LANCASTER, Pa. - The Atlantic East Conference announced the Women’s Volleyball weekly award winners on Monday as Gwynedd Mercy’s Bria Purnell and Ayanna Gaston earned Player and Specialty Player of the Week honors, respectively.
Player of the Week:
Name: Bria Purnell
School: Gwynedd Mercy
Class: Fifth-Year
Position: Outside Hitter
Hometown: Reading, Pa.
High School: Berks Catholic
Brief Outlook of Week: Purnell became Gwynedd Mercy University's all-time kill leader this week, surpassing Chrissy Longbottom ‘06 (1,093) during her 14-kill effort in the Griffins’ 3-0 (25-15, 25-26-24, 25-14) win at Bryn Mawr College. The next day, she provided 20 kills, 2 assists, an ace, and 11 digs in a 3-1 loss (20-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22) to Widener University. Purnell totaled 36.0 points this week with 34 kills and two aces; she also recorded three assists and 19 digs.
Specialty Player of the Week:
Name: Ayanna Gaston
School: Gwynedd Mercy
Class: Junior
Position: Setter
Hometown: Middletown, Del.
High School: Middletown
Brief Outlook of Week: Gaston piloted the Griffins to a 1-1 week with 70 assists and totaled 9.5 points with two kills, five aces, a solo block, and three block assists. In a 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 25-14) win over Bryn Mawr College, she totaled 31 assists, two aces, a solo block, two block assists, and 13 digs. A day later, Gaston recorded two kills, 39 assists, three aces, a block assist, and 10 digs in a 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22) loss to Widener University.
Weekly Honor Roll:
Natalie Dziadzio (Sr., Pratt): Natalie Dziadzio was one of the team's top point producers over Pratt's 1-1 week, highlighted by a straight-set win over York (NY). The senior totaled 11 kills (1.83/set) while hitting .269 and served up four aces with two blocks (one solo).
Jenna Bozzo (So., Immaculata): Jenna Bozzo had three kills, four assists, one service ace, and had two digs in Immaculata's match vs Eastern University on October 4th.
Eliza Freeman (Sr., Marymount): Senior Eliza Freeman posted 14 digs in the Saints' loss to Salisbury last Wednesday, averaging 4.67 digs per set. She has dug out 223 digs on the season thus far.
Dani Smith (Sr., Neumann): Dani Smith handed out 57 assists and tallied 33 digs for the Knights. Against Messiah, the senior reached the 1,000 digs plateau for her career. Smith dished out 41 assists and 18 digs in a loss to Muhlenberg in yet another 5-set match. At Messiah, she finished with 16 assists and 15 digs.
Previous Weekly Award Winners:
(9/2) - Player of the Week: Poppy Skjonnemand, Centenary; Specialty Player of the Week: Natalie Bialecki, Marymount
(9/9) - Player of the Week: Kate Etter, Gwynedd Mercy; Specialty Player of the Week: Ayanna Gaston, Gwynedd Mercy
(9/16) – Player of the Week: Melissa Eddy, Neumann; Specialty Player of the Week: Dani Smith, Neumann
(9/23) – Player of the Week: Harper Wolf, Marymount; Specialty Player of the Week: Dani Smith, Neumann
(9/30) – Player of the Week: Bria Purnell, Gwynedd Mercy; Specialty Player of the Week: Dani Smith, Neumann