Nike #HLVB Players of the Week (Sept. 22)
INDIANAPOLIS – Milwaukee’s Ari Miller and Youngstown State’s Paula Gürsching earned Nike® #HLVB Players of the Week honors in the final week of non-League play. Miller led the Panthers to a pair of victories, totaling 54 kills (4.5/set) with a .451 attack percentage to pick up her second Player of the Week award of the season. Gürsching recorded 13 aces in a triple-double performance for the Penguins in a win over Duquesne to collect her first Player of the Week honor.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK | ARI MILLER | MILWAUKEE | JUNIOR | MIDDLE | JACKSON, WIS.
Ari Miller dominated this past weekend to help the Panthers finish 2-1 at the Bulldog Brawl with wins over Butler and Western Michigan. In three matches, the junior recorded 54 kills (4.5/set) with a .451 attack percentage and added seven blocks and four digs. In a sweep of Butler, Miller put away 10 kills at a .375 clip. She followed with a career-high 30 kills, hitting an impressive .520, in a 3-2 comeback victory over Western Michigan. It marked the most kills in a five-set match for the Panthers since 2007. Miller wrapped up the weekend with 14 kills and a .393 attack percentage against No. 19 UCLA. Miller currently leads the Horizon League in total kills (176), points (200.5), and hitting percentage (.367).
PLAYER OF THE WEEK | PAULA GÜRSCHING | YOUNGSTOWN STATE | FRESHMAN | OUTSIDE HITTER | SCHWALBACH AM TAUNUS, GERMANY
Paula Gürsching had 13 aces as part of a triple-double in keying YSU's four-set win over Duquesne on Friday. The 13 aces were the most by a Division I player in a match regardless of length since 2015. They were the most by a DI player in a four-set match since 2003 and tied for the fifth-most all-time. Further, the 13 aces were the second-most ever in a match by a Horizon League player and the most since 2001. She had three more aces than any other Division I player has had in a match of any length this season. Gursching added 18 kills and 11 digs to collect the third triple-double in school history. She is one of 14 players in the country this season to post a triple-double. She also set a school record for most points in a four-set match with 31.5, and she surpassed the previous school mark for aces by six. Gursching added 16 kills and nine digs against Kent State on Thursday, and she was named to the Golden Flashes Invitational All-Tournament Team. The freshman averaged 4.25 kills per set and 2.5 digs per set for the two matches.
2021 Nike® #HLVB Players of the Week
September 1 – Ari Miller, Milwaukee & Megan Alders, Wright State
September 8 – Madi Malone, Milwaukee & Lindsay Wightman, Oakland
September 15 – Anna Brinkmann, Northern Kentucky & Martina Delucchi, UIC
September 22 – Ari Miller, Milwaukee & Paula Gürsching, Youngstown State