INDIANAPOLIS – It was the week of the setter as two of the most experienced passers received Great Midwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Players of the Week divisional honors as announced Monday afternoon.
 
Six of the eight playoff berths for the Great Midwest Championship bracket are locked in. Three from the West Division (Hillsdale, Findlay, Tiffin) and three from the East Division (Walsh, Malone, Lake Erie) are all postseason bound.
 
That leaves two different wild card selections as most teams around the Great Midwest have just two or three conference contests remaining in the regular-season schedule.
 
Quarterfinals will be conducted at four different campus sites before the final four gather for the semifinals/championship match at the top remaining seed in the bracket.
 
East Division Player of the Week
Alexis Thomas
Lake Erie
Setter
Senior
Cincinnati, OH (Fairfield HS)
 
An integral part of last year’s East Division-winning Storm squad, Thomas has continued to flourish under a new system implemented by first-year head coach Kyle Peck.
 
The Storm a very impressive week by beating playoff bound Walsh and Malone by way of five-set nailbiting thrillers that went down to the wire.
 
In the process, LEC had another 20-win season for the program and remain in the picture to defend its 2017 divisional title.
 
Thomas dished out over 100 assists in just two matches playing the max of 10 sets, averaging 10.50 per set, while also chipping in over two digs per game.
 
She had a 51 assist, 16 dig double-double against Malone at home and contributed 54 assists vs. Walsh on the road in North Canton. She also pocketed a pair of service aces and was credited with three blocks.
 
Thomas is currently fourth in the conference in assists per set with an average of 10.13. She leads all setters in total assists with 1,064 through 29 matches.
 
West Division Player of the Week
Hailee Olson
Findlay
Setter
Senior
Malone, WI (New Holstein HS)
 
The Oilers are the conference’s best team in hitting percentage and much of the credit belongs to Olson for putting her teammates in great position to score.
 
For the second consecutive season, Findlay is firmly entrenched in the playoff field as the program won back-to-back contests.
 
The NCAA All-American Olson led the conference in assists and service aces in the latest seven-day span as UF beat Kentucky Wesleyan and Trevecca on the road.
 
In six sets, Olson averaged 12 assists and one service ace. She had 35 assists on 42 attempts against KWC and added 37 more against TNU.
 
Olson also averaged 1.83 digs as Findlay improved to 20-5 on the season. She over 1,000 assists on the season and is currently second in the league averaging 11.54 per set.
 
This is Olson’s second career conference weekly honor since Findlay became a full member institution in the Great Midwest.