Volleyball

MVC Volleyball Weekly Notebook (Nov. 10)

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its volleyball weekly award winners on Monday. UNI's Lily Dykstra was named the MVC Player of the Week and UIC's Hannah Ditsworth was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Week. Belmont's Jordan Czajkowski was named the MVC Freshman of the Week. 

Conference News & Notes
  • UNI won its fourth-straight Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title on Friday. The Panthers are 14-0 this year and have won 50-consecutive MVC regular-season matches, which is the longest active streak in Division I.
  • The Panthers jumped three spots to No. 28 in Monday morning’s RPI.
  • Heading into the final week of the regular season, eight of the 11 programs are still eligible to make the six-team MVC Volleyball Championship field, while seven are still eligible for a top four spot.
  • Saturday’s win was Valpo’s 20th of the season marking the 19th time in head coach Carin Avery’s 24 years at the helm that the program has hit the 20-win mark. It is the Beacons’ first 20-win season since 2022.
  • Drake senior setter Addison Beagle surpassed 4,000 career assists at UNI, while Southern Illinois’ Emma Lade also reached 4,000 career assists over the weekend.
  • Illinois State’s Arianna Rossi notched her 1,000th career assist against Evansville.
  • Southern Illinois’ Cecilia Bulmahn moved into the top four all-time in Saluki volleyball history with 1,391 career digs. 
  • UNI is second nationally behind Texas in kills per set (14.78) while Valpo joins the Panthers in the top 15, averaging 14.21 kills per frame.
  • Valparaiso leads The Valley and ranks among the best in Division I in assists (1,342), digs (1,710) and kills (1,449).
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Lily Dykstra, UNI, Jr., Outside Hitter - Urbandale, Iowa (Urbandale HS)
Lily Dykstra powered UNI to its fourth straight outright MVC regular-season championship, averaging 4.33 kills per set on an impressive .392 hitting percentage over two victories. The junior notched a career-high 21 kills in a win over Drake and added 18 more against UIC. Dykstra also contributed eight total blocks and committed just two reception errors on 43 attempts (.953). Her consistent production on both sides of the net helped extend the Panthers’ winning streak to 17 matches.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hannah Ditsworth, UIC, R-So., Middle Blocker - Bondurant, Iowa (Bondurant-Farrar HS)
UIC’s Hannah Ditsworth was dominant at the net, tallying 23 total blocks (2.30 per set) in a pair of five-set battles. The redshirt sophomore opened the weekend with nine blocks against UNI before posting a career-high 14 total blocks against Drake — her second double-digit blocking performance of the season. Ditsworth currently leads the MVC in blocks per set (1.48). Her 14 blocks against the Bulldogs set the program record in blocking assists and total blocks in a single match. 


FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Jordan Czajkowski, Belmont, Fr., Setter - New Berlin, Wis. (Divine Savior Holy Angels HS)
Belmont freshman setter Jordan Czajkowski continued to shine as the Bruins’ floor leader, averaging 10.29 assists per set while guiding Belmont to a 2–0 weekend. Czajkowski dished out a career-high 47 assists in a sweep of Valparaiso — 27 more than any other player in the match — and added 25 assists and 11 digs in a five-set win over Southern Illinois.