PVB’s College Players of the Week (Free)

Welcome to our Weekly Awards section, which we plan on releasing every Tuesday throughout the season.

We are doing it differently than how most conferences hand out their weekly awards, naming a Player of the Week or Offensive, Defensive, Setter and Libero POWs honors.

Here, we are recognizing three of the best performers at each position.

It’s a big country. We probably could list five or more at each position, but then the Player of the Week awards start to become somewhat diluted the more and more players that are added.

Three at each position is 15 players and it’s not an easy task to be one of the three top players of the weekend at any given position. The reason we aren’t doing a traditional Player of the Week, where we name one standout effort, is because, let’s face it, an award like that is usually dominated by outsides and/or setters.

Those two positions tend to be involved in the most plays, so a middle, opposite or libero must go way beyond the call of duty to climb ahead of the other two positions for recognition. Doing it by position ensures that each spot is getting its proper due and respect.

You have to admit, it’s a bit strange glancing at these conference awards lists and seeing all these names mentioned and there are less than a handful of opposites mentioned!

PREPVOLLEYBALL.COM PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Outside Hitters

Samantha Bricio, USC, Sr – The MVP of the Women of Troy Baden Invitational and the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week award winner, Bricio was an unstoppable force on the left all weekend. She finished the three-match stretch averaging 5.80 kills and 3.20 digs per set. She knocked down 25 kills and hit. 400 in USC’s sweep over BYU. She also had five aces, extending her all-time conference record. She has 58 kills and is hitting .320.

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Silvi Uattara, Syracuse, Sr – The Orange are off to a 3-0 showing after the opening weekend thanks to the production of Uattara. She racked up 45 kills and hit an outstanding .462. It included toasting UConn for 21 kills and 15 digs while hitting .488. For the weekend, she also added 32 digs and 10 blocks and was named MVP of the UConn Invitational. She was also named the ACC Co-Player of the Week.

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Nicole Walch, Florida State, Sr — Walch produced a pair of back-to-back 20-plus kill outings against Oklahoma and Colorado to earn the MVP of the Omni Hotels Colorado Volleyball Classic. She totaled 47 kills, 34 digs and nine blocks as the Seminoles went 2-1 over the weekend.

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Middle Blockers

Abbie Lehman, Wichita State, Soph – Hawaii was the only opponent to defeat Wichita State during the opening weekend of play and part of the reason was the production in the middle the Shockers received from Lehman. She led the team with 12 kills and hit .476 in upsetting Oregon State in straight sets. Despite falling to Hawaii, Lehman poured in a monster match with a career-high 17 kills and hitting .516. On top of that, she had a match-high eight blocks. In sweeping Idaho, Lehman led all players with 10 kills and hit .562. She finished the weekend averaging 3.90 kills and 4.85 points per set, while hitting .515.

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Rhamat Alhassan, Florida, Soph – A player of Alhassan’s talent could land on a list like this often, so we are going to try and reserve placing her on here only when she does something above and beyond her unbelievable norm. For instance, she amassed a career-high and school-record 14 block assists in the Gators’ sweep of James Madison to start the season. There are teams that didn’t have 14 combined blocks in matches over the weekend. She also contributed 12 kills and is averaging 3.29 blocks per set.

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Regan McGuire, TCU, Jr – Picking up MVP honors a the Crosstown Classic, the junior leads the Big 12 in hitting percentage after the first weekend. As TCU went 3-0, McGuire scorched her opponents wit a .575 hitting percentage. She is also No. 1 in the conference in blocks per set at 1.67. In sweeping UTEP, she posted 13 kills, nine blocks and hit .579.

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Opposites

Nikki Taylor, Hawaii, Jr – Taylor’s total tallies from the weekend is as silly as her volleyball game is seriously loaded. Hawaii went 3-0 as Taylor bashed her way to 52 kills and hitting .330. She put up 27 digs and put down 15 blocks as well. In downing Wichita State in four games, Taylor recorded a career-high 25 kills and hit .300 to go with 11 digs. Not only did she earn Most Outstanding Player of the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational, she was named the Big West Conference Player of the Week. So far, her season averages stand at 5.20 kills, 2.70 digs and 1.50 blocks per set.

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Keslie Payne, Kansas, Soph – The Jayhawks dropped just one set in three contests in starting of the season 3-0. To say Payne played a role in it would be a vast understatement. All she did was lead the team in kills over the weekend with 41 – 10 more than the next closest player. Furthermore, she only committed six errors on 80 swings and hit .438. She’s averaging 4.70 points per set.

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Nikki Attea, Arizona, Sr – Attea is yet another right-side attacker to lead her squad in kills early in the year. She transferred to the school for her final season and paid dividends immediately. As the Wildcats moved to 3-0, she posted 33 kills and hit .312. She only had eight errors on 80 swings. She was also second on the team in blocks with 10 and was one of three players to record an ace for Arizona.

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Setters

Jordyn Poulter, Illinois, Fr – The rookie showed why she was the most sought after setter in the nation as the Fighting Illini started the season 3-0, without dropping a set in sweeping Louisville, Miami (OH) and Creighton. Poulter dished out 103 assists, averaging 11.4 per set. She also finished with 10 digs in victories against Miami and Creighton. It was good enough for Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.

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Becca Strehlow, Pepperdine, Sr – For the first time since 2009, the Waves are 4-0 and Strehlow’s hands were instrumental. Against UC Santa Barbara, the senior distributor ended with 39 assists and 22 digs. In the team’s victory over Alabama, Strehlow registered 44 assists and six kills. On top of that, she was a scoring threat as she notched 17 kills on 33 attempts with zero errors. For the weekend, she averaged 10.57 assists, 3.1 digs, 1.2 kills and 0.71 blocks per set.

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Aubrey Edie, Ole Miss, Jr – Edie was named to the Magnolia Invitational All-Tournament Team after compiling 125 assists as the Rebels hit .328 for the weekend and went undefeated. She also added 22 digs, five blocks and five aces. She’s averaging 12.5 assists, 0.50 acec and 2.20 digs per set.

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Liberos

Lea Sack, Bradley, Sr – Sack averaged 5.15 digs, 1.23 assists and 0.38 aces per set in three contests, helping the Braves limit opponents to a .138 hitting percentage. She earned MVP of the Rocket Invitational. In the season opener, Sack set a career high with 31 digs. Later in the day, she recorded 21 digs and put out a career-best nine assists.

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Carlie Foust, Texas Tech, Sr – Texas Tech opened the year 3-0 as Foust took care of the back row in fine fashion. She was yet another player to have a career weekend. She put up 14 digs in the opener, then set a temporary career mark of 18 the next time out. She smashed that and established a new career high with 29 digs against Houston. She’s averaging 6.10 digs per set, which earned her Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.

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Brandi Donnelly, Illinois, Soph – Donnelly was another key performer for Illinois over the weekend. In the team’s close sweep over Louisville, the sophomore went a perfect 17-for-17 in serve receive. On top of that, she made 23 digs. She’s currently averaging 5.4 digs per set.