INDIANAPOLIS -- Oakland junior Cassie Pelloni has been named Horizon League Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week, while Youngstown junior Aly Ryan has earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for the period of Oct. 20-26.
Pelloni garnered her first Offensive Player of the Week honor this season after leading the Golden Grizzlies to two come-from-behind five-set wins last week to remain in a tie for first place in the League standings. On Friday night, she had a match-best 19 kills as Oakland battled back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Cleveland State. On Saturday afternoon, she had a .333 attack percentage as she finished with a match and season-high 22 kills as the Golden Grizzlies rallied from a 2-0 hole to beat Youngstown State.
For the weekend, Pelloni had a League-best 41 kills, while finishing with a .308 hitting percentage.
Oakland (15-9, 7-2) is back in action on Friday night as it hosts Wright State.
Ryan earned her first Defensive Player of the Week nod after registering 16 blocks for YSU last week. She had a match-best seven blocks on Friday as the Penguins won their fifth-consecutive Horizon League match with a 3-1 win over Wright State. The win streak marks the first time in program history that YSU has won five straight Horizon League matches. On Saturday, she had a match-high and career-best nine blocks as the Penguins fell in five sets to Oakland.
Ryan’s 16 blocks and 1.78 blocks per set average were both League-bests last week.
Youngstown State (15-9, 6-3) returns home this week to host two big Horizon League matches. The Penguins host UIC (11-13, 5-4) on Friday before closing the weekend with a visit from Valparaiso (19-6, 5-4).
Other Top Performers for the Week:
Sam Brown, Youngstown State (Fr., OH) – Brown had a double-double with 16 kills and 18 digs versus Oakland last week.
Emily Campbell, Valparaiso (So., OH) – Campbell had a team-high 20 kills vs Milwaukee and a match-best 17 kills on .316 hitting vs. Green Bay. She added 19 digs versus Milwaukee to record her 14th double-double of the season.
Melissa Deatsch, Oakland (So., OH) – Deatsch averaged 3.0 digs per set last week, including 17 digs in
win over Cleveland State.
Casey Harris, UIC (So., MB) – Harris collected a season-high five blocks versus Milwaukee and finished with eight in two matches for the Flames last week.
Nikki Holmes, Cleveland State (Jr., L) – Holmes recorded 24 digs against Oakland - her second-best single match total this season.
Ashley Langjahr, Wright State (Sr., RS) - Langjahr hit .375 (7-1-16) versus Cleveland State and finished with 12 kills and nine digs versus Youngstown State.
Dayna Roberts, Cleveland State (Jr., S) – Roberts recorded a season-high 40 assists against Oakland - along with 18 digs for her 8th double-double of the season.
Myanna Ruiz, Milwaukee (So., OH) - Ruiz paced the Panthers to a 2-0 week, averaging 4.71 kills per set. She highlighted the week with a career-high 24 kills against Valparaiso Friday, finishing with a double-double with 17 digs. She added nine kills and nine digs in a 3-0 win the next day against UIC.
Jessie Thornton, Wright State (Fr., L) - Thornton had 32 digs in seven sets last week. She had 20 digs versus Youngstown State and 12 digs against Cleveland State.
Kelsey Victor, Valparaiso (Sr., MH) - Victor had 12 blocks in 10 sets of play last week. She had five blocks versus Milwaukee and six blocks versus Green Bay.
Stephenee Yancy, UIC (Jr., MB) – Yancy had 21 kills on 32 attempts for a season-high .594 attack percentage in UIC’s sweep of Green Bay on Friday. The 21 kills are the most in a three-set match in the Horizon League.
Horizon League Offensive Players of the Week:
Aug. 25 - Julie Kolinske, Milwaukee
Sept. 1 - Nicole Johnson, UIC
Sept. 8 - Emily Campbell, Valparaiso
Sept. 15 - Stephenee Yancy, UIC
Sept. 22 - Myanna Ruiz, Milwaukee
Sept. 29 - Morgan Beil, Valparaiso
Oct. 6 - Val Jeffery, Youngstown State/Stephenee Yancy, UIC
Oct. 13 - Stephenee Yancy, UIC
Oct. 20 – Cassie Pelloni, Oakland
Horizon League Defensive Players of the Week:
Aug. 25 - Nikki Thompson, Youngstown State
Sept. 1 - Shannon Watson, Youngstown State
Sept. 8 - Nikki Holmes, Cleveland State
Sept. 15 - Allison Ketcham, Valparaiso
Sept. 22 - Taylor Golabowski, Milwaukee
Sept. 29 - Maggie Hannon, Cleveland State
Oct. 6 - Nikki Thompson, Youngstown State
Oct. 13 - Jillian Bauer, Green Bay/Taylor Humm, Oakland
Oct. 20 – Aly Ryan, Youngstown State
