Rochester, MN-

The 2017 NJCAA Volleyball season is just underway and many teams are looking to work out the kinks and dust of the rust from the summer layoff.  However, a few MCAC student-athletes came into preseason ready to hit the court in mid-season form and for their outstanding Week 1 performances, have earned Southern Division Player-of-the-Week honors in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference. 

MCAC Southern Division Players of the Week: 

Sheyenne Gunderson, a M-State Fergus Falls freshman setter, was key in helping her teammates succeed on the court this past week.  Gunderson tallied 156 assists, which was good for a 9.18 assist/set over the first week of competition for 7th ranked M-State.  Gunderson and her M-State teammates are off to a strong start for 2017, with the Spartans going 3-2, including three wins over MCAC competition. For her team-oriented play early in the 2017 season, Gunderson was tabbed as the Setter-of-the-Week in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference. 

The Hitter-of-the-Week in the Southern Division hails from Becker, Mn; Mackenzie Swanson hit at a .333 percentage for M-State Fergus Fall, helping lead the 7th ranked Spartans in most key offensive categories to start to the 2017 volleyball campaign.  Swanson, a sophomore, tallied 43 kills and her M-State teammates only dropped two matches to open the season.   For her efforts, Swanson takes home inaugural 2017 Hitter-of-the-Week honors in the MCAC. 

At Ridgewater College, Jamie Goblirsch from Wabasso, Mn, turned in a strong defensive week for her Warrior squad. The libero accumulated 61 total digs for Ridgewater, who started the season ranked #2 nationally in the NJCAA. Goblirsch helped her squad dial it in defensively, as Ridgewater turned in a 4-0 opening-weekend performance.  And, not only did the Warriors start unbeaten in match play, they did not drop a game, knocking out 3-0 wins in each of their four contests.  Defense wins championships, and Jamie Goblirsch was a key cog in the Ridgewater defensive wheel this week, earning Defensive Player-of-the-Week.     

Lastly, earning All-Around Player-of-the-Week was Kalie Jergens, for her balanced performance at St. Cloud Technical & Community College, helping the Cyclones go 5-1 in Week 1.  Jergens racked up 77 total kills on the week, averaging out to 3.76 kills per set. Jergens sits second nationally in the NJCAA kills category.  The Becker, Mn standout also had 3.14 digs and .6 aces per set.  The Cyclones are off to a great start for the season, and will face the JV team of Mayville State on August 30.  Jergens and her teammates will also see MCAC North power #4 Central Lakes College next weekend at the CLC Triad, where they will be joined by North Dakota State College of Science. 

For full MCAC Volleyball Stats, Standings and more, visit: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/wvball/index

To Follow Minnesota College Athletic Conference sports in 2017,  please go to: www.mcacsports.org

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