Rochester, Mn-
The Minnesota College Athletic Conference has named the Week 9, MCAC Volleyball Players-of-the-Week in the Northern Division. The MCAC/Twin Cities Gateway Crossover Tournament and a handful of MCAC mid-week matches gave fans much to follow over the past seven days, as the regular season draws to a close with important fixtures yet to occurs this week.
MCAC North Hitter-of-the-Week:
Cassie Smieja, a middle hitter at Central Lakes College, turned in a strong performance against a pair of quality opponents at the MCAC Crossover Tournament for the Raiders. The Piertz, Minnesota, product helped lead her team to a 2-0 record over the past week of action which included wins over Rochester Community & Technical College and M State. Smieja had 19 kills, hitting for a .447%. She also collected 10 blocks, 19 digs and an ace. Central Lakes and head coach Jane Peterson will face three key matches this week, taking on Mesabi Range, Hibbing CC and Rainy River Community College to conclude the Northern Division regular season.
MCAC North Setter-of-the-Week:
The Hibbing Community College Cardinals put together a solid week on the volleyball court, going .500 at the MCAC Crossover Tournament held at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Maree Poppenhagen was key in the strong performance for HCC, and has earned Setter-of-the-Week honors in the Northern Division for her efforts. Poppenhagen tallied an impressive 56 set assists against Southern power M State and racked up 128 total helpers for the tournament. Hibbing will face two key matches this week, with Central Lakes College and Northland CTC looming on the week's docket.
MCAC North Defensive Player-of-the-Week:
Caely Welk, of Mesabi Range College, has earned the MCAC Northern Division Defensive Player-of-the-Week award. Welk put together a week in which she had a 4.08 Digs Per Set and collected four aces from the service line. She helped the Lady Norse collect three wins at the MCAC Crossover tournament to raise their overall record to 11-13 . Mesabi Range heads into a final MCAC regular season contest on Friday, in which they will take on Central Lakes College, Itasca Community College and Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College in an important trio of Northern Division contests.
MCAC North All-Around Player-of-the-Week:
The MCAC Volleyball Week 9 All Around Player-of-the-Week in the Northern Division has been awarded to Paige Wallevand of Central Lakes College. The Henning, Minnesota product earns the nod for the honor in helping her Raider squad put together an outstanding week against two top MCAC foes from the Southern Division; M State and Rochester CTC. Wallevand had 20 kills for the week, to go with 28 digs, four blocks and eight aces in the two contests. CLC is still unbeaten in MCAC Divisional play at 11-0, and has an overall record of 20-8. Central Lakes will wrap up regular season play against Mesabi Range College, Hibbing CC and Rainy River Community College this week.
Action photo courtesy of CLC Athletics
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About the Minnesota College Athletic Conference
The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State system. The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions. The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.