GNAC Women's Volleyball Report: Week 9

( FOR THE WEEK OF OCT. 21 - 27 )

	PLAYER OF THE WEEK Kate Walker, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., MB - Oakland, Calif.) Posting a .525 attack percentage with 34 kills, Walker guided No. 21 JWU to a 3-0 week, which included a come-from-behind victory over Rivier early in the week. Against the Raiders, Walker was dominant at the net, notching 13 kills on 24 attempts, while tallying three total blocks - two solo. She closed out the week with another outstanding performance against conference foes Lasell and Saint Joseph's (ME) in Standish, Maine. After registering nine kills in a 3-0 win over the Lasers, Walker was flawless against the Monks recording 12 kills on 17 attempts for a staggering .706 attack percentage. Additionally, against Saint Joseph's (ME) she registered four solo blocks.
	LIBERO OF THE WEEK Elyssa Nicolas, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., DS - San Francisco, Calif.) Nicolas guided No. 21 Johnson & Wales to a 3-0 week, which included a come-from-behind victory over Rivier University early in the week. Against the Raiders, Nicolas led the Wildcat defense with 22 digs, while tallying a pair of service aces. The northern California native closed out the week registering 16 digs in a 3-0 shutout over Lasell on the road in Standish, Maine before notching 14 digs and six assists in against, host, Saint Joseph's (ME).
	ROOKIE OF THE WEEK Harmony Johnson, Suffolk (Fr., S - Riverside, Calif.) Johnson averaged 10.89 assists, 1.22 digs and 1.33 service aces per set in a 2-1 week for the Rams. She tallied 49 assists, four aces and six digs in a 3-1 win over Regis before dishing out 31 with five aces in a 3-0 sweep over USJ. She ended the week with

WEEK 9 HONOR ROLL

Naarah Cox, Colby-Sawyer (Sr, MB - Boston, Mass.) - Cox led the Chargers in a 2-1 week with 27 kills (3.00 k/s) on .246 hitting. She added .78 blocks per set as she was a force on both sides of the net. Cox began the week with a match high 13 kills to go with five blocks in a tough 3-1 loss at Plymouth State. She followed with four kills in two sets in a 3-0 win over Anna Maria. The senior ended the week with 10 kills and a pair of blocks in a 3-0 win at Albertus Magnus. 

Brianna Dawson, Norwich (Sr., DS - Katonah, N.Y.)  - Dawson's standout defensive play during the week helped propel the Cadets to a 2-1 record which included a pair of crucial GNAC wins against Regis and Emmanuel. The senior defensive specialist averaged 5.08 digs per set. She started the week with a great showing against a stout Keene St. attack by digging up 17 attacks in a loss. In back-to-back, five-set GNAC victories on Saturday, she collected 30 and 19 digs against Regis and Emmanuel, respectively. 

Kathryn Farnum, Norwich (Jr., OH - North Andover, Mass.) - Farnum was a critical cog in the Cadets' attack this week helping the team to two five-set GNAC victories against Regis and Emmanuel which solidified the team's chances for a postseason berth in the upcoming conference tournament. The junior outside hitter flourished in the conference matchups recording 4.00 kills per set while totaling a career-high 20 kills in each match. Farnum helped provide the necessary stamina to survive back-to-back five-set matches as witnessed by her match-clinching kill to end the final match. She also contributed defensively by averaging 3.46 digs per set and adding 0.38 blocks per set during the week. 

Sarah Farnum, Norwich (Fr., S - North Andover, Mass.) - Farnum is saving her best volleyball for the stretch run, helping Norwich to its best conference record in over a decade. The precocious freshman setter registered 10.23 assists per set helping the team to a 2-1 record. She twice surpassed her career-high in assists in a single game, breaking the program record in the process in two critical conference wins against Regis and Emmanuel. Farnum deftly directed the Cadet attack in the five-set victory over Regis collecting 53 assists. She then performed even better in the team's 3-2 victory over Emmanuel with 56 assists. In the team's loss to a tough Keene St. squad, Farnum tallied 24 assists.

Katryna Veasey, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., OH - Quincy, Mass.) - Veasey continues to be a force both offensively and defensively for the Pride, notching three double-doubles in three matches over the past week. Against Suffolk, she finished with 15 kills and 15 digs along with a season-high three assists. In Saturday's victory at Emmanuel, she earned 12 kills and 16 digs, plus she was part of five blocks at the net. She helped Regis force its match against Norwich to five sets with 17 kills and 12 digs, plus she picked up three service aces. During the Norwich match, she became the second player in Pride history to earn 1,000 career digs. 

Morgan Weeg, Simmons (Junior, OH - Goodyear, Ariz.) - The junior averaged 4.00 kills and 0.88 digs per set in eight frames over two matches to go with a .156 hitting percentage and a block assist. Weeg's third kill of the day put her on top of the Sharks all-time career kills list and 29 kills later she stands as the career leader at Simmons with 1089. The outside hitter spiked for 21 kills in five sets and added six digs and a block assist vs. Westfield State University in a tri-match on Saturday, October 26. Weeg came back to put down 11 kills and commit just three attack errors for a .242 hitting mark in addition to a dig in three sets vs. host MIT. 

Kayla Barbera, Suffolk (Jr., OH - Wakefield, R.I.) - Opened the week with a career-high 21-kill effort in a 3-1 win over Regis to go along with 16 digs for a double-double performance. Followed her personal-best outing with a 13-kill, nine-dig, two-assist, one-ace outing in a straight set victory at St. Joseph (Conn.), before recording three kills, three digs and one block versus Rivier to wrap up the week.