INDIANAPOLIS - Ohio Dominican is off to its best start since the 2011 season, earning the Panthers Great Midwest Volleyball Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Both Hillsdale and Ohio Dominican remain undefeated at 5-0 and 4-0, respectively. Hillsdale defeated Ursuline this week, while ODU topped Ursuline, Malone and Lake Erie.
Findlay moves to 4-1, after wins over Cedarville and Malone this week. Tiffin dropped its first match of the season, as Walsh defeated them in three sets to improve to 4-1.
Offensive Player of the Week
Emilee Fecht
Ohio Dominican
Sophomore
Middle Blocker
Hilliard, OH (Hilliard Davidson HS)
Emilee Fecht led the Panthers to hit .283 as a team in three wins this week, sweeping each match in three sets.
Against Ursuline, Fecht connected for 12 kills on 40 percent hitting. She also contributed one ace and three blocks. The sophomore had another 12 kills against Malone, with a hitting percentage of .478. She also added two more service aces. In the Panthers final game of the week against Lake Erie, Fecht contributed seven kills and tied a career-high four aces.
Fecht totaled 31 kills (3.44 per set), with a hitting percentage of .424 over three matches. She committed only six attacking error on 59 total attempts.
After adding seven service aces this week, Fecht is the current league leader in that statistical category, averaging .85 per set. She also ranks eighth in the conference in kills, with 3.08 per set.
Defensive Player of the Week
Abbi Gillson
Ohio Dominican
Junior
Middle Blocker
Canton, OH (Tuscarawas Valley HS/West Liberty)
Middle Blocker, Abbi Gillson, made it very difficult for opponents to score this week, leading the Panthers with 14 blocks over nine sets (1.56 blocks per set).
Gillson had four blocks against both Malone and Lake Erie. She set a new career high with six blocks against Ursuline.
The junior’s efforts helped her team to hold opponents to a .059 hitting percentage, with none of ODU’s three opponents exceeding a .100 hitting percentage.
Gillson ranks second in the conference in blocks with 17 on the season so far and a blocks per set average of 1.31.