Butler’s Lilly, Creighton’s Wilkinson Earn #BIGEASTvb Offensive And Defensive Weekly Honors, Bulldog Ravenell Earns FOW
NEW YORK – Butler’s Bri Lilly earns her first BIG EAST volleyball Offensive Player of the Week honor on Monday after an impressive hitting performance in wins over Marquette and DePaul. Teammate Natalie Ravenell earns her third BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honor and Creighton’s Marysa Wilkinson earns her third honor of the year as Defensive Player of the Week after a 1.57 blocks per set performance in a 2-0 week for the Bluejays to move them up to the top spot in the BIG EAST standings.
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week
Bri Lilly, Butler, Jr., MB (Lynwood, Ill.)
Butler junior Bri Lilly had an impressive week for the 2-0 Bulldogs as she averaged 4.12 points, 3.50 kills and 1.25 blocks per set behind a .591 attack percentage. Lilly had just two errors for the week in 44 swings with 28 kills. Her 17 kill, five block performance against Marquette helped the Bulldogs to a 3-2 win on the road. Against the Golden Eagles, Lilly had a .640 attack percentage a league match high for the week. The middle blocker had 11 kills at DePau in the first match, behind .526 hitting and another five blocks.
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week
Marysa Wilkinson, Crighton, Sr., MB (Lincoln, Neb.)
Lincoln native Marysa Wilkinson earns her third BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honor as she helped Creighton lead the conference last week in hitting percentage allowed (.110) and kills allowed (9.71) with her blocking skills at the net which came out to 1.57 blocks per set in wins over St. John’s and Seton Hall. Wilkinson had six blocks against St. John’s and five against Seton Hall. Wilkinson also added 3.43 points, 2.43 kills per set and a .341 hitting percentage. Creighton also led the league last week in assists allowed (8.86) and service aces allowed (0.43) as the Bluejays regained the top spot in the BIG EAST standings.
BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Natalie Ravenell, Butler, Fr., OH (Westfield, Ind.)
Freshman outside hitter Natalie Ravenell helped Butler to wins over DePaul and Marquette over the weekend with an average of 2.44 points, 2.00 kills and 3.25 digs per set. Ravenell posted a double-double in the five-set win over Marquette with 12 kills and 12 digs, it was her fifth double-double of the year. Ravenell hit .286 against Marquette. Ravenell also had five blocks for the week with an ace.
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Makayla Ferguson, Butler, Sr., S (Martinsville, Ind.)
Ferguson had a near triple-double in the 3-2 win over Marquette with nine kills, 17 digs and 54 assists. For the week, Ferguson averaged 11.50 assists per set with 1.75 points and 1.38 kills per set behind .429 hitting.
Allie Barber, Marquette, So., OH (Cedarburg, Wis.)
In a 1-1 week for Marquette, Barber led the BIG EAST in points (5.81) and kills (5.62) per set. Barber had a career-high 27 kills in the 3-2 loss against Butler.
Amanda Sanabia, St. John’s, So., Libero/DS (Annapolis, Md.)
Red Storm libero Sanabia posted 4.88 digs per set in a 1-1 week which included a 3-1 loss to Creighton and a four-set win over Providence. Sanabia’s 4.88 digs per set were the third-highest in the league last week with 19 against Creighton and 20 against Providence.
Allison Fitzgerald, Villanova, Sr., Libero/DS (St. Louis, Mo.)
In a 1-0 week for Villanova, Fitzgerald led the conference in digs per set with 6.67. She had 20 digs in the sweep of Georgetown.
Meredith Klare, Xavier, RS-Jr., Libero (Union, Ky.)
Klare posted 5.67 digs per set with 19 digs in a 3-0 loss to Marquette and 15 digs in a sweep of DePaul. Klare also added one ace and five assists. Her 5.67 digs per set ranked second in the league last week.