INDIANAPOLIS -- Youngstown State sophomore Val Jeffery and UIC junior Stephenee Yancy have been named Horizon League Volleyball Co-Offensive Players of the Week, while Youngstown State junior Nikki Thompson has earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for the period of Oct. 6-12.
Jeffery had 10 kills and a League-best 83 assists last week as Youngstown State scored two home wins. The Penguins had a .285 attack percentage for the weekend. She had 46 assists in YSU’s win over Green Bay as the Penguins battled back from a 2-1 deficit to win the match. On Saturday, Jeffery directed a highly efficient YSU offense as the Penguins handed preseason favorite Milwaukee its first conference loss. YSU hit .350 in the match, the best attack percentage ever for the Penguins in a Horizon League match and the best for an HL team in a conference match this season. The .350 hitting percentage for Youngstown State was the third-highest hitting percentage Milwaukee has allowed a conference opponent to have in the last nine years. Jeffery finished the win over the Panthers with five kills and 37 assists.
Yancy led the Flames offense as UIC recorded two road sweeps last week. The junior opened with 10 kills on 19 attempts for a .316 attack percentage in UIC's 3-0 win over Wright State. On Saturday, she extended her double-digit kill streak to 21 matches with a match-high 14 kills on 24 attempts for a .458 attack percentage in the Flames win over previously unbeaten Oakland. She had six kills on eight attempts in the first set and five on eight swings in the third set as UIC hit .340 in the match to defeat the Golden Grizzlies. The Player of the Week honor is the second of the season for Yancy.
Thompson earned her second Defensive Player of the Week honor after leading the Penguins defense with 42 digs (5.25/set) in two matches. She had 24 digs in YSU’s five-set win over Green Bay and 18 in the sweep of Milwaukee. She had just two receiving errors all weekend.
Youngstown State (13-8, 4-2) is back in action on Friday when it plays at Cleveland State (10-9, 3-3).
Other Top Performers for the Week:
Jillian Bauer, Green Bay (Jr., L) - Bauer led the Phoenix in digs over the weekend, recording 44 in eight sets for an average of 5.5/set.
Kelsey Berrington, Valparaiso (Jr., S) - Berrington averaged better than 11 assists/set for the Crusaders as Valpo hit .260 for the weekend. She had 78 assists in seven sets, while also adding 19 digs and eight kills on a .300 hitting percentage.
Maggie Dunbar, Milwaukee (Jr., RS) - Dunbar averaged 4.5 kills/set on a .400 hitting percentage last week for the Panthers. She also tallied eight service aces and tied her career-high with 17 kills versus Youngstown State.
Maggie Hannon, Cleveland State (Sr., MH) - Hannon had a team-high .528 hitting percentage on the weekend (21-2-36). She posted a team-best 13 kills on a .524 hitting percentage in CSU’s sweep of Green Bay. She had eight kills without an error versus Milwaukee.
Taylor Humm, Oakland (Sr., L) - Humm averaged 4.68 digs per set. She had 27 digs and four service aces in the win over Valparaiso.
Allison Ketcham, Valparaiso (Fr., OH) - Ketcham led Valpo in digs in both matches, finishing with 21 at Oakland and 14 at Wright State. She posted a double-double versus the Raiders, hitting .424 with a match-high 16 kills.
Beth Kuske, Green Bay (Fr., MB) - Kuske had a career-high 15 kills at Youngstown State. She finished the weekend with 23 kills.
Ashley Langjahr, Wright State (Sr., RS) - Langjahr hit .385 against UIC and had two blocks.
Cassie Pelloni, Oakland (Jr., OH) - Pelloni averaged 4.14 kills per set for the Golden Grizzlies last week. She had 16 kills on a .310 attack percentage in the four-set win over Valparaiso.
Aaliyah Slappy, Cleveland State (So., MH) - Slappy led the team with 10 total blocks on the weekend, averaging 1.67 per set. She recorded a career-high eight blocks versus Green Bay.
Maggie Strus, UIC (Sr., DS) - Strus had 21 digs last week for UIC. She had 12 digs in the Flames sweep of Wright State for her 13th consecutive double-digit effort. She had nine digs at Oakland to increase her program-record career total to 1,554.
Jessie Thornton, Wright State (Fr., L) - Thornton had 28 digs in six sets last week. She had 16 digs versus Valparaiso and 12 against UIC.
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
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
