Best of Week 2: Cincinnati’s Thompson Named VolleyMob Player of the Wk

This week’s VolleyMob Player of the Week was all over the stat sheet, racking up more than six kills and three digs per set, while hitting .333 in three wins as she led her team to a 3-0 mark.

Cincinnati’s Jordan Thompson averaged a conference-best 6.57 kills per set, while hitting .333 and earning three double-doubles. The redshirt junior outside hitter’s stat line also included 3.07 digs, 0.50 services aces (7) and 0.50 blocks per set. She hit .364 on Saturday with a American Athletic Conference four-set record 31 kills in a 3-1 win over Colorado State. The Edina, Minnesota, native returned to the court later in the day, recording 29 kills, 19 digs and a .294 hitting percentage in a 3-2 win over TCU. She reached the 30-kill mark again on Sunday, knocking down 32, while hitting .343 with four service aces and 10 digs to pace her team to a second-straight five set win, this time over Florida State.

Elan McCall, TCU – Fr., OH

Averaged 6.00 kills per set to go along with a .291 hitting clip and 2.08 digs per set at the Colorado State Tournament; posted 13 kills, four digs and two aces, while hitting .175 vs. Florida State; notched 28 kills, seven blocks, eight digs and an ace, while hitting .306 vs. Cincinnati; posted career-high 31 kills to go with 13 digs and a block while hitting .349 at Colorado State; became the  first TCU volleyball player to record at least 30 kills in a match since Amy Atamanczuk put down 30 kills against Cal State Fullerton on September 16, 2000; also made good on 49 of 50 (98 percent) of her serve reception chances; named Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the second straight week

Erika Pritchard, Maryland – So., OH

Averaged 5.6 kills and 3.5 digs per set while hitting .371 in three wins; posted 15 kills, 10 digs and a block while hitting .462 at Akron; downed a career-high 22 kills and career-best 15 digs vs. Stony Brook, while hitting .250; rounded out her third double-double with 19 kills, 10 digs and three blocks, while hitting .514 vs. Canisius; made good on 94 percent of her serve reception chances (49 of 53).

Andie Shelton, Duke – Gr., S/OH

Averaged 2.07 kills, 2.54 digs,  5.92 assists  while hitting .258 personally and guiding the team to a .233 effort; posted 11-kill, 27 assist, 15-dig triple double to go with three aces and three blocks vs. USF, while hitting .391 (11-2-23) and setting the team to a .204 effort (61-22-191); just missed another triple double with 11 kills, 23 assists, eight digs, three blocks and an ace, while hitting .348 (11-3-23) and leading team to a .245 effort (57-18-159) at LSU; notched 27-assists, 10-dig double-double to go with five kills, three blocks and three aces vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi, hitting .000 (5-5-20) and leading team to a .254 mark (67-24-169); ACC Player of the Week

Yumi Garcia, Charlotte – Jr., L
Averaged 7.53 digs and 1.18 assists per set; logged school record 44 digs at Davidson, while going 19-for-19 on serve receive; added 36 saves, eight assists and three aces vs. Bryant; posted 28 digs, seven assists at Fordham; notched 20 digs, three assists and an ace vs. Marist; made good on 88 of 92 serve reception attempts (95.7 percent)

CC Clausen, USF – Fr., L

Averaged 6.57 digs per set and notched a .934 reception percentage through a 2-1 weekend in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to lead all defensive specialists across the American Athletic Conference; named the Tiger Classic Best Defender for her performance; tallied 34 digs against Duke before pacing her team to a pair of five-set wins over Texas A&M Corpus Christi and LSU; recorded 28 digs against the Islanders and 30 against the Tigers. American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week

Kayla Afoa, Nevada – So., OH

Averaged 4.36 kills and 4.36 digs per set, while hitting .285 in leading the Wolfpack to a 3-0 mark and the NIU Tournament title; notched 16 kills, while adding 15 digs and an ace and hitting .273 vs. Virginia (16-4-44); tallied a career-high 18 kills to go with 17 digs and an ace while hitting .359 (18-4-39) vs. Northern Illinois; posted 14-kill, 16-dig double-double and two aces while hitting .233 (14-4-43) vs. Northern Kentucky; Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week; named MVP of Northern Illinois tournament

Mariena Hayden, UNLV – So., OH

Hayden led the Rebels in kills (58) with 4.46 per set to go with 19 aces (1.46 per set) and 62 digs (4.77 per set), while hitting at a .239 clip; posted three double-doubles on the weekend; notched 26 kills, 18 digs and a career-high nine aces vs. Youngstown State; posted 19 kills, 17 digs, three blocks and two aces, while hitting .261; registered 13 kills, a career-high 26 digs, eight aces, two assists and two blocks, but hit just .111

Makala Heidelberg, Tulane – Fr., OH

Averaged 4.53 digs, 2.6 kills and 1.00 blocks per set, while hitting .253; started the week with 12 digs, four kills, two blocks and an ace against Nebraska Omaha while hitting .500; posted 12 kills, 21 digs, one block and one ace, while hitting .265 vs. Wofford; added 12 digs, 6 kills, four assists, three aces and a block, while hitting .000 at South Alabama; tallied five digs and a kill while hitting .250 vs. Alabama State; rounded out the week with a 16-kill, 18-dig double-double on a .313 hitting effort at Georgia Tech; named to Georgia Tech Invitational all-tournament team

Emily DeWalt, Texas State – Fr., S

Averaged 11.07 assists and 3.80 digs per set; named the MVP of the Creeds & Crests Classic after leading Texas State to a perfect 4-0 week; recorded double-doubles in all four matches and finished with 166 assists (11.07/set), 57 digs (3.80/set), 11 kills (0.73/set), 10 blocks (0.67) and eight aces (0.53/set); began the week with a 47-assist, 24-dig performance against UTSA, and the dig total was the highest by a Bobcat setter since 2007; recorded 39 assists, 10 digs, four blocks and three aces in a win over James Madison; concluded her tournament with 44 assists, 13 digs, five kills, three aces and three blocks in a triumph over Abilene Christian; Sun Belt Conference Setter and Freshman of the Week