BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week
Trinity Shadd-Ceres, Jr., OH, Creighton
Shadd-Ceres averaged 4.18 points, 3.86 kills, 2.50 digs, and 0.43 blocks per set while hitting .289 to earn Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team accolades as Creighton went 2-1. In an electric 3-2 victory over Arizona, the junior recorded a career-high 29 kills while hitting .420, tacking on 10 digs for a double-double. The Bluejays took the fourth set behind 11 kills from Shadd-Ceres in 12 swings. Then, in a 3-1 victory over Pepperdine, she logged 14 kills while hitting .333. In a five-set loss to undefeated Tulsa, Shadd-Ceres contributed 11 kills while establishing new career-highs in both digs (18) and blocks (4) for her second double-double in three days.
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week
Rashanny Solano Smith, Sr., L, St. John’s
Solano Smith led the BIG EAST with 6.91 digs per set as St. John’s owned a 2-1 record at the Lou Carnesecca Invitational. The All-Tournament team selection became the first Johnnie since 2018 to log 30-plus digs, doing so with a career-best 35 against East Texas A&M. In a 3-1 victory over UAB, Solano Smith collected 28 digs while dishing out six assists and serving a pair of aces. Her weekend also included 13 digs in a sweep of Rider.
BIG EAST Setter of the Week
Katie Dalton, 5th, S, Creighton
Dalton averaged 8.57 assists, 3.07 digs, 0.43 kills, and 0.43 blocks per set at the Bluejay Invitational. She registered a season-high 46 assists and career-high 21 digs in Friday’s 3-2 win over Arizona, surpassing 1,000 career assists in the process. She then contributed 42 assists, 14 digs, three kills, and three blocks in a 3-1 win over Pepperdine. The fifth year concluded the weekend with 32 assists, eight digs, and two kills in a five-set match against unbeaten Tulsa.
BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Luanna Markus, Fr., S, Marquette
Markus continued a standout rookie campaign, leading the BIG EAST with 10.71 assists per set over a 1-1 week. In Saturday’s sweep of South Florida, Markus recorded a career-high 39 assists with eight digs, two kills, an ace, and a block. She then notched 36 assists, four kills, five digs, and two blocks in a four-set loss to No. 4 Stanford.
Honor Roll
Carly Slusser, So., MB, Butler
Slusser averaged 1.00 block and 2.67 points per set while hitting .531 as Butler owned a 3-0 record at the Indy Invitational. The sophomore recorded nine kills on .818 hitting against Youngstown State (W, 3-0), marking the third best all-time single game hitting percentage in Bulldog history.
Kendall Timme, OH, So., DePaul
Timme led the league in kills (4.14) and points per set (4.57), hitting .213 over a 1-1 week. The sophomore notched 12 kills against No. 1 Nebraska in front of a state of Illinois volleyball attendance record (8,786) at Wintrust Arena.
Berkeley Ploder, Georgetown
Ploder hit a league-leading .635, averaging 3.18 kills and 3.41 points per set as Georgetown went 2-1 at the Wake Forest Invitational. In a setback to UCF, (1-3) she hit a massive .750 with 12 kills. Against Davidson (W, 3-0), she hit .737 with 14 kills.
Aubrey Easterwood, Fr., MB, Providence
Easterwood hit .532 while averaging 3.58 points per set as Providence went undefeated at the Ocean State Cup. The rookie’s strongest performance came against Brown (3-2) where she hit .667 with 11 kills.
McKinley Boehm, RS-So., MB, Xavier
Boehm enjoyed an all-around weekend, hitting .325 with 3.38 points, 2.17 kills, and 1.50 blocks per set. Against Campbell, the redshirt sophomore contributed 11 kills on .500 hitting with nine blocks.
Past Winners
Offensive Player of the Week
8.31 – Ayden Ames, Creighton
Defensive Player of the Week
8.31 – Ayden Ames, Creighton
Setter of the Week
8.31 – Luanna Markus, Marquette
Freshman of the Week
8.31 – Carola Tesoro, St. John’s