Player and Rookie of the Week
Madi Hathaway, Queens
Freshman | Setter/Right Side | Edmond, OK
In a 3-2 week for the Knights, Hathaway paced the women’s volleyball team with 50 kills (.287 hitting percentage) on 2.50 kills per set, 86 assists on 4.30 assists per set, 63 digs on 3.15 digs per set, and 10 blocks to go with three triple-doubles and two double-doubles. The rookie recorded three double-digit kills performances, including two 12-kill matches, a career-best 27 assists against East Stroudsburg, and tied a career-best three service aces and three blocks on two separate occasions.
At the Aline Pascale Lubin Invitational, Hathaway recorded three straight triple-doubles to go with one double-double. In the 3-1 victory over Post, the rookie notched 12 kills on 28 attempts, posting a .393 hitting percentage, 14 assists, and 18 digs and notched a career-best three blocks. Concluding the weekend, Hathaway posted eight kills on a .304 hitting percentage with 19 assists and 12 digs to go with a career-best tying performance of three service aces and three blocks in the 3-1 victory over Saint Anselm as Queens improved to 7-2 on the year.
Among all nominees for this week’s Player of the Week, Hathaway ranked first in total assists (86) and total digs (63) and tied for the lead in total blocks (10) and ranked third in total kills (50), total service aces (6), and total points (62.0).
Co-Defensive Players of the Week
Jasmine Brundage, Daemen
Graduate Student | Libero | East Aurora, NY
Brundage led Daemen in digs across all three matches at the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament, totaling 52 digs and an ECC-leading 4.73 digs per set without committing a single receiving error. The Daemen graduate student totaled 18 digs against both New Haven and AIC and dished out 16 digs against Bentley. She notched four service aces against New Haven, as well.
Jonaida Donowa, Queens
Freshman | Middle Blocker | Porter, TX
In a 3-2 week for the Knights, Donowa recorded 35 kills, 17 blocks, 15 digs, and five service aces. The middle blocker posted a career-high performance of 11 kills, seven digs, and four blocks against East Stroudsburg on Friday afternoon. On Saturday, Donowa recorded 16 kills, four service aces, and nine blocks against Pitt-Johnstown and Saint Anselm. In the 3-1 victory over Saint Anselm Donowa, tallied 10 kills on 18 attempts with a hitting percentage of .333 to go with a career-best five blocks and three service aces as Queens improved to 7-2 on the season.
Setter of the Week
Caleigh Schroeder, Roberts Wesleyan
Junior | Setter | Maplewood, MN
Schroeder notched 163 assists and 10.19 assists per set in a 3-1 weeks for the Redhawks, with four double-doubles on the weekend. The Roberts Wesleyan junior setter recorded 47 assists and 23 digs against Converse, 39 assists and 11 digs against Charleston, 35 assists and 10 digs against Elizabeth City State, and 42 assists and 18 digs against Barton. Her weekend totals were 163 assists 62 digs, 13 kills, 15 service aces and eight blocks in 16 sets.
ECC Weekly Honor Roll
Gabriela Bieniek, Mercy
Junior | Outside Hitter | Rzeszow, Poland
Bieniek had a team-high 31 kills and 4.43 kills per set with 21 digs and a team-high eight aces as Mercy went 2-0 on the week. The junior opened the week with 13 kills, 16 digs and three aces in Mercy's 3-1 win over Assumption on Tuesday. The outside hitter ended the week with a match-high 18 kills and five aces to go along with five digs in Mercy's 3-0 win at Dominican on Thursday. Among all nominees for this week’s Player of the Week, Bieniek ranked first in points per set (5.86) and second in kills per set and service aces.
Despina Boudouris, Queens
Senior | Setter | Athens, Greece
In a 3-2 week for the Knights, Boudouris totaled 136 assists on 6.80 assists per set, 49 digs on 2.45 digs per set, and two double-doubles. The senior also became the sixth player in program history to surpass the 2,000-assist mark. In the Knights’ 3-1 victory over Post, Boudouris recorded 27 assists, 18 digs, and two service aces as Queens completed the season series sweep over the Eagles. To close out the weekend, the Athens, Greece native recorded 33 assists and six digs in the 3-1 victory over Saint Anselm as Queens improved to 7-2 on the year.
