LANCASTER, Pa. - The Atlantic East Conference announced the Women’s Volleyball weekly award winners on Monday as Marymount’s Harper Wolf and Neumann’s Dani Smith earned Player and Specialty Player of the Week honors, respectively.
Player of the Week:
Name: Harper Wolf
School: Marymount
Class: Sophomore
Position: Outside Hitter
Hometown: Austin, Texas
High School: Westlake
Brief Outlook of Week: Sophomore Harper Wolf had a career showing in the Saints' 3-1 win over Ursinus Friday evening, overpowering the Bears on the offensive front with 23 kills, a new career-high in a single match for the outside. She hit at a staggering .314 clip in the win. Across the 1-1 week, Wolf averaged 4.67 kills per set, while knocking at a .308 hitting percentage, to average 4.92 points per set, finishing with 29.5 total points.
Specialty Player of the Week:
Name: Dani Smith
School: Neumann
Class: Senior
Position: Setter
Hometown: Morinville, Alberta
High School: Morinville Community
Brief Outlook of Week: Dani Smith handed out 116 assists (8.92/set) in a 1-2 week for Neumann. The two losses game in five-sets. The senior added 38 digs and seven service aces. In both five-set matches, Smith dished out over 40 assists, 46 against St. Mary’s and 41 at Widener.
Weekly Honor Roll:
Mel Mann (Fy., Immaculata): Mel Mann had 26 kills combined over four matches for Immaculata. Mann had five kills vs Penn State Abington on September 16th, she had six kills against Widener on September 19th. She had 12 kills vs Bryn Athyn and three kills vs Dickinson on September 21st. She also contributed with a combined 10 digs.
Melissa Eddy (Fy., Neumann): Melissa Eddy tallied 38 kills (2.92/set) in a 1-2 week for the Knights, in which both loses were in five-sets. The first year added 30 digs, seven service aces and four blocks. Eddy notched 14 kills in both five-setters, along with 14 and 12 digs, respectively. She followed with 10 kills in a 3-0 win over NJCU.
Bria Purnell (5th, Gwynedd Mercy): It was a historical week for fifth-year outside hitter Bria Purnell (Reading, Pa.), who surpassed 1,000 career kills in a 2-1 week that saw Gwynedd Mercy University earn wins over Alvernia University (W, 3-2; 25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 20-25, 15-13 on Sept. 19) and Goucher College (W, 3-0; 25-22, 25-21, 25-16 on Sept. 21). Purnell reached her milestone with 22 kills in the Griffins' marathon match with the Golden Wolves; she also recorded an assist and 13 digs. In the win over the Gophers, Purnell totaled 17 kills, an assist, three aces, and 17 digs.
Colleen Russell (So., Pratt): Colleen Russell registered double-figure kills three times over a four-match stretch where Pratt went the distance in three straight matches and finished with a 2-2 mark. The sophomore middle had 13 kills, 16 digs, four blocks (three solo) and two aces in a five-set come-from-behind home win over CCNY. She highlighted her week with a career-high 19 kills on .318 hitting with eight digs and one block to key a comeback bid from two sets down to St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn that would fall short in five. On the week, she averaged 2.67 kills, 2.28 and .33 blocks per set while hitting .135.
Casey Hagerstrom (Gr., Marywood): Hagerstrom broke the Marywood single-match records for kills and points in the Pacers' five-set win over SUNY Delhi. She had 26 kills and a .431 attack percentage, adding six total blocks, two aces and three digs for a 31 ½ point performance. In a 1-2 week for the Pacers, Hagerstrom finished with 33 kills (11 per match), 13 digs, four aces, seven total blocks for a .305 attack percentage.
Ayanna Gaston (Jr., Gwynedd Mercy): It was a historical week for junior setter Ayanna Gaston (Middletown, Del.), who reached 100 career aces with her marksmanship in Gwynedd Mercy University's 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 20-25, 15-13) win at Alvernia University (Sept. 19). She also helped the Griffins in a 3-2 (25-20, 16-25, 25-19, 19-25, 10-15) loss to Hood College (Sept. 21) and a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-16) win over Goucher College (Sept. 21). Against the Gophers, she recorded two kills, 31 assists, four aces, and five digs.
Natalie Bialecki (Sr., Marymount): Senior setter Natalie Bialecki averaged 7.14 assists per set across the Saints 1-1 week, collecting a total of 50 assists. Adding 13 digs, she averaged 1.86 per set, while also knocking three kills and two block assists.
Dinah Stabinski (Sr., Immaculata): Dinah Stabinski had a combined 64 digs, five assists, and two service aces over four matches this week for Immaculata. She had 14 digs against Penn State Abington on September 16. She had 14 digs vs Widener on September 19. She had 30 digs vs Bryn Athyn on September 21st, and six digs vs Dickinson on September 21st.
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
(916) – Player of the Week: Melissa Eddy, Neumann; Specialty Player of the Week: Dani Smith, Neumann