Barber, Kathariou, and Davis earn #BIGEASTvb Weekly Accolades
NEW YORK- After week one of BIG EAST regular season action, the three weekly award winners hail from three different programs as Marquette's Allie Barber, St. John's Ariadni Kathariou, and Creighton's Keeley Davis pick up BIG EAST Weekly honors.
Offensive Player of the Week
Allie Barber, Marquette, Sr., OH (Cedarburg, Wis.)
Barber picks up her second Offensive Player of the Week honor after leading No. 10 Marquette to a 3-0 start in BIG EAST action. The Golden Eagles swept Butler in midweek action in a match that saw Barber lead all players with 13 kills to go along with two digs. The senior outside hitter put down 16 kills on just one error to hit at a .429 mark in Marquette's sweep of Seton Hall 3-0 on Friday night. Barber closed out the weekend with another 16 kill performance to lead all players in the Golden Eagles four-set win over St. John's. Allie is currently sixth in the nation in total kills at 262 and 10th in kills per set at 4.68.
Defensive Player of the Week
Ariadni Kathariou, St. John's, So., MB (Thessaloniki, Greece)
Kathariou turned in a stellar performance at the net for St. John's in a 1-1 weekend for the Red Storm. The sophomore middle blocker recorded 12 total blocks on the weekend for an average of 1.50 per set to finish second in the conference this weekend. In the Johnnies four-set win over DePaul, Kathariou notched five solo blocks and one block assist to go along with five kills on .312 hitting. On Saturday's match up with No.10 Marquette, Ariadini added six block assists and five kills in the four-set loss for the Red Storm.
Freshman of the Week
Keeley Davis, Creighton, Fr., OH (Highlands Ranch, Colo.)
Davis earns her fourth consecutive Freshman of the Week honor to become the first honoree since conference realignment to earn four straight weekly awards. Davis led No. 14 Creighton in kills in a 2-0 weekend averaging 3.00 kills per set and 3.71 points per set while chipping in two blocks and four service aces. The freshman outside hitter opened the weekend with eight kills, three digs and three service aces in Friday's sweep of Villanova. Sunday's four-set win over Georgetown saw the rookie record a team-best 13 kills to go along with two digs, two blocks, and one ace.
Honor Roll
Brittany Witt, Creighton, Sr., L (Omaha, Neb.)
Witt turned in another strong defensive performance for the Bluejays with an average of 4.86 digs per set to go with 1.57 assists per set. The senior libero recorded a match-high 14 digs in a sweep over Villanova, followed by another match-high 20 digs in the Bluejays four-set win over Georgetown.
Iva Vujosevic, Georgetown, Sr., OH (Bar Montenegro)
Vujosevic posted team-highs in kills in back-to-back matches in a 1-1 weekend for Georgetown. The senior opened the weekend with 14 kills, six digs, and three service aces in a 3-2 win at Providence. In Sunday's match at No. 14 Creighton, Vujosevic recorded 15 kills to go along with four digs.
Hope Werch, Marquette, Jr., OH (Neenah, Wis.)
Werch posted two stalwart defensive performances for No. 10 Marquette en route to a 3-0 start to conference action. The junior averaged 4.14 digs per set to go along with 11 total kills, four service aces and two blocks. Werch collected a team-high 13 digs in the Golden Eagles midweek sweep of Butler, followed by another team-high 16 digs in Saturday's four-set win over St. John's.
Efrosini Alexakou, St. John's So., OH (Thessaloniki, Greece)
Alexakou continued her stellar offensive performance in a 1-1 weekend for St. John's. The sophomore averaged 4.62 kills per set to lead the conference this week. In Friday's four-set win over DePaul, Alexakou put down a match-high 23 kills, followed by 14 kills and 10 digs in Saturday's loss at then-No. 10 Marquette.
Allie Olsonoski, Villanova, Sr., MB (New Orleans, La.)
Olsonoski paced the Villanova attack in a 1-1 opening weekend for the Wildcats. The senior middle blocker turned in the second highest hitting percentage of opening week with a .455 mark. In Friday's loss at No. 14 Creighton Olsonoski recorded 6 kills on zero errors to hit at a .500 mark. Olsonoski led the Wildcats with 10 kills at a .429 clip to go along with four blocks in a win at Providence.