Bittinger, Geraghty Sweep Weekly MAC East Volleyball Honors
8/28/2017 6:01:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Kent State volleyball program swept the first Mid-American Conference East Division weekly awards of the season, the conference office announced Monday evening. Senior outside hitter Kelsey Bittinger was named Offensive Player of the Week and senior libero Challen Geraghty was named Defensive Player of the Week.
Bittinger earned Cyclone Invitational All-Tournament Team honors after leading the Golden Flashes with 50 points (5.56/set), 46 kills (5.11/set) and a .352 hitting percentage, while ranking second with 22 digs (2.44/set) and two aces. Her best performance came in a sweep of Omaha, as she posted 18 kills with just three errors on 35 swings for a .429 hitting percentage. Bittinger also totaled 18 kills while hitting .359 against New Mexico. The outside hitter opened the season with a team-high 10 kills against host Iowa State. She ranks ninth in the country in kills per set and 12th in points per set.
The Preseason All-MAC East selection moved up three spots on Kent State's all-time kills list and now has 1,153 kills to lead all active MAC players. Bittinger entered the season as one of seven NCAA Division I players with 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.
Geraghty totaled 64 digs to bolster a Golden Flashes defense that limited opponents to a .190 hitting percentage, and ranks fourth nationally at 7.11 digs per set. She closed opening weekend with an incredible 30-dig performance in a sweep of Omaha, which would've been tied for the 5th-most digs in a 3-set match during the 2016 season. Geraghty tallied 18 digs against New Mexico and 16 digs against host Iowa State while being perfect in 52 serve-receive opportunities in the first two matches of the tournament.
The senior libero is closing in on the 2,000-dig milestone with 1,944 for her career as the active NCAA Division I leader. Laura Jensen (2004-07) is the only player in school history with more digs (2,167).
Kent State (1-2) is back in action at the Cardinal Classic next weekend against a competitive field of Illinois, No. 24 Western Kentucky and host Louisville.
