NEW YORK—Marquette’s Allie Barber earns her sixth BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week award this season as the senior outside hitter led No. 9 Marquette to a 2-0 weekend en route to becoming the all-time kills leader for the Golden Eagles. Brittany Witt is the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in 2019 after a 2-0 weekend for then-No. 14 Creighton as the Bluejays locked up a top-two seed for the BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep. Bluejay teammate Keeley Davis collects her ninth Freshman of the Week honor on the season after leading CU with 5.00 kills per set.
Offensive Player of the Week
Allie Barber, Marquette, Sr., OH (Cedarburg, Wis.)
Barber posted 42 kills over two matches to lead all players with 5.25 kills per set last weekend. The senior outside hitter became Marquette’s all-time kills leader after notching her first kill of the night in a 3-1 defeat of Georgetown on Friday. Barber closed the match with 22 kills on .308 hitting to go along with five digs, two blocks and one service ace. The Cedarburg, Wis. native posted 20 kills against third-place Villanova on Senior Night to lead the Golden Eagles to a 3-1 victory. Barber currently sits tied for fifth with Stanford’s Kathryn Plummer among active career leaders with 1, 776 kills.
Defensive Player of the Week
Brittany Witt, Creighton, Sr., L (Omaha, Neb.)
Witt averaged 6.17 digs per set and handled all 25 serve receive attempts without error as Creighton picked up 3-0 wins at both Xavier and Butler. Witt opened her week with 18 digs and a pair of aces in a 3-0 win at Xavier. The senior’s 113 career aces is tied for third-most in Creighton history. The Omaha, Neb. native had 19 digs and three assists in a sweep of Butler. Witt leads the BIG EAST in digs per set in overall matches (5.08) and in conference play (5.22).
Freshman of the Week
Keeley Davis, Creighton, Fr., OH (Highlands Ranch, Colo.)
Davis led then-No. 14 Creighton to a 2-0 weekend with sweeps of Xavier and Butler as the Bluejays locked up a top-two seed in next weekend’s BIG EAST Championship. Davis averaged 6.08 points, 5.00 kills, 1.67 digs, and.243 hitting last weekend. The rookie started her week with 14 kills, five digs, four blocks and an ace on .258 hitting in the victory at Xavier. Davis followed that up with 16 kills, five digs, one block and a pair of aces on .231 hitting in the sweep at Butler.
Honor Roll
Jaela Zimmerman, Creighton, So., OH (Lincoln, Neb.)
Zimmerman posted consecutive double-doubles in a 2-0 weekend for Creighton. The sophomore had 10 kills, 10 digs, two aces and a solo stuff vs. Xavier on Saturday, when she hit .308. Zimmerman then had 11 kills and 11 digs in the victory at Butler.
Brittany Maxwell, DePaul, Sr., OH (Macomb, Mich.)
Maxwell led DePaul to a 2-0 weekend with a five-set victory over Villanova and four-set win against Georgetown. The senior posted 15 kills, 10 digs, and two service aces against the Wildcats and 20 kills on .441 hitting to go along with seven service aces and five digs versus the Hoyas.
Hope Werch, Marquette, Jr., OH (Neenah Wis.)
Werch contributed two double-doubles to a 2-0 weekend for No. 9 Marquette. The junior tallied 11 kills at a .458 clip, 12 digs and two aces in Friday’s 3-1 win over Georgetown. Werch hit .387 on Saturday night en route to putting down 16 kills and collecting 14 digs.
Efrosini Alexakou, St. John’s, So., OH (Thessaloniki, Greece)
Alexakou averaged 4.50 kills per set last weekend to lead St. John’s to a 2-0 weekend and securing a berth to the BIG EAST Championship. Alexakou put down 12 kills and collected seven digs in the Johnnies’ win over Seton Hall on Friday night before recording 15 kills while hitting at a .393 clip in St. John’s second straight victory over the Pirates on Sunday afternoon.