BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week
Rachele Rastelli, St. John’s, Sr., RS (Parma, Italy)
St. John’s senior Rachele Rastelli repeats as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, the fourth time she has earned the honor this season. The Parma, Italy native once again led the conference with 5.30 kills per set this past weekend. She began the weekend with a bang, exploding for 35 kills on a .453 hitting percentage in a five-set win over Georgetown. Rastelli’s 35 kills are the most by a BIG EAST player this season, besting her own mark of 31 kills that she registered against Boston College back on September 10. The senior would conclude the weekend with an 18-kill, eight-dig effort on Saturday against Villanova.
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week/Freshman of the Week
Kendra Wait, Creighton, Fr., S (Gardner, Kan.)
Creighton’s Kendra Wait picks up both BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors this week. The freshman setter averaged 9.57 assists per set and 5.00 digs per set this weekend, both of which were good enough for fourth in the league. Against Marquette on Friday night, Wait tallied a career-high 21 digs to go along with 40 assists, becoming just the seventh Bluejay to ever have 40 assists and 20 digs in a single match. One day later against DePaul, Wait would finish with 14 digs, 27 assists and five blocks in a sweep of the Blue Demons.
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Melody Davidson, Butler, R-Sr., MB (Anderson, Ind.)
Davidson was dominant at the net yet again, averaging a league-best 2.67 blocks per set this weekend. She narrowly missed a double-double on Friday against Xavier, tallying 10 blocks and nine kills in the victory. The match was her second consecutive outing with double-digits in blocks.
Jasmine Davis, UConn, Jr., OH (Redondo Beach, Calif.)
Davis ranked second in the BIG EAST in kills per set this weekend as the Huskies went a perfect 2-0 to remain in third place in the standings. She began the weekend with a season-high 19 kills on a .319 hitting percentage against Xavier, followed by a 14-kill, 13-dig double-double on Sunday against Butler.
Taylor Wolf, Marquette, Gr., RS/S (Waconia, Minn.)
Taylor Wolf tied for tops in the nation with her sixth triple-double of the season on Friday night against Creighton. The graduate had 13 kills, 19 assists and 19 digs on a .444 hitting percentage. Wolf has notched triple-doubles in each of her meetings with the Bluejays this season.
Riley Homer, Villanova, So., OH (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Homer led the charge in Villanova’s perfect weekend to get back to .500 in conference play. The sophomore averaged 3.44 kills per set, and got the weekend started with 15 kills and eight digs in the win over Seton Hall. Homer added 16 more kills and seven digs the following day as the Wildcats took down St. John’s in five sets.
Emma Grace, Xavier, Fr., OH/DS (Villa Hills, Ky.)
Grace was superb in the five-set battle against UConn on Saturday. The freshman finished with 20 kills and 23 digs on the night, the second player in the BIG EAST this season to surpass 20 kills and 20 digs in a match.