Volleyball

MVC Volleyball Weekly Notebook (Sept. 1)

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its volleyball weekly awards on Monday. Illinois State's Aida Shadewald has been named the MVC Player of the Week while Valparaiso's Emma Hickey has been named the league's Defensive Player of the Week. Indiana State's Hadley Hardersen is the MVC's Freshman of the Week.

Conference News & Notes

  • Three coaches made their Valley head coaching debuts over the weekend, all securing at least one victory. Brittany Harry (SIU) and Fritz Rosenberg (Belmont) helped their teams to a 2-1 opening-weekend ledger while Evansville’s Zach Weinberg secured his first win as an Ace in the weekend finale.
  • Illinois State is 3-0 for the first time since 2010 and it’s the first time since 1992 that the Redbirds are 3-0 to start the year with three sweeps.
  • Murray State’s Ella Vogel became the 16th member of the Racers’ 1,000-kill club over the weekend, registering 40 total kills across three matches.
  • Indiana State’s Hadley Hardersen recorded the program’s first triple-double since 2007 in a win over SIUE. The rookie finished with 14 kills, 24 assists and 15 digs in the outing.
  • Drake earned the league’s first victory of the season against a team receiving votes nationally in the AVCA Top 25 Poll with a 3-2 win over Western Kentucky on Friday.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Aida Shadewald, Illinois State, Sr., Outside Hitter - Prairie du Sac, Wis. (Sauk Prairie HS)
Illinois State’s Aida Shadewald was named the MVP at the Western Michigan Tournament after helping the Redbirds sweep their opponents each by 3-0 scores. Shadewald is the only player in the MVC averaging 3.00 kills and 3.00 digs per set through the opening weekend, which included games against 2024 NIVC qualifier DePaul and 2024 NCAA Tournament qualifier Western Michigan. Shadewald reached double-figure kills in two of three outings, including a double-double in the weekend finale against Oakland. Now with 1,101 career kills, Shadewald becomes just the 20th player in program history to reach the milestone.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emma Hickey, Valparaiso, Sr., Libero - Granger, Ind. (Penn HS)
Valparaiso’s Emma Hickey picked up right where she left off, as the nation’s active career leader in digs made the All-Tournament Team as the Beacons shared the USI Invitational title. Hickey averaged 6.60 digs per set for the weekend, the best first-week average by any Valley player, and had just one serve reception error on 49 attempts. Hickey finished the weekend with 66 total digs, including a 33-dig performance against Northern Kentucky, marked the 14th time in her career she’s reached 30 or more digs in a match.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Hadley Hardersen, Indiana State, Fr., Setter - Urbandale, Iowa (Des Moines Christian)
Indiana State’s Hadley Hardersen made her collegiate debut, starting each set for the Sycamores. After dishing out just five assists in the opener, Hardersen responded by recording a triple-double in Indiana State’s first win of the season. Hardersen’s 14 kills, 24 assists and 15 digs on an incredible .462 hitting percentage marked the program’s first triple-double since 2007. For the weekend, she finished with 20 kills on .314 hitting, 41 assists and 26 digs.