Player of the Week
Christina Franco, Queens
Senior | Outside Hitter | Lynbrook, NY
In a 3-0 week for the Knights, which included an integral win over Daemen, Franco rose to the top of the pack as she led the Knights with 26 kills, 47 digs, five assists, and four blocks to go with one double-double. The senior began the week recording nine kills on a hitting percentage of .350 to go with 17 digs, two blocks, and one service ace as Queens swept Pace on Wednesday. Franco was critical in helping the Knights defeat Daemen for the first time since the 2017 season as the Lynbrook, NY native notched seven kills, and 12 digs to lead Queens to the 3-1 victory. Franco would end the week with her sixth double-double of the year with 10 kills and a career-high-matching 18 digs, including the 1,000th dig of her career, to go with one block and two assists in a 3-2 victory over D’Youville.
Defensive Player of the Week
Teagan Weber, Roberts Wesleyan
Senior | Defensive Specialist/Libero | Galveston, TX
Senior Teagan Weber led the Roberts defense in a pair of come-from-behind wins on the road in ECC matches over the weekend. She helped the Redhawks down STAC 3-1 and Mercy 3-2 with at least 20 digs in each match. She totaled 44 digs (4.9/set) with 21 against STAC and 23 in the five-set win at Mercy.
Setter of the Week
Julia Zalta, Molloy
Senior | Setter | Great Neck, NY
Zalta averaged 10.75 assists per set in a 2-1 week for the Lions. The graduate student topped 30 assists and had at lead two aces in each of the three contests, led by 52 assists, three aces, and nine digs against the University of New Haven.
Rookie of the Week
Madi Hathaway, Queens
Freshman | Setter/Right Side | Edmond, OK
In a 3-0 week for the Knights rookie Madi Hathaway produced 23 kills, 31 assists, 17 digs, seven blocks, three service aces, and one double-double. The rookie began the week notching eight kills on .313 hitting %, 13 assists, nine digs, and two blocks as Queens completed a 3-0 sweep over Pace Wednesday evening. In the 3-1 victory versus Daemen Hathaway recorded her seventh double-double of the year with a team-high 10 kills on a hitting % of .308 to go with 13 assists, a career-best four blocks, and three service aces as Queens earned their first victory over Daemen since the 2017 season. The rookie would complete her week notching five kills, five assists, and one block in the 3-2 victory versus D’Youville as Queens improved to 3-0 in ECC play.
ECC Weekly Honor Roll
Gabriela Bieniek, Mercy
Junior | Outside Hitter | Rzeszow, Poland
Bieniek had a team-high 29 kills, 3.63 kills per set, 21 digs and 2.63 digs per set on .254 hitting as Mercy went 1-1 on the week. The junior opened the week with a match-high 13 kills to go with six digs in the Mavericks' win over Southern Connecticut State on Wednesday. Bieniek ended the week with a double-double by way of 16 kills and a team-high 15 digs in Mercy's loss to Roberts Wesleyan on Sunday.
Jasmine Brundage, Daemen
Graduate Student | Libero | East Aurora, NY
Brundage totaled 35 digs (4.375 digs/set) in Daemen's 1-1 weekend. She added nine assists and two aces. Brundage totaled 21 digs (5.25 digs/set) in the Wildcats' loss to Queens on Saturday, marking the fifth time she has notched 20+ digs in a match this season.
Nahirka Malpica, Daemen
Junior | Outside Hitter | Caguas, Puerto Rico
Malpica totaled 26 kills (3.25 kills/set) on 56 attacks with just seven errors for a .332 hitting percentage in Daemen's 1-1 weekend. She added 20 digs, four aces, four total blocks and two assists. The junior led the way in the Wildcats' comeback victory over Molloy on Sunday, totaling 16 kills with just three errors on 30 attacks to hit at a .433 clip. Malpica had a double-double in Saturday's loss to Queens, totaling 10 kills and 11 digs.
Sarah Munn, Queens
Junior | Libero | Torrance, CA
In a 3-0 week for the Knights, Munn produced an ECC-high 71 digs on a 5.92 average to go with nine assists and three service aces. The junior recorded 14 digs in the 3-0 sweep over Pace on Wednesday evening before producing 22 digs in the 3-1 victory over Daemen as Queens earned their first victory over the Wildcats since the 2017 season. Munn completed her week with a single-match program record 35 digs to go with three service aces and five digs as the Knights earned a 3-2 victory over D’Youville and improved to 3-0 in ECC play.