Christina Franco, Queens
Senior | Outside Hitter | Lynbrook, NY
In a strong week for the Knights, Franco recorded 53 kills on 2.79 kills per set and 59 digs on 3.11 digs per set to go with three double-doubles. In the 3-1 victory over Post, Franco notched 11 kills and 15 digs to help Queens complete the season series sweep Friday afternoon. On Saturday against Pitt-Johnstown and Saint Anselm, the senior recorded two double-doubles, notching 32 kills and 31 digs to go with two blocks. Against the Mountain Cats ,Franco tied a season-high 16 digs performance before saving the best for the last match of the weekend against St. Anselm, dropping a season-best performance of 17 kills with a hitting percentage of .417 to go with 15 digs as Queens earned a 3-1 victory.
Aria Miller, Molloy
Sophomore | Libero | Miliani, HI
Miller averaged 17.75 digs per match in a 3-1 week for the Lions, topping 20 digs against both Caldwell and Saint Anselm. The sophomore also averaged 2.25 aces per match, putting up four against St. A's. On the week, she also tallied three games of five or more assists, averaging 4.75 per match.
Sarah Munn, Queens
Junior | Libero | Torrance, CA
Munn recorded 120 digs on 6.00 per set to go with 24 assists and four service aces. In the 3-1 victory over Post, Munn nearly notched her second double-double of the year with 26 digs and nine assists. Against East Stroudsburg, Munn tied a career-high performance of 31 digs. On Saturday, Munn recorded 50 digs including a 27 dig performance in the 3-1 victory over Saint Anselm as Queens improved to 7-2 on the season.
Evie Paalman, St. Thomas Aquinas
Freshman | Outside Hitter | Laren Gelderland, Netherlands
Paalman recorded a .226 hitting percentage for the Spartans on a 3-2 week. The St. Thomas Aquinas freshman totaled 65 kills, nine service aces, 52 digs and two block assists across 16 sets against Bloomfield, Assumption, Pitt-Johnstown, East Stroudsburg and Caldwell. Among all nominees for this week’s Player of the Week, Paalman ranked first in service aces (9), second in total points and kills, and third in total digs.
Olivia Price, Roberts Wesleyan
Junior | Outside Hitter | Oviedo, FL
Price led the Roberts offense to another 3-1 week and a 6-2 start to the season with three double-doubles. She recorded 14 kills and 18 digs against Converse and added 14 kills and 13 digs Charleston. On Saturday, she added a five kill, 10 dig effort against Elizabeth City and capped the weekend with a 15-kill, 14-dig performance against Barton. For the weekend she recorded 48 kills in 16 sets with six aces, five blocks and 55 digs.
Adriana Rivera Rodriguez, Mercy
Sophomore | Setter | Humacao, Puerto Rico
Rivera Rodriguez had a team-high 79 assists and 11.29 assists per set with nine digs, two aces, two kills and four blocks as Mercy went 2-0 this week. The sophomore opened the week with a match-high 43 assists to go with two kills, two aces and three digs in the win 3-1 win over Assumption on Tuesday. Rivera Rodriguez ended the week with a match-high 36 assists to go with six digs and three blocks in the 3-0 win at Dominican on Thursday.
Kiarra Roth, Molloy
Graduate Student | Outside Hitter | Bohemia, NY
Roth averaged 18.5 kills, 12.25 digs, and 2.5 blocks per match in a 3-1 week for the Lions. The outside hitter compiled three double-doubles, including setting a season-high 22 kills against Saint Anselm and season-high 16 digs against Caldwell. On the week, the graduate student had two contests with over 20 kills. She also added a season-high five blocks against Saint Anselm. Among all nominees for this week’s Player of the Week, Roth ranked first in total kills (74) and total points (82.0), and tied for the lead in total blocks (10). She also ranked third in kills per set (4.35) and points per set (4.82).
Abby Ryan, Daemen
Graduate Student | Outside Hitter | Orchard Park, NY
Ryan posted a team-best 57 kills over three matches at the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament, where the Wildcats finished 2-1. The Daemen outside hitter posted a career-high 26 kills, 28.5 points per set, and 13 digs for a double-double against New Haven and dished out 13 kills, seven digs and a career-high four total blocks in Daemen's sweep of AIC. She added a hitting percentage north of .300 against both New Haven and AIC. Among all nominees for this week’s Player of the Week, Ryan ranked first in kills per set (4.70), second in points per set, and third in total blocks.
ECC Women's Volleyball Weekly Award Winners
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 - Madi Hathaway, Queens
Sept. 16 - Madi Hathaway, Queens (2x)
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 - Sarah Munn, Queens
Sept. 16 - Jasmine Brundage, Daemen and Jonaida Donowa, Queens
SETTER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 - Caleigh Schroeder, Roberts Wesleyan
Sept. 16 - Caleigh Schroeder, Roberts Wesleyan (2x)
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 - Madi Hathaway, Queens
Sept. 16 - Madi Hathaway, Queens (2x)
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
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)