Burnsville, MN (NSUWolves.com / NSIC Press Release) – Following the second week of competition, Northern State University sophomore Abby Meister has been honored as the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week. Meister and the Wolves went 4-0 last weekend from the Black Hills State Yellow Jacket Classic.
NSIC Defensive Player of the Week – #3 Abby Meister (L, 5-6, So., Sioux Falls, S.D. / Harrisburg HS)
– Led the NSIC with 102 digs, averaging 6.80 digs per set
– Racked up a season high 41 digs against Texas A&M Kingsville, averaging 8.20 per set
– Added four assists, four aces, and two kills
– Named to the Black Hills All-Tournament Team
– Leads the NSIC in total digs (184) and digs per set (6.34)
NSIC Offensive Player of the Week
#8 Kenzie Foley (OH, 6-1, Sr., Sergeant Bluff, Iowa / Sergeant Bluff-Luton) – St. Cloud State
– Earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Up North Tournament
– Terminated 74 kills at a 4.93 per-set clip while hitting a red-hot .340
– Added 53 digs for 3.53 per set
– Posted three double-doubles including her first 20-20 effort of the season
– Become the fastest player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills
– Provided 5.50 points a set by adding four aces and eight blocks
– Led the NSIC in kills and points 82.5 points
NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#3 Abby Meister (L, 5-6, So., Sioux Falls, S.D. / Harrisburg HS) – Northern State
– Led the NSIC with 102 digs, averaging 6.80 digs per set
– Racked up a season high 41 digs against Texas A&M Kingsville, averaging 8.20 per set
– Added four assists, four aces, and two kills
– Named to the Black Hills All-Tournament Team
– Leads the NSIC in total digs (184) and digs per set (6.34)
NSIC Setter of the Week**
#5 Teagan Starkey (S, 5-8, Jr., Lakeville, Minn. / Lakeville South HS) – Concordia-St. Paul
– Colorado Premier Challenge Most Valuable Player
– Averaged 12.11 assists per set as CSP defeated the No. 1, 3 and 22-ranked teams in the country
– Had a pair of double-doubles with 59 assists and 15 digs against No. 1 West Texas A&M
– Added 68 assists and 13 digs against No. 3 Wayne State in the championship
– Topped 40 assists in all four matches
– The 68-assist performance is an NCAA Division II single-match high on the season
– Directed a team offensive attack that hit .277 against elite competition
– Leads Division II with 12.77 assists per set on the season, with CSP ranking fifth in the nation in team hitting (.295) and sixth in kills (14.84)
– Named NSIC Setter of the Week for the second week in a row
Others Under Consideration
OFFENSE
Zayda Priebe (BSU)
– Earned MVP honors at the Mountain Lion Classic All-Tournament
– Led the Beavers in kills with 49, digs with 12 and points with 55
– Averaged 2.72 kills per set and hit an impressive .416 in 89 chances
– Hit .643 against Colorado Springs and added a .462 hitting clip in the win over Western Colorado
Sophie Andersen (CSP)
– Led the Golden Bears in kills/set (3.57) and hitting percentage (.374) to capture the Colorado Premier Challenge title
– Cleaned up in the championship match with 23 kills while hitting .588 (23-3-34) to defeat #3 Wayne State in five sets
– Her 23-kill performance was the third-most kills in a match in the NSIC this year
– Opened the tournament with 16 kills, hitting .464 (16-3-28) in a 4-set win over #22 Western Washington
– Added nine kills in a semifinal win against #1 West Texas A&M in the semifinals
– Ranked 5th in the NSIC in hitting percentage (.365) and kills/set (3.62) on the season, leading the Golden Bears in both statistics
Samantha Paulsen (UMD)
– Led the team in kills per set (3.15) as the Bulldogs hosted the Up North Tournament
– Was one of three Bulldogs to record at least 12 blocks in the four matches
– Recorded a season-high 15 points in a win vs. Northern Michigan
– Had a season-high five blocks in a win vs. Southern New Hampshire
– Was named to the Up North All-Tournament Team
Kelsie Cada (WSC)
– Named to the Colorado Premier Challenge All-Tournament team
– Hit .284 with 52 kills and 32 digs
– Recorded 14 kills in win vs. #13 West Florida while holding a .700 hitting per-centage
– Recorded 19 kills in five set loss to #2 Concordia-St. Paul
DEFENSE
Kiya Durant (MSU)
– Recorded a total of 21 blocks in four matches over the course of the weekend
– Averaged nearly 1.5 blocks per set.
– Had seven blocks against Cameron
– Added 12 digs during the weekend
SETTER
Madison Gordon (UMD)
– Averaged 11.38 assists per set, with 9 kills, 1.92 digs per set, and six blocks
– Recorded her third double-double of the season with a season-high 54 assists and 10 digs in a win vs. Southern New Hampshire
– Had at least 34 assists in each of the three UMD wins
– Was named to the Up North All-Tournament Team
Keri Walker (NSU)
– Dished out 159 total assists, pacing Northern State to a .217 attack percentage
– Averaged 10.60 assists per set
– Led the team with five aces
– Added a team second best 52 digs and 15 blocks
Emma Berran (SCSU)
– Dished out 11.20 assists per set on a .438 assist percentage while adding 1.27 digs/set, five blocks and four aces
– Posted one double-double and directed the Huskies offense to a league-leading 14.87 kills/set on .278 hitting
Rachel Walker (WSC)
– Averaged 10.00 assists per set at Colorado Premier Challenge
– Recorded 42 digs, 7 blocks and five kills, and five ace serves across four matches
– Tallied 40 Assists against #19 Regis, 43 assists vs. #2 Concordia-St. Paul
– Named to the Colorado Premier Challenge All-Tournament Team