Aug. 27, 2012

VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY REPORT

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Atlantic 10 Conference has named Dayton senior Rachel Krabacher its Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week and Dayton and VCU freshmen Janna Krafka and Martina Samadan the Co-Defensive Players of the Week. Duquesne freshman Mary Henry took home Rookie of the Week honors. The league announced the three awards, the first of the 2012 season, Monday for matches played Aug 24-26.

Krabacher, an outside hitter, helped Dayton win the 2012 Flyer Classic, with two of the three victories coming against nationally-ranked opponents. Krabacher not only led Dayton with 17 kills against No. 7 Illinois, but became just the 20^th Dayton Flyers to reach the 1,000 kill mark. She added nine kills against No. 11 Pepperdine and against Ohio she led Dayton with 20. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native was named to the Flyer Classic All-Tournament team. She led Dayton in kills per set (4.18) and kills (46), and was second on the team in blocks (8).

Krafka, a libero from Centerville, Ohio, earned the Most Outstanding Player award and All-Tournament honors at the 2012 Flyer Classic.  Krafka tallied 10 digs against No. 7 Illinois to help Dayton to a 3-0 sweep. She dominated defensively against No. 11 Pepperdine with 20 digs to lead UD. She added another 15 digs in the win over Ohio. Krafka led Dayton in digs (45) and digs per set (4.09). She also had four aces in the wins.

Samadan registered nearly two blocks per set (1.92) in helping VCU start the season 3-0 and win the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge. She stopped seven attacks against Illinois, then recorded eight blocks each versus Ball State and Gardner-Webb. A native of Split, Croatia, the middle blocker also had three digs and 1.92 kills per set, including 11 versus host Ball State.

Henry, a setter from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., recorded 9.77 assists per set, tallying over 40 assists twice in Duquesne's 3-1 week. She had 44 assists in the Dukes 3-2 win at New Mexico and earned a spot on the Sheraton/LA Boxing Lobo Classic All-Tournament team. Henry also averaged 2.38 digs per set, including 16 in the second match versus New Mexico. She also had three blocks and two aces in the four matches.

The 30^th A-10 volleyball season began Friday and all 12 league teams were in action this weekend. Charlotte, Dayton, and Atlantic 10 newcomer VCU each started the season 3-0, winning their respective tournaments.