Kent State Sweeps MAC East Volleyball Awards
10/27/2015 4:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Following impressive road wins over the top two teams in the West Division over the weekend, Kent State took both of the Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week awards. Senior opposite Kelly Hutchison was named Offensive Player of the Week and sophomore Challen Geraghty was named Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday afternoon.
The Golden Flashes (14-8, 8-2 MAC) moved into a tie for second place in the overall conference standings and extended their winning streak to seven matches by beating Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, Hutchison and Geraghty both played key roles in both victories.
Back-to-back performances with at least 20 kills and 10 digs highlighted Hutchison's weekend. She totaled 45 kills (5.62 per set) and a .424 hitting percentage to go with 21 digs (2.62 per set) in the two matches. Hutchison started the weekend with 20 kills and a .429 hitting percentage in a 3-1 win over Northern Illinois and provided the clinching kill in each of the final three sets of the match. Against a Western Michigan defense that ranks second in opponent hitting percentage in conference matches, Hutchison ripped 25 kills on a .420 hitting percentage to lead the Flashes to a 3-1 victory.
On the season, Hutchison ranks third in the MAC in kills (3.64) per set and fourth in points per set (4.09). She is second in both categories in conference matches only.
It was a special weekend for Geraghty, who celebrated her birthday by becoming the fastest player to reach the 1,000-dig milestone in Kent State history on Saturday. She recorded 53 digs (6.62 per set) and had just one receiving error in 65 opportunities (.985) in the two matches. Going up against a Northern Illinois squad that leads the MAC in hitting percentage, Geraghty had 26 digs in Friday's match. She added 27 digs in a 3-1 win at Western Michigan the following night.
On the season, Geraghty ranks 12th in the country at 5.27 digs per set and her 453 digs rank sixth on the single-season record list. She is averaging a MAC-best 5.64 digs per set during conference play.
Kent State leads the MAC with eight Player of the Week recipients this season. Hutchison and senior Bridget Wilhelm have been named Offensive Player of the Week three times, while Geraghty has been named Defensive Player of the Week twice.
Kent State (14-8, 8-2 MAC) looks to extend a seven-match winning streak when it travels to Bowling Green and Miami this weekend.
