In this week’s Big Ten Conference awards, Penn State’s Haleigh Washington earns the Player of the Week honor after helping the Nittany Lions to a 2-0 week. Also earning honors this week are Michigan’s Claire Kieffer-Wright (Defensive Player of the Week), Purdue’s Ashley Evans (Setter of the Week) and Wisconsin’s Dana Rettke (Freshman of the Week).
Player of the Week
Haleigh Washington – senior – Penn State
This is not Washington’s first Big Ten Player of the Week honor this season, as she garnered the award back on September 5. In her career, Washington has earned the Player of the Week honor seven times, with her teammate Ali Frantti taking the last honor on September 11 of this year. This week, though, Washington helped the Nittany Lions to an unbeaten record with wins over Illinois and Northwestern.
Overall, Washington averaged 3.5 kills and 1.5 blocks per set while hitting an astounding .556 on the week.
Against Illinois, Washington led the team with 11 kills, four blocks and two aces while hitting for .547. In the match versus Northwestern, Washington added another 10 kills, five blocks and three digs to her tally.
Defensive Player of the Week
Claire Kieffer-Wright – senior – Michigan
This week, Kieffer-Wright averaged 2.0 blocks and 3.5 kills per set to pace Michigan to wins over Maryland and Ohio State. This is Kieffer-Wright’s first Defensive Player of the Week honor.
Against the Buckeyes, Kieffer-Wright posted a career-best nine blocks while adding 13 kills in the win. For the weekend, she recorded 16 blocks and 28 kills on a .440 hitting percentage.
Setter of the Week
Ashley Evans – senior – Purdue
On the week, Evans dished out an average of 12.0 assists per set, guiding the Boilermakers to a .444 hitting percentage in back-to-back sweeps over Indiana. This is Evans first-ever Big Ten Setter of the Week honor.
Evans posted 72 assists, 11 digs, five kills and three blocks across the two matches. For the season, Evans has led Purdue to the second-best hitting percentage in the nation (.351) and the Big Ten’s best kills per set average (14.64) this season.
Freshman of the Week
Dana Rettke – freshman – Wisconsin
For the week, Rettke posted an average of 2.9 kills per set and 1.3 blocks per set on a .396 hitting clip. These numbers helped the Badgers to a 1-1 week in Big Ten play. In her short collegiate career, Rettke has earned now her fourth Freshman of the Week honor, along with a Player of the Week award last week.
Against Iowa, Rettke led the Badgers with 12 kills and four blocks and was error-free on a .600 hitting percentage. In the team’s loss to Nebraska, Rettke posted 11 kills, six blocks and an ace.
2017 Big Ten Players of the Week
Aug. 28
P: Stephanie Samedy, Fr., MINN
P: Dana Rettke, Fr., WIS
D: Ali Bastianelli, Jr., ILL
S: Sydney Hilley, Fr., WIS
F: Stephanie Samedy, MINN
F: Dana Rettke, WIS
Sept. 5
P: Haleigh Washington, Sr., PSU
D: Briana Holman, Sr., NEB
S: Samantha Seliger-Swenson, Jr., MINN
F: Sydney Hilley, WIS
Sept. 11
P: Ali Frantti, Sr., PSU
D: Tionna Williams, Jr., WIS
S: Kelly Hunter, Sr., NEB
F: Hannah Gruensfelder, OSU
F: Dana Rettke, WIS
Sept. 18
P: Carly Skjodt, Jr., MICH
P: Simone Lee, Sr., PSU
D: Brandi Donnelly, Sr., ILL
S: Samantha Seliger-Swenson, Jr., MINN
F: Gabrielle Orr, IOWA
F: Stephanie Samedy, MINN
Sept. 25
P: Annika Albrecht, Sr., NEB
D: Autumn Bailey, Sr., MSU
D: Molly Lohman, Sr., MINN
S: Kelly Hunter, Sr., NEB
F: Dana Rettke, WIS
Oct. 2
P: Haleigh Washington, Sr., PSU
D: Claire Kieffer-Wright, Sr., MICH
S: Ashley Evans, Sr., PUR
F: Dana Rettke, WIS
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