Volleyball

MVC Volleyball Weekly Notebook (Sept. 14)

Player of the Week: Ava Helming, Valparaiso
Defensive Player of the Week: Maryn Bixby, Northern Iowa
Libero of the Week: Jasmine Dulan, Drake

Ava Helming delivered a dominant offensive performance for Valparaiso, leading the Missouri Valley Conference in kills per set for the week. The junior right-side hitter totaled 60 kills across three matches while hitting .261 and averaging 4.62 kills and 5.04 points per set. Helming saved her best performance for Valpo’s 3-2 victory over Cleveland State, recording a career-high 28 kills on .357 hitting — tied for the most kills by a Valparaiso player in the 25-point era and tied for sixth-most in a single match in program history. She added 18 kills against Akron and 14 against Coppin State, while contributing six blocks and three assists over the weekend.

Jasmine Dulan anchored Drake’s defense during a perfect 3-0 weekend at the Kansas City Klassic, helping the Bulldogs capture the tournament championship while earning tournament MVP honors. The senior libero was a defensive force throughout the weekend, recording 72 digs and posting 20-plus digs in all three matches: 22 against Utah Valley, 23 against Radford and 27 against Kansas City. Dulan also contributed 15 assists and six service aces. Her remarkable weekend moved her to the top of the MVC in total digs with 185 and digs per set with 6.17.

Maryn Bixby led the UNI defense with 12 total blocks at the Rice Invitational, helping the Panthers earn a sweep of host Rice while battling nationally ranked opponents No. 5 Louisville and No. 15 Creighton. The junior middle blocker posted a season-best seven blocks against Creighton, finishing just one block shy of tying her career high, before recording a career-best three solo blocks in UNI’s victory over Rice. Her 12 blocks over the weekend represented more than half of her season total entering the tournament, and she now ranks tied for third on the UNI roster with 19 total blocks on the year.

Conference News & Notes
  • Heading into the fourth week of the season, four Valley programs are sitting above .500 on the year with Illinois State leading the way with a 7-2 ledger. 
  • Drake went undefeated at the Kansas City Klassic, sweeping Utah Valley and Radford, while wrapping up the event with a five-set victory over the host Roos. Four Bulldogs tallied over 20 kills apiece, while Bliss Beck hit at an impressive .585 clip across 11 sets. 
  • Evansville picked up a pair of wins over Tennessee State for its first victories of the year. The Purple Aces were led by Lyla Fisher (26 kills), Carsyn Kelley (60 assists) and Kendall Agler (42 digs).
  • The Flames wrapped up the UIC-DePaul Invitational on Sunday with their second-straight sweep to go 2-1 at the event. Senior Tamara Kisic led the Flames with 30 kills, averaging 3.33 per set, while collecting three services aces and 20 digs over the weekend.
  • Northern Iowa faced a pair of ranked opponents this weekend at the Rice Invitational in No. 5 Louisville and No. 15 Creighton. Four of the Panthers’ nine opponents this season have been in the Top 25 or receiving votes in the poll. 
  • Drake’s Jasmine Dulan is leading the nation, averaging 6.17 digs per set with a Conference-leading 185 total digs on the year. 
  • UNI’s Cassidy Hartman leads the MVC in total points (168.5) and kills (155), ranking inside the top 15 nationally in each category. 
  • Bradley’s Maria Drapp has a league-best 374 assists this season, ranking sixth in Division I in the category. UNI’s Reese Booth joins her inside the top 25 as the only other player in The Valley to have over 300 assists this season.
  • Belmont tandem Jordan Czajkowski and Alivia Keegan account for 418 of the team’s 473 total assists. As a team, the Bruins lead the Conference, and rank seventh in the country, in the category.