INDIANAPOLIS -- Youngstown State senior Missy Hundelt has been named Horizon League Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week, while Milwaukee senior Rachel Neuberger has earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for the period of Sept. 23-29.
Hundelt, a senior from St. Charles, Mo., led Youngstown State in kills in both of its wins last week. She opened the week by hitting .356 while recording 21 kills in the Penguins’ 3-1 win at Robert Morris. The 21 kills tie for the second-most by a Horizon League player this season. She tied for team-high honors on Friday night with 10 kills as YSU defeated Horizon League defending champion Cleveland State, 3-0. The win marked the first time YSU has defeated Cleveland State since 2001.
For the week, Hundelt averaged 4.43 kills/set - tops in the Horizon League - while hitting .324. She added 29 digs and six blocks.
Youngstown State (8-7, 1-0) has three matches on the schedule for the coming week. The Penguins open the week with a non-conference road match at Kent State on Tuesday before traveling to Oakland (6-10, 0-2) on Friday and Wright State (6-13, 0-2) on Saturday.
Neuberger, a senior from Muskego, Wis., was named Defensive Player of the Week after recording a League-best 12 blocks last week for the Panthers. The Horizon League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year had six blocks, including three solo blocks, in UWM’s four-set win over Oakland on Friday. On Saturday, Neuberger added six more blocks as the Panthers swept Wright State. For the weekend, UWM held its opponents to a combined hitting percentage of .090.
During play this past weekend Neuberger eclipsed 400 career blocks, becoming just the fourth Panther in the school’s Division I history to hit that milestone.
Milwaukee (6-8, 2-0) plays its first two road matches of the conference season this week as it takes on UIC (5-11, 0-1) on Friday and Horizon League preseason favorite Valparaiso (12-3, 2-0) on Saturday.
Other Top Performers for the Week:
Monica Anderson, Green Bay (Sr., OH) - Anderson had double-digit kills in both Phoenix victories last week. She had a season-high 21 kills in GB’s come-from-behind win over Oakland on Saturday.
Jillian Bauer, Green Bay (So., L) - Bauer paced the Phoenix with 45 digs in their two matches last week. She had 29 digs in GB’s win over Oakland.
Justine Garcia, UIC (Sr., DS) - Garcia had 28 digs in seven sets last week for an average of 4.0/set. She also added two service aces and now has a team-high 19 on the season.
Mary Grassano, Oakland (So., DS) - Grassano led Oakland with 38 digs last week and also finished with seven assists and two service aces.
Taylor Humm, Oakland (Jr., OH) - Humm had 32 kills and 26 digs last week for the Golden Grizzlies. She averaged 3.56 kills per set and 2.89 digs per set.
Kayla Price, Milwaukee (So., S) - Price averaged 12 assists/set for UWM as they opened 2-0 in League play. She directed a UWM offense that hit .284 in the two matches.
Aly Ryan, Youngstown State (So., MB) - Ryan had a match-high seven blocks in YSU’s four-set win over Robert Morris. She added three more blocks in YSU’s win over Cleveland State.
Sara Sternard, UIC (Jr., MH) - Sternard had 22 kills and hit .463 for the Flames last week. She had 13 kills and a .478 attack percentage against Valparaiso.
Ellen Vanden Berg, Valparaiso (Sr., MH) - Vanden Berg hit .450 with 11 kills in Valpo’s four-set win over UIC. It was the fifth match this season that she hit at least .400. She did not commit an error (8 kills, 11 attempts) in the three sets the Crusaders won.
Kelsey Victor, Valparaiso (Jr., RS) - Victor matched her season-high with seven blocks in Valpo’s win over UIC. She picked up five of her blocks in the clinching fourth set.
Horizon League Offensive Players of the Week
Aug. 26 - Sarah Dooms, Valparaiso
Sept. 2 - Leah Van Zeeland, Green Bay
Sept. 9 - Grace Kauth, Cleveland State
Sept. 16 - Maggie Hannon, Cleveland State
Sept. 23 - Missy Hundelt, Youngstown State
Horizon League Defensive Players of the Week:
Aug. 26 - Katie Mroczenski, Green Bay
Sept. 2 - Kelsey Victor, Valparaiso
Sept. 9 - Nikki Holmes, Cleveland State
Sept. 16 - Aly Ryan, Youngstown State
Sept. 23 - Rachel Neuberger, Milwaukee
