UIC's Yancy and Valparaiso's Ketcham Named Volleyball Players of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS -- UIC junior Stephenee Yancy has been named Horizon League Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week, while Valparaiso freshman Allison Ketcham has earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for the period of Sept. 15-21.

Yancy earned her first Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honor after leading the Flames offense in four matches last week. She opened the week with 18 kills on 31 attempts for a .484 attack percentage in UIC’s four-set match at Northern Illinois. She started the Penn State Alumni Classic with 22 kills as the Flames defeated East Carolina in five sets to hand the Pirates their first loss of the season. On Saturday, Yancy had with 14 kills on 25 attempts and zero errors for a .560 attack percentage in UIC’s three-set match versus third-ranked Penn State. She finished the tournament with 21 kills in UIC’s four-set win over Eastern Illinois. For the tournament, Yancy had 57 kills and a .387 hitting percentage as she was named to the All-Tournament team.

In four matches last week, Yancy had 75 kills in 16 sets (4.69/set) and a hitting percentage of .403 (75-15-149). All stats were League-highs for the week.

UIC (6-9) opens League play this weekend with two road games in Wisconsin. The Flames face Milwaukee on Friday and Green Bay on Saturday.

Ketcham earned MVP honors of the Crusader Crossroads of America Classic this past weekend. She averaged a team-high 5.5 digs per set and handled all 51 serve receptions at the tournament without an error. She had a career-high 26 digs in Valpo’s four-set win over previously undefeated Murray State on Friday night. The Mishawaka, Ind., native also contributed on the offensive end as she averaged 2.9 kills per set in the tournament.

Valparaiso (13-1) has won three consecutive tournaments and 12 matches overall as it enters conference play. The Crusaders open League play on Friday night at Green Bay, before finishing the weekend at Milwaukee on Saturday.

Other Top Performers for the Week:
Amanda Baker, Oakland (Jr., MH) - Baker had 12 blocks on the weekend at the Golden Grizzlies Invite, averaging 1.2 blocks per set.
Kelsey Berrington, Valparaiso (Jr., S) - Berrington had 128 assists and 42 digs last week in four wins for Valpo. She registered three double-doubles and surpassed the 2,000 career assist milestone during the week.
Melissa Deatsch, Oakland (So., OH) - Deatsch earned All-Tournament team honors at the Golden Grizzlies Invitational. She averaged 3.7 kills per set and 0.60 blocks per set. She led Oakland with 15 kills and 15 digs in its three-set sweep of Bowling Green.
Taylor Golabowski, Milwaukee (Sr., L) - Golabowski was named to the MSU Spartan Invitational All-Tournament team after averaging 4.78 digs per set in three matches.
Shannon Grega, Cleveland State (Fr., L) - Grega averaged 4.58 digs per set on the weekend. She recorded a career-high 19 digs in CSU’s win over North Texas.
Megan Hopkins, Wright State (Fr., OH) - Hopkins was named to the Bruin Classic All-Tournament team. She hit .346 with 10 kills and two digs in WSU’s match at Belmont. She had a weekend-high 12 kills versus Liberty.
Grace Kauth, Cleveland State (So., OH) - Kauth was named to the Jayhawk Classic All-Tournament team after registering 30 kills and 40 digs in three matches. She recorded two double-doubles, including 12 kills and 17 digs in CSU’s comeback win over North Texas.
Julie Kolinske, Milwaukee (Sr., OH) - Kolinske averaged 3.11 kills per set and hit .265 for the weekend. She went over 1,000 kills for her collegiate career during the weekend.
Aly Ryan, Youngstown State (Jr., MB) - Ryan tied her season-high with 11 kills, while adding five blocks at Kent State. She had 10 kills on a .455 attack percentage against Eastern Michigan.
Maggie Strus, UIC (Jr., DS) - Strus had 56 digs in four matches last week. She compiled a team-high 18 digs in UIC’s win over East Carolina. She needs 54 more digs to become UIC’s all-time leader.
Nikki Thompson, Youngstown State (Jr., L) - Thompson had double digits in digs in all four matches last week. She had her fourth 20+-dig match at Kent State, finishing with 27. She had 18 digs in three sets against Eastern Michigan.
Jessie Thornton, Wright State (Fr., L) - Thornton had 63 digs in 12 sets of play at the Bruin Classic. She had a weekend-high 25 digs in WSU’s five-set match versus Liberty.

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

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