Volleyball Players of the Week (as selected by the head coaches)
WEEK 5 SUN BELT CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Leah Hardeman (Coastal Carolina, OH, Junior)
Leah Hardeman tallied a pair of double-doubles and led the Chants averaging 4.88 kills per set with a .395 hitting percentage as Coastal split its matches against Little Rock and Arkansas State. The junior outside hitter put down 18 kills at a .593 pace in a three-set win over the Trojans while adding a pair of aces and 10 digs. She followed that with season highs of 21 kills and 20 digs against the Red Wolves. Hardeman also hit .286 and recorded an ace during the five-set loss.
WEEK 5 SUN BELT CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Markie Schaedig (Arkansas State, L/DS, Senior)
Senior libero Markie Schaedig put together an impressive opening weekend of conference play as the Red Wolves defeated Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina. She registered 55 digs for a 6.88 per set mark to lead the A-State defense. She picked up 19 digs against App State before posting a season-high 36 digs against the Chanticleers. She also had a service ace and only had one reception error in the two matches.
WEEK 5 SUN BELT CONFERENCE SETTER OF THE WEEK
Mallory Warrington (Arkansas State, S, Senior)
Senior setter Mallory Warrington paced the Arkansas State offense to a pair of wins over Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina on the Sun Belt’s opening weekend of conference play. She handed out 84 assists (10.50 per set) in the two wins and also added 14 digs, 10 kills, two blocks, and a service ace. The Lake St. Louis, Mo., native dished out 30 assists in the sweep of Appalachian State before recording 54 in the five-set win over Coastal Carolina.
WEEK 5 SUN BELT CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Madison McConnell (UT Arlington, MB, Freshman)
McConnell was able to step into the UTA starting lineup for the first time in her collegiate career and made the most of it. The freshman was stellar in making her first two starts of the season at South Alabama and Troy, stepping into the middle blocker position with ease. In her first start, she powered nine kills (2.25/s) and had five block assists as UTA started off Sun Belt play with a 3-1 win. Improving on her average, she knocked seven kills against Troy on Sunday (2.33/s) and matched her previous performance with five block assists. For the week, she totaled 1.42 blocks per set, 2.29 kills per set and finished with 16 overall in helping UTA start 2-0 in conference play.
PREVIOUS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
08.29 - Offensive: Emma Longley, Applachian State | Defensive: Markie Schaedig, Arkansas State
08.29 - Setter: Mallory Warrington, Arkansas State | Freshman: Emma Longley, Applachian State
09.05 - Offensive: Annayka Legros, Coastal Carolina | Defensive: Lauren Kirch, Texas State
09.05 - Setter: Mallory Warrington, Arkansas State | Freshman: Kenzie Fields, Arkansas State
09.12 - Offensive: Katie Bange, Georgia Southern | Defensive: Carolee Dillard, Little Rock
09.12 - Setter: Mallory Warrington, Arkansas State | Freshman: Emma Longley, Applachian State
09.19 - Offensive: Iva Durdanovic, South Alabama | Defensive: Abby Baker, South Alabama
09.19 - Setter: Mallory Warrington, Arkansas State | Freshman: Iva Durdanovic, South Alabama