Courtesy: Western Athletic Conference
DENVER – Kansas City freshman right side hitter Melanie Brecka and Chicago State junior defensive specialist Megan Klavitter have been named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Volleyball Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Sept. 17-23. This is the first-ever honor for Brecka and the second honor of the season and of her career for Klavitter.
Brecka, a Lincoln, Neb. native, led the Roos to a 2-0 record after averaging 4.67 points, 4.00 kills on a WAC-best .449 hitting and 0.33 service aces per set last week in a pair of road victories to open WAC play. In a four-set win at Grand Canyon, she tallied 18 kills on 34 attempts with just two errors for a .471 hitting percentage. She also added one ace, five blocks and four digs. In the come-from-behind victory at Utah Valley, Brecka had 18 kills, including 14 in the final three sets, to go along with two aces. It was UMKC’s first 2-0 WAC road weekend since Oct. 16 and 18, 2014 at NM State and UTRGV.
Congrats to freshman @MelB_628 on being selected as the @WACsports Volleyball Player of the Week for the first time in her career! Stay tuned for big things from this athlete. #WACvb #TeamKC #RooUP #RooNationRising pic.twitter.com/0HaYGWVbVa
— UMKC Volleyball (@UMKCVB) September 24, 2018
Klavitter, a Fenton, Mich. native, averaged a WAC-best 6.62 digs per set as Chicago State earned a split on the road to open conference play. She recorded 24 digs in the Cougars’ 3-2 win at Utah Valley last Thursday for their first-ever victory over the Wolverines. On Saturday, Klavitter posted 29 digs and four assists in a three-set loss at Seattle U for a 9.67 digs per set average. She leads the WAC in total digs (378) on the year while also ranking in the Top 10 among the NCAA Division I leaders in digs per set.
Other offensive nominees included: Tesa Oaks of California Baptist averaged 4.67 kills on .278 hitting and 5.22 points per set as the Lancers went 1-1 on the week … CSU Bakersfield’s Brooke Boiseau averaged 3.11 kills per set on .415 hitting and 3.89 points per set as the ‘Runners went 2-0 to open WAC play … Lauryn Dela Cruz of Chicago State averaged 3.38 kills and 3.75 points per set as the Cougars went 1-1 on the week … Grand Canyon’s Annabelle Kubinski averaged 2.75 kills on .381 hitting last week … Tatyana Battle of NM State averaged 3.40 kills on .266 hitting over two matches last week … Seattle U’s Sofia Sanchez averaged 3.50 kills on .278 hitting and 3.92 points per set as the Redhawks went 1-1 on the week … Ragni Steen Knudsen of UT Rio Grande Valley averaged 3.75 kills and 4.00 points per set last week … Utah Valley’s Kazna Tarawhiti averaged 4.40 kills on .255 hitting and 4.75 points per set last week.
Other defensive nominees included: California Baptist’s Sydney Marks averaged 1.22 blocks per set … Krista Hernandez of CSU Bakersfield averaged 5.33 digs per set … Kansas City’s Tyrecia Lukes averaged 1.56 blocks per set … Gysell Zayas of UT Rio Grande Valley averaged 4.38 digs and 1.13 assists per set … Utah Valley’s Makaila Jarema averaged 1.40 blocks per set.
Leave a Reply