BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week
Taylor Wolf, Marquette, Gr., RS/S (Waconia, Minn.)
Marquette’s Taylor Wolf opened up conference play in a strong way en route to her second BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honor this season. The Waconia, Minn. native averaged 3.71 kills per set and 5.43 assists per set over the weekend, leading the Golden Eagles to a 2-0 start to league competition. Wolf narrowly missed a double-double on Friday night at Villanova, finishing with nine kills and 22 assists while adding five digs and a pair of aces. She would get that double-double the next day at Georgetown, totaling 17 kills, 16 assist, a .516 hitting percentage, two service aces and four blocks in just three sets. The 17 kills for Wolf are the most she has had in a match in a Marquette uniform.
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week
Abby Bottomley, Creighton, Sr., L (Virginia Beach, Va.)
Creighton’s Abby Bottomley picks up BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors for the third straight week. The senior libero averaged a conference-best 7.71 digs per set along with 1.43 assists per set as she helped the Bluejays to a 2-0 start to league play. Bottomley began the weekend with a season-high 31 digs to go along with eight assists and three service aces in a four-set win over Butler. She followed that performance up with 23 more digs the next day in a sweep of Xavier. Bottomley now has 2,437 career digs, which puts her in a tie for 24
th in NCAA history.
BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Kendra Wait, Creighton, Fr., S (Gardner, Kan.)
Kendra Wait secures her third straight BIG EAST Freshman of the Week nod, and her fourth overall. The Gardner, Kan. native performed strongly in her first taste of BIG EAST action, compiling 11.00 assists per set and 3.86 digs per set over the weekend. Wait began conference play with a 47-assist, 18-dig effort in a 3-1 win at Butler. The next day, the freshman setter added 30 assists, nine digs and seven kills on .700 hitting to defeat Xavier in three sets. Wait now sits second in the BIG EAST in assists per set with 10.59 on the season.
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Jaymeson Kinley, Butler, So., L (Lexington, Ky.)
Jaymeson Kinley had a pair of 20+ dig matches over the weekend, averaging 6.71 digs per set as Butler opened conference play at 1-1. The sophomore notched 25 digs and a pair of service aces on Friday night against Creighton, followed by a 22-dig effort on Saturday in a sweep of Providence.
Taylor Pannell, Connecticut, So., MB (Middletown, N.Y.)
Taylor Pannell was a force at the net all weekend for UConn, averaging 2.0 blocks per set as the Huskies went 2-0 on the weekend. The sophomore’s big performance came on Saturday against St. John’s, as she finished with 10 total blocks in UConn’s 3-0 win. Pannell’s 10 blocks are the most by a BIG EAST player in a three-set match this season.
Jaela Zimmerman, Creighton, Sr., OH (Lincoln, Neb.)
Jaela Zimmerman averaged a BIG EAST-best 5.00 kills per set as well as 3.71 digs per set in Creighton’s 2-0 weekend to open league play. The senior notched her sixth double-double on the season with a 21-kill, 17-dig effort against Butler on Friday. She nearly had another on Saturday against Xavier, finishing with 14 kills and nine digs in the win.
Jill Pressly, DePaul, So., OH (Plano, Texas)
Jill Pressly averaged 4.00 kills per set over the opening weekend of conference play, propelling the Blue Demons to a 2-0 record. The sophomore had 12 kills in each of her matches, and added 20 digs on Friday at Georgetown to secure her ninth double-double of the season. Pressly now has exactly 12 kills in each of her last four matches.
Carrigan O’Reilly, Xavier, Jr., S/RS (Westerville, Ohio)
Carrigan O’Reilly fueled the Musketeers’ comeback victory over Providence on Friday, securing the fourth triple-double by a BIG EAST player this season. The junior finished the night with 12 kills, 42 assists and 11 digs in the five set win. O’Reilly would put up 23 more assists and seven digs the next day against Creighton, finishing the weekend with 8.13 assists per set.