Women's Volleyball

HCAC 2024 Volleyball Notebook, Week 7

CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) volleyball teams competed in week seven of the 2024 season.
 
Around the League:
HCAC Volleyball Schedule
 
Athletes of the Week:
Offensive Player of the Week:
Emma Sicking (Fairfield, Ohio) Mount St. Joseph University | Outside Hitter | Sophomore - Emma Sicking led the Lions to a 3-1 week, including a 2-1 weekend at Calvin. For the week she had 67 kills (4.19 per set) and a .188 hitting percentage. She had a season-high 22-kills in the Lions five set win over Carroll on Friday.

Defensive Player of the Week:
Grace Wilking (Cincinnati, Ohio) Mount St. Joseph University | Libero | Senior - Lions libero Grace Wilking was outstanding this week, helping lead the team to a 3-1 record. For the week she had a team-high 88 digs (5.5 per set) and was 51-for-53 in serve receive chances.
 
Notable Performances:
Offensive
  • Jayda Lanham (Venice, Fla.) Anderson University | Outsiode Hitter | First Year - In a five-set thriller with Mount St. Joseph, Lanham racked up 21 kills, 5 service aces and a .333 hitting percentage. Lanham's 4.2 kills per set led the conference for the week. She also finished T-3 in service aces (1.00 aces per set) and T-9 in hitting percentage (.333) in hitting percentage for last week's weekly conference leaders.
  • Chloei Barnett (Wapakoneta, Ohio) Bluffton University | Outside Hitter | Senior - Barnett helped the Beavers to a 2-1 week with Saturday victories over Franklin and Alma. She pounded 34 kills, hitting .279 across 10 sets.
  • Elliott Mays (Jeffersonville, Ind.) Hanover College | Junior - Mays led Hanover as they defeated Berea in HCAC action. The junior had a team-high 16 kills for .429 hitting percentage. She also tallied nine digs.
  • Jessica Tarr (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Manchester University | Outside Hitter | Senior – Tarr finished the day with 16 kills on a .394 attack percentage while also coming up big in the fifth set where the Spartans trailed by four or more points multiple times, Tarr finished the fifth set with five kills and being a spark Manchester needed to come back and win to remain undefeated in HCAC play.
  • Cate Scheper (Crestview Hills, Ky.) Transylvania University | Outside Hitter | Senior - Against Rose-Hulman on Saturday, Cate Scheper tallied 16 kills, on two errors for an average of .389. Her performance was a key to the Pioneers victory against a fellow HCAC opponent. Scheper's performance was very impressive against a stout Rose-Hulman defense. Scheper also played well in limited opportunities in the midweek game against Spalding. The Pioneers picked up two 3-0 wins this week.
Defensive
  • Lauren Dungan (Alexandria, Ind.) Anderson University | Defensive Specialist | Senior - Lauren Dungan scattered 21 digs in a five-set thriller with Mount St. Joseph.
  • Amelia Cora (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) Berea College | Defensive Specialist | Junior - Amelia Cora, the junior libero from Rio Grande, PR helped the Moutaineers defense this week with 59 digs, averaging 5.4 digs per set.
  • Madison Bizjak (San Diego, Calif.) Earlham College | Libero | Sophomore - Madison Bizjak led the Quaker back line this week with 54 digs (6 Digs/set) in two matches this week. Bizjak also added 16 assists, and four aces on the week.
  • Abbey McCoy (Indianapolis, Ind.) Hanover College | Outside Hitter | Sophomore - McCoy led Hanover past Berea in HCAC action this past weekend. The outside hitter had 16 digs with two service aces.
  • Avery Ball (Decatur, Ind.) Manchester University | Outside Hitter | Junior - Ball set a new season/career high in digs at 25 in a five set thriller against Earlham College this past weekend. Ball added on a solo block to accompany her 25 digs and 17.0 points in the match.
  • Ava Beltsos (Cincinnati, Ohio) Transylvania Univeristy | Defensive Specialist | Fifth Year - In the midweek game against a non-conference matchup, Beltsos tallied a total of 22 digs. Her defensive presence played a huge role in the 3-0 win. In Saturday's 3-0 win against HCAC opponent, Rose-Hulman, Beltsos had 13 digs. Ava's performance was a key factor in the conference win.

Looking Forward:
HCAC Volleyball Standings