Lindsay Osterhoudt, Queens
Junior | Middle Blocker | Orlando, FL
In a 3-0 week for the Knights, Osterhoudt produced 22 kills with an ECC-best .375 hitting percentage and nine blocks. The junior tallied five kills on a .500 hitting percentage to go with three blocks in the 3-0 sweep over Pace to begin the week. In the 3-1 victory over Daemen, Osterhoudt recorded six kills to go with three blocks as Queens ended an 11-match losing streak over Daemen in ECC play. On Sunday in the 3-2 victory over D’Youville, Osterhoudt recorded a season-best 11 kills on a hitting percentage of .400 to go with three blocks as Queens improved to 3-0 in ECC play.
Olivia Price, Roberts Wesleyan
Junior | Outside Hitter | Oviedo, FL
Price led the Roberts Wesleyan’s offense with the high kills total in each of the two road wins over the weekend in ECC play. She collected 16 kills (.324) in the 3-1 win at STAC Saturday and then added 17 kills (.310) in a thrilling 3-2 comeback win at Mercy on Sunday after the Redhawks dropped the first two sets. She totaled 33 kills (3.7/set) (.316) for the week and added 10 figs and five blocks to her stat line totals.
Adriana Rivera Rodriguez, Mercy
Sophomore | Setter | Humacao, Puerto Rico
Rivera Rodriguez recorded a team-high 95 assists, 11.88 assists per set, 19 digs, four blocks, seven aces and four kills as Mercy went 1-1 on the week. The sophomore opened the week with a match-high 37 assists to go with eight digs, two aces and two kills in Mercy's win over Southern Connecticut State on Wednesday. Rivera Rodriguez ended the week with a career-high and match-high 58 assists with 11 digs, five aces, two kills and four blocks against Roberts Wesleyan on Sunday.
Kiarra Roth, Molloy
Graduate Student | Outside Hitter | Bohemia, NY
Roth averaged 4.08 kills and 2.1 digs per set this week for Molloy. The outside hitter reached double digit kills in all three contests, led by 18 against New Haven. The senior added 12 digs for a double-double. She just missed a second double-double against D'Youville, putting up 14 kills and nine digs. Roth rounded out the week with 49 assists, five digs and two aces against Daemen.
Caleigh Schroeder, Roberts Wesleyan
Junior | Setter | Maplewood, MN
Schroeder had another solid weekend as she helped Roberts Wesleyan to a pair of road wins in conference play with a 3-1 win at STAC and a 3-2 win at Mercy. She had more than 45 assists in each match with 46 against STAC and 47 in the five-set win at Mercy. For the week, she handed out 93 assists (10.3/set) and added six aces and 21 digs.
ECC Women's Volleyball Weekly Award Winners
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 - Madi Hathaway, Queens
Sept. 16 - Madi Hathaway, Queens (2x)
Sept. 23 - Nahirka Malpica, Daemen
Sept. 30 - Kiarra Roth, Molloy
Oct. 7 - Christina Franco, Queens
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 - Sarah Munn, Queens
Sept. 16 - Jasmine Brundage, Daemen and Jonaida Donowa, Queens
Sept. 23 - Jasmine Brundage, Daemen (2x)
Sept. 30 - Jonaida Donowa, Queens (2x) and Emma Wlostowski, D'Youvlle
Oct. 7 - Teagan Weber, Roberts Wesleyan
SETTER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 - Caleigh Schroeder, Roberts Wesleyan
Sept. 16 - Caleigh Schroeder, Roberts Wesleyan (2x)
Sept. 23 - Caleigh Schroeder, Roberts Wesleyan (3x)
Sept. 30 - Mitha Hatwar, D'Youville'
Oct. 7 - Julia Zalta, Molloy
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 - Madi Hathaway, Queens
Sept. 16 - Madi Hathaway, Queens (2x)
Sept. 23 - Isabella Rios, Molloy
Sept. 30 - Madi Hathaway, Queens (3x)
Oct. 7 - Madi Hathaway, Queens (4x)
Previously in the Polls
NCAA EAST REGION RANKINGS
AMERICAN VOLLEYBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION/TARAFLEX TOP 25 NATIONAL POLL
Preseason (8/23): NR
Week 1 (9/9): NR
Week 2 (9/16): NR
Week 3 (9/23): NR
Week 4 (9/30): NR
ECC PRESEASON POLL
1. Daemen (45 points, 4 first-place votes)
2. Mercy (40 points, 2 first-place votes)
3. Molloy (36 points, 1 first-place vote)
4. Queens (26 points)
5. St. Thomas Aquinas (20 points)
6. D'Youville (19 points)
7. Roberts Wesleyan (10 points)