INDIANAPOLIS – The postseason chase is on for prized seeding as the eighth week of Great Midwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Players of the Week were announced on Monday afternoon.
Three teams from the West Division have already clinched spots in the Great Midwest Championship, Findlay, Hillsdale and Cedarville.
Hillsdale extended a conference-record win streak that is now up to 13 straight. The Chargers started their streak back on September 16, rattling off seven straight-set shutout decisions.
Five different teams in Great Midwest history had won nine matches in a row before Hillsdale matched and surpassed their historical stretches.
East Division Player of the Week
Brooke Peiffer
Lake Erie
Outside Hitter
Sophomore
Lansing, MI (Holt HS)
Peiffer is the third Storm student-athlete to receive divisional player of the week honors along with teammates Bethany Fisher (twice) and Sidney Fletcher. LEC enjoyed a perfect week at 4-0 and won all possible 12 sets.
The sophomore averaged 3.58 kills and three digs per set while hitting .253 on the week as Lake Erie beat Roberts Wesleyan, Notre Dame (OH), Kentucky Wesleyan and Trevecca, in order.
Peiffer hit .364 with 11 kills on 22 attempts versus Trevecca. She had 13 kills and 10 digs against Roberts Wesleyan.
Also notable for Peiffer was a near-perfect effort in serve receive with a .983 percentage on 60 total attempts. She also had three service aces of her own.
LEC has now won five straight and remains in the driver’s seat of the East Division with a 9-3 record. The Storm’s overall record also improved to 19-7.
West Division Player of the Week
Gabby Olson
Cedarville
Middle Blocker
Senior
Gibsonia, PA (Pine-Richland HS)
For the second time this season and third time in her career, Olson received conference weekly honors for a dominant three-match stretch on the court as the Yellow Jackets went 3-0 on the road in the league schedule.
Among all players, regardless of division, Olson was tops in hitting percentage (.399) and blocks (1.40 per set) while ranking second in kills per set (3.60).
Cedarville toppled Alderson Broaddus, Davis & Elkins and Ohio Valley, as Olson put up huge numbers in 11 sets played.
The senior had 20 kills in a five-set triumph at AB while hitting .341. She followed that up the next day with a 14-kill, six-block effort against D&E while hitting an even-better .500.
Olson capped the week with 11 kills and five blocks in a straight-set win over OVU. She also contributed four service aces in the three matches.
Olson is the current league leader in blocks (1.24 per set) while also ranking second in attacking percentage (.332) and sixth in kills per set (3.30).