular season title with two home wins this weekend. The Vikings (18-6, 10-1) host Wright State (2-25, 0-10) on Friday and Valparaiso (16-10, 7-3) on Saturday.
Root, from Jenison, Mich., averaged 7.5 digs per set this week as the Crusaders won two home matches. She started the week with 29 digs in Valpo’s 3-2 win over IUPUI. On Saturday, she had 31 digs in the Crusaders three-set win over Wright State. Her 31 digs are the second-most in a three-set match in NCAA Division I this season.
Valparaiso road trips to Northeast Ohio this week, taking on Youngstown State (14-11, 4-7) on Friday and Cleveland State on Saturday.
Other Top Performers for the Week:
Janelle Hobbs, Valparaiso (Jr., MH) - Hobbs had a career-high 17 kills in Valpo’s five-set win over IUPUI on Tuesday. Her hitting percentage of .536 (17-2-28) in the match is the third-best in Crusader history for a five-set match. She added seven kills on Friday in the team’s sweep of Wright State.
Monica Anderson, Green Bay (Jr., OH) - Anderson led the Phoenix with 14 kills as Green Bay defeated Milwaukee for the first time since 2008, snapping a nine match losing streak.
Shannon Watson, Youngstown State (So., OH) - Watson posted 12 kills on a .409 hitting percentage and had four blocks in YSU’s five-set win at Loyola. She had eight kills, hitting .467, and posted three blocks in the Penguins loss at UIC.
MaryKate Imrie, UIC (Jr., S) - Imrie posted two double-doubles this past weekend for the Flames. She had 45 assists and 14 digs against Cleveland State and 43 assists and 11 digs against Youngstown State.
Marisa Aiello, Wright State (Fr., MB) - Aiello had 12 kills on a .391 hitting percentage in the Raiders loss at Valparaiso.
Amanda Medvetz, Cleveland State (Sr., L) - Medvetz recorded a career-high 34 digs in CSU’s four-set win over UIC on Friday. For the weekend, she averaged 6.5 digs per set.
Maggie Strus, UIC (So., DS) -Strus collected 32 digs against Cleveland State on Friday night, the fourth most in a single match all-time in UIC history. She had 16 digs in UIC’s three-set win over Youngstown State on Saturday.
Jenna Cavanaugh, Youngstown State (Jr., MB) - Cavanaugh averaged 1.12 blocks per set last weekend as the Penguins split two matches at Chicago. She had six blocks, including two in the decisive fifth set, in YSU’s win at Loyola.
Heidi Splinter, Wright State (Jr., OH) - Splinter had a double-double, her 15th of the season, finishing with 10 kills and 16 digs in the Raiders loss at Valparaiso.
