Volleyball

MVC Volleyball Weekly Notebook (Oct. 27)

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference named its volleyball weekly award winners on Monday. Bradley's Mairen Mannon has been tabbed the MVC Player of the Week and Valparaiso's Emma Hickey is the MVC Defensive Player of the Week. For the third-straight week, UNI's Maryn Bixby has been selected as the MVC Freshman of the Week. 

Conference News & Notes
  • With Western Kentucky’s loss to UTEP, UNI’s 46-match Conference win streak is the longest of its kind in Division I. The Panthers enter this week on a 13-match win streak, which is tied for the third-longest in the country.
  • In Monday’s edition of the RPI, UNI moved up six spots from last week and checks in at No. 33.
  • Valparaiso is second in The Valley standings with an 8-2 mark during league play. Libero Emma Hickey ranks in the Top 25 all-time in Division I in career digs, sitting at 2,546 - the fifth-best mark in MVC history.
  • In addition to UNI’s win streak, Drake extended its win streak to seven-straight after a pair of four-set wins over Indiana State and Illinois State. The Bulldogs have dropped just five sets in that span.
  • UIC enters the week on a five-match win streak and is tied for third with Drake in the league standings with a 7-3 ledger. The Flames’ Ayat Amin has recorded double-digit kills in 10 of her last 11 outings.
  • Indiana State’s Kira Holland set a career-high with 27 kills against Drake, recording the most kills by a Sycamore in a match since 2013 and the most by a player in the MVC this season. 
  • UNI duo, Reese Booth and Sydney Golden, each surpassed 1,000 career assists on Saturday against Indiana State. 

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mairen Mannon, Bradley, Jr., Middle Blocker - Chillicothe, Ill. (Heartland CC)
Bradley’s Mairen Mannon helped the Braves pick up a pair of wins last week, as the junior hit an impressive .604 with 34 total kills. Her .604 hitting percentage marked the highest two-match weekly performance by a Valley player this season with a minimum of 30 total attempts. She tallied a career-high 20 kills to start the week in a win over Murray State. She turned around and added 14 more against the Bruins, turning in the third-best hitting percentage (.565) by a Valley player in a five-set outing this season.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emma Hickey, Valparaiso, Sr., Libero - Granger, Ind. (Penn HS)
Valparaiso’s Emma Hickey led all MVC players in digs/set this week by over a full dig per frame, finishing the week with 50 total digs at 7.14 per set. Hickey led all players in each of the Beacons’ outings on the week. In the third set against SIU on Saturday, Hickey moved into the Top 25 all-time in NCAA Division I history in career digs. She also received 21 serves and went without a reception error.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Maryn Bixby, Northern Iowa, R-Fr., Middle Blocker - Dike, Iowa (Dike-New Hartford HS)
Maryn Bixby continued to be an impact player for the Panthers, leading UNI with nine total blocks, including six in a sweep of the Redbirds, as UNI extended its win streak to 13 matches. Bixby tallied a career-high 14 kills against Illinois State on 20 attempts, hitting .650 in the match. She added six more kills against the Sycamores and finished the weekend with a .679 hitting percentage. Bixby also recorded her first multi-ace performance, delivering two against Indiana State.