Volleyball

MVC Volleyball Weekly Notebook (Oct. 6)

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its volleyball weekly honors on Monday. UNI's Cassidy Hartman has been tabbed the MVC Player of the Week while Valparaiso's Emma Hickey is repeating as the league's Defensive Player of the Week. Illinois State's Ella Craggs is the MVC Freshman of the Week. 

Conference News & Notes
  • UNI remained undefeated in league action after besting Drake, 3-1, and sweeping Murray State, 3-0. UNI has now won 40-straight matches in MVC regular-season play dating back to the start of the 2023 Conference slate. The Panthers have also won 46-consecutive matches over MVC challengers in both the regular season and postseason.
  • Belmont improved to 12-3 on the year and 3-1 in Valley play with a pair of wins over Evansville and Southern Illinois. The Bruins’ start to the season marks their best since 2006 where they finished 24-7 overall.
  • Valparaiso earned a pair of five-set victories over Illinois State and Bradley on the road to move to 3-1 on the year. The last time the Beacons won Conference matches on consecutive days was in 1988.
  • The Beacons are leading The Valley and rank in the Top 15 nationally in team assists (717), digs (964) and kills (779). Southern Illinois follows closely behind in each category, ranking in the Top 20. 
  • Belmont ranks 13th in Division I with a league-best 111 service aces, while Illinois State’s 140 blocks are the 11th-most in the country.
  • UNI leads the Conference and ranks eighth nationally in kills per set (14.39) and ninth in assists per frame (13.31).
  • UIC’s Julieta Sandez ranks third in the country in hitting percentage (.479), while Valparaiso’s Emma Hickey and Evansville’s Ainoah Cruz continue to rank among the best nationally in total digs.
  • Belmont’s Lilly Lutz and Brooke Gilleland have each reached career milestones this season. Lutz surpassed 1,000 career digs while Gilleland eclipsed 1,000 career kills.  

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cassidy Hartman, Northern Iowa, Jr., Outside Hitter - North Liberty, Iowa (Iowa City Liberty HS)
UNI’s Cassidy Hartman carried the Panthers to a pair of victories over Drake and Murray State to remain undefeated in league play. Hartman led UNI in kills, averaging 5.29 kills per set with a .325 hitting percentage. She tied her career high with 23 kills against the Bulldogs while notching back-to-back double-doubles. She added nine blocks to her stat line, averaging 1.29 per frame. 

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emma Hickey, Valparaiso, Sr., Libero - Granger, Ind. (Penn HS)
Valparaiso’s Emma Hickey finished the weekend with 56 digs, averaging 5.60 per set, as the Beacons went 2-0. She notched a season-high 37 scoops at Illinois State, leading all players, before adding 19 in against Bradley. She ranks seventh in MVC history in career digs (2,429). Hickey also tallied 39 serve receptions without an error and added five aces against the Redbirds.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Ella Craggs, Illinois State, Fr., Setter - Northville, Mich. (Northville HS)
Illinois State’s Ella Craggs became the first Redbird rookie since 2017 to have two-consecutive MVC contests with 40-plus assists, finishing the week with 97 overall to average 10.78 per set. Craggs twice set a career-high, opening with 42 in a win over the Flames and 55 against Valpo. She has the fourth-most total assists of any freshman in the NCAA last week and the 24th-highest total in the country.