BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week
Rachele Rastelli, St. John’s, Sr., RS (Parma, Italy)
 
Senior right side Rachele Rastelli fueled the Red Storm’s charge towards a perfect 4-0 week, notching double-digit kills in each match and earning MVP honors at the Jack Kaiser Classic. Rastelli averaged 5.13 kills per set on the week, highlighted by a career-high 31 kills to go along with 14 digs in a five-set win over Boston College. The senior also added a 20-kill, nine-dig performance to defeat Fordham in five sets. The Parma, Italy native had at least eight digs and three blocks in each of her four matches.
 
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week
Abby Bottomley, Creighton, Sr., L (Virginia Beach, Va.)
 
Senior libero Abby Bottomley averaged a league-best 6.00 digs per set en route to a 3-1 week for Creighton and a Bluejay Invitational title. Bottomley performed well in a mid-week tilt with No. 3 Nebraska, posting 20 digs and helping hold the Cornhuskers to a .177 team hitting percentage. The High Point transfer notched another 20+ dig performance over the weekend, tallying 28 digs and six assists to help Creighton take down Illinois. Bottomley also put up 18 digs and 14 digs against SMU and Nebraska-Omaha, respectively, and continues her streak of 23 consecutive matches with at least 10 digs.
 
BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Kendra Wait, Creighton, Fr., S (Gardner, Kan.)
 
Freshman setter Kendra Wait earns BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors for the second time this season. The Gardner, Kan. Native averaged 9.46 assists, 3.23 digs, 1.38 blocks and 1.08 kills per set and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Bluejay Invitational. Wait notched three double-doubles on the week, the first of which came against No. 3 Nebraska as she came away with 17 assists and 12 digs. After tallying 34 assists in a three-set win over SMU, the freshman put up a whopping 47 assists to go along with 15 digs, seven blocks, and four kills in a four-set win over Illinois. Wait capped the weekend with a 25-assist, 12-dig effort to defeat Nebraska-Omaha.
 
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
 
Melody Davidson, Butler, R-Sr., MB (Anderson Ind.)
 
Redshirt senior Melody Davidson earned All-Tournament honors at the California Tournament hosted by the University of California. The middle blocker totaled 11 kills to go along with eight total blocks in a sweep over Nevada, followed the next day by a 16-kill, five-block performance to defeat Cal.
 
McKayla Wuensch, Connecticut, Gr., S (Algonquin, Ill.)
 
Graduate Student McKayla Wuensch earned Dartmouth Invitational All-Tournament honors after averaging 10.3 assists per set on the weekend. Wuensch had a pair of 30+ assist matches, the first of which came in a sweep over New Hampshire in which she finished with 35 assists and six digs. Later in the day, she posted a 39-assist, 19-dig double-double against the hosts Dartmouth.
 
Maryanne Boyle, Providence, So., MB (Blacklick, Ohio)
 
Maryanna Boyle earned Tournament MVP honors at the Friar Volleyball Classic as part of Providence’s perfect 4-0 week. Boyle was attacking efficiently all week long, compiling a hitting percentage of .580 for the week and hitting no worse than .444 across her four matches. The sophomore had 10 kills and a .769 hitting percentage in a sweep over Merrimack, and added 11 kills to go along with three service aces, three digs and a .556 hitting percentage in the win over Binghamton.
 
Anna Holland, Seton Hall, Fr., L/DS (Waukesha, Wisc.)
 
The reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Week was solid yet again as the Pirates pushed their winning streak to seven. Holland secured her first career double-double last Tuesday against Marist, finishing with 31 digs and 11 assists in the five-set win. The freshman finished the week averaging 5.33 digs per set and 1.53 assists per set.
 
Riley Homer, Villanova, So., OH (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
 
Villanova’s Riley Homer was an all-around force as the Wildcats went 3-0 at the Northeastern Tournament. The Grand Rapids, Mich. native got the weekend started in a big way, tallying 25 kills as well as 10 assists and five blocks in a five set win over Northeastern. The 25 kills are the most for any player in the BIG EAST so far this season. Homer wrapped up her weekend with back-to-back 12-kill performances in wins over Bryant and Harvard.