INDIANAPOLIS -- Valparaiso sophomore Emily Campbell has been named Horizon League Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week, while Wright State freshman Jessie Thornton has earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for the period of Nov. 10-16.
Campbell led all Horizon League players with 40 kills last week, while also hitting .410 (40-8-78), in helping the Crusaders win two matches. She had a match-high 23 kills, hitting .320 in Valpo’s 3-2 win over IPFW. She added 10 digs in the match for her 18th double-double of the season. On Saturday, she had a match-best 17 kills on a career-high .571 hitting percentage to lead the Crusaders to a sweep at UIC. The sophomore moved into ninth on Valpo’s single-season kills chart in the win over the Flames.
Valparaiso (24-7, 9-5) is the No. 3 seed in this week’s Horizon League Championship and will open with a rematch versus six-seed UIC on Friday night at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Thornton won her first Defensive Player of the Week honor after averaging 7.33 digs per set for the Raiders last week. She had 24 digs in a three-set sweep of Green Bay on Friday night and added 20 more in three sets versus Milwaukee.
The Louisville, Ky., native finished her rookie campaign with 532 digs to lead all Horizon League players in the regular season. Her 5.43 digs per set were also a League-best.
Other Top Performers for the Week:
Sam Brown, Youngstown State (Fr., OH) - Brown posted a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs in the regular season finale versus Cleveland State. She added an ace in the contest, her League-leading 40th of the season.
Taylor Golabowski, Milwaukee (Sr., L) - Golabowksi averaged a team-best 4.62 digs per set as the Panthers closed out the regular season as the No. 2 seed.
Casey Harris, UIC (So., MB) - Harris set a season-high with six blocks, including three solo in UIC’s four-set win over Loyola.
Taylor Humm, Oakland (Sr., L) - Humm registered 40 digs last week, including 28 in a five-set win over Milwaukee on Friday night. She had a .980 serve receive percentage on 50 services.
Grace Kauth, Cleveland State (So., OH) - Kauth recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 11 digs versus Youngstown State.
Julie Kolinske, Milwaukee (Sr., OH) - Kolinske paced the Panthers offense with 32 kills in 8 sets (4.00 kps), hitting .282 on the week. She added 14 digs and a pair of blocks.
Kara Johnson, UIC (So., OH) - Johnson had a team-high 14 kills against Loyola in Friday night’s win. She added 14 more kills against Valpo on Saturday. She’s had double-digit kills in six straight matches.
Ashley Langjahr, Wright State (Sr., RS) - Langjahr hit .500 (13-1-24) with a block assist in the Raiders win over Green Bay.
Alexis Middlebrooks, Cleveland State (Fr., MH) - Middlebrooks recorded her sixth seven-block match of the season Friday in CSU’s 3-1 win over Youngstown State.
Cassie Pelloni, Oakland (Jr., OH) - Pelloni averaged 3.0 kills per set for the Golden Grizzlies last week as they wrapped up their first-ever 20-win season at the DI level. She had 13 kills and three blocks in Oakland’s five-set regular season champion clinching win over Milwaukee.
Kelsey Victor, Valparaiso (Jr., S) - Victor had 11 blocks last week, including a match-high six in Valpo’s sweep of UIC. She closed the regular season leading the League in blocks/set.
Shannon Watson, Youngstown State (Sr., MB) - Watson had two solo blocks and four block assists versus Cleveland State. She finished the regular season tied for the League lead with 123 blocks.
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
Oct. 27 - Stephenee Yancy, UIC
Nov. 3 - Grace Kauth, Cleveland State
Nov. 10 - Emily Campbell, Valparaiso
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
Oct. 27 - Alison Ketcham, Valparaiso
Nov. 3 - Amanda Baker, Oakland
Nov. 10 - Jessie Thornton, Wright State
Tags: Horizon League - Volleyball · Valparaiso - Volleyball · Wright State - Volleyball
