Providence, Creighton Share BIG EAST Weekly Honors
NEW YORK – Providence junior outside hitter Kayla Fitzgerald earned BIG EAST Player of the Week after a 4-0 week for the Friars; while Creighton outside hitter Jaali Winters earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kayla Fitzgerald, Providence, Jr., OH, Redlands, Calif. – Fitzgerald led Providence to a 4-0 week that included a 12-set run over Brown, Saint Peter’s, Fairleigh Dickinson and Lafayette. She led the conference in points per set with 4.90 and averaged a .260 hitting percentage. She was named Tournament MVP of the Friar Volleyball Classic and had a double-double with 16 kills and 13 digs against Brown. She averaged 2.70 digs per set and 4.10 kills per set.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Jaali Winters, Creighton, Fr., OH, Ankeny, Iowa – Winters helped lead Creighton with wins against 2014 NCAA Tournament teams Lipscomb and CSU Bakersfield with an average of 3.95 points per set, 41 kills and 15 digs. Against Bakersfield she averaged a .424 hitting percentage with 18 kills and just four errors. In a 3-0 sweep of Lipscomb, Winters had 10 kills, three digs and two blocks. Winters earned Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament honors for her performance.
BIG EAST Volleyball Weekly Honor Roll
Caitlyn Coffey, DePaul, So., MB, Wauwatosa, Wis. – Named to the Georgia State Invitational All-Tournament team as the Blue Demons finished a 3-0 weekend. Coffey, who led the BIG EAST last week in hitting percentage with .518, averaged 3.90 points per set with 33 kills, 10 blocks.
Alyssa Sinnette, Georgetown, Fr., OH, Pearland, Texas. – Totaled 49 kills and averaged 4.77 points per set with double-digit kills in all three matches last week to help the Hoyas go 2-1. Marked a double-double with 22 kills, 12 digs in Georgetown’s 3-1 win over Georgia on Saturday.
Taylor Louis, Marquette, RS-Fr., OH, Skokie, Ill. – Led the conference in kills with 55 (4.58 per set) in a 1-2 week for Marquette. Was named to the Pistol Pete Showdown’s All-Tournament team as she averaged 4.88 points per game against quality opponents Wyoming, Kansas and Northern Colorado. In two of the three matches, had more than 20 kills. She added 15 digs for the week.
Karin Palgutova, St. John's, Sr., OH, Slovakia – Averaged 4.77 points per game and had double-digit kills in three wins for St. John’s in a 3-1 week. She recorded two double-doubles in wins against George Mason and Central Connecticut and averaged 4.31 kills per set. Also added eight blocks with a .350 hitting percentage. Named to the Jack Kaiser Classic All-Tournament team.
Clare Crutchfield, Villanova, Jr., OH, Falls Church, Va. – Named the MVP of the Villanova Classic after leading the Wildcats to a 3-0 weekend. She averaged 3.30 kills per set with a .314 hitting percentage, while adding 3.15 points per set at Lehigh and against VU Classic opponents: Siena, Howard and James Madison. For the week, she added four blocks.