Creighton’s Dimke, Witt Earn #BIGEASTvb Weekly Awards; Xavier’s Adams Named Freshman of the Week
NEW YORK – Creighton, the No. 1 seed in the upcoming BIG EAST volleyball championship has senior setter Lydia Dimke and sophomore libero Brittany Witt earning BIG EAST Offensive and Defensive weekly accolades after another 2-0 weekend that helped the Bluejays secure at least a share of the 2017 regular season title. Xavier middle blocker Audrey Adams earns freshman of the week honors.
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week
Lydia Dimke, Creighton, Sr., Setter (Ham Lake, Minn.)
Creighton’s senior setter Dimke did a little bit of everything to help Creighton secure a fourth-straight BIG EAST title, averaging 11.75 assists, 4.12 digs, 1.00 kills and 0.38 blocks per set on .389 hitting. Dimke had a double-double in both matches as Creighton, nationally ranked at No. 13 extended its win streak to 11. Dimke had 33 assists and 15 digs in Creighton’s 3-0 sweep of Xavier on Saturday, setting an offense that hit .268. All five of her hitters to see regular floor time finished with seven kills or more. On Sunday, Dimke contributing 61 assists, 18 digs and seven kills on .500 hitting as Creighton rallied for a 3-2 win at Butler, ending the Bulldogs’ seven-match winning streak. Dimke had 17 assists, five digs, four kills and a block in the pivotal 38-36 second set win. Her 18 digs and seven kills on the day both tied season-highs, and her 61 assists were the second-most of her 2017 campaign and a BIG EAST match high for the week.
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week
Brittany Witt, Creighton, So., Libero (Omaha, Neb.)
Witt repeats as BIG EAST Defensive Player of the week for the second-straight week, her fifth defensive honor this year. Witt led the streaking Bluejays, currently ranked ninth in the RPI rankings, to another 2-0 week with key wins on the road against Xavier and Butler as she averaged 4.38 digs per set. She had 15 digs and four assists on Saturday in a 3-0 win over Xavier, leading a defense that held the Musketeers to .026 hitting in 114 swings. Witt closed her weekend with 24 digs and a pair of aces in Creighton’s 3-2 win at Butler, including eight digs in the Bluejays’ 38-36 set two victory. Witt also handled 34 serve receptions without being aced, with 17 of those being converted into first ball kills. Additionally, with her team trailing 6-4 in the fifth set, Witt had an ace during a 6-0 serving run that gave Creighton the lead for good to clinch at least a share of the BIG EAST regular season title.
BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Audrey Adams, Xavier, MB, R-Fr. (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Adams led the Musketeers in kills in a 1-1 week for Xavier that included a 3-1 win over Providence and a 3-0 loss to Creighton. Adams averaged 3.00 kills per set, adding four digs and two blocks. Adams averaged a .283 attack percentage. She had seven kills, four digs with two blocks in the loss to then-No. 14 Creighton and 14 kills on .400 hitting in the win over Providence. Adams ranked 12th on the BIG EAST leaderboard in kills per set last week, 19th in hitting percentage.
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Makayla Ferguson, Butler, Sr., Setter (Martinsville, Ind.)
Ferguson averaged 11.25 assists per set with 1.19 points and 1.88 digs per set in a 1-1 week for the third-place Bulldogs. In an exciting 3-2 loss to then-No. 14 Creighton, Ferguson posted a double-double with 60 assists and 12 digs. She also had 30 assists in a straight set sweep of Providence.
Symone Speech, Georgetown, Jr., MB (Oak Park, Ill.)
Speech notched double-figure kills in back-to-back matches as she averaged 3.43 kills, 3.93 points per set behind .238 hitting in a 1-1 week for the Hoyas. Speech had 11 kills, two blocks in a 3-0 loss to Marquette; 13 kills, five blocks and four digs in the four-set win over DePaul.
Anna Haak, Marquette, Jr., OH (Angelholm, Sweden)
Haak averaged 4.50 points, 4.12 kills per set behind .380 hitting and 3.75 digs per set in another 2-0 week for Marquette, helping the Golden Eagles clinch a tournament berth. Haak had 23 kills, 23 digs in a five-set win over Villanova to close out the weekend. Haak had just one attack error against Georgetown.
Caitlyn Koska, Seton Hall, Jr., OH (Franklin, Wis.)
Koska turned in one of her career-best performances in a crucial match at St. John’s on Saturday. The outside hitter had 12 kills, only one attack error and a team-best .367 attack percentage. Not only was Koska dominant on offense, she also had five blocks and two digs on defense, helping Seton Hall continue to build a case for one of the last two tournament spots remaining.
Allison Fitzgerald, Villanova, Sr., DS/L (St. Louis, Mo.)
Fitzgerald averaged 4.62 digs per set and had no reception errors on 34 targets in a 1-1 week for the Wildcats. She had 12 digs in the 3-0 win at DePaul and 25 in the five-set loss at Marquette.