GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced its weekly awards following Week 8 of the 2024 volleyball season. Wayne State junior middle blocker Kayla Giroux received GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors, Grand Valley State redshirt sophomore middle hitter Brianna Stawski earned GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week accolades and Ferris State senior setter Kaylee Maat was named GLIAC Setter of the Week.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Kayla Giroux, Wayne State
Kayla Giroux (Flat Rock, Mich.) was named GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week for the third time in her career and first time this season on Monday. The most-recent honor comes after Giroux registered a .585 hitting percentage in a pair of Wayne State wins over Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan, both of which came in straight sets. The junior racked up 31 kills without a single attack error on 53 total attempts. The veteran middle blocker also notched a service ace, two digs and nine total blocks as the Warriors improved to 10-10 overall and 7-3 in GLIAC play.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brianna Stawski, Grand Valley State
For the third time this season, GVSU middle hitter Brianna Stawski has been named GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week. Stawski helped the Lakers to a 2-0 record over the weekend, posting 15 total blocks and nine kills. She posted two solo blocks and six block assists in the Lakers’ sweep over Northern Michigan. The redshirt sophomore followed that up with seven more block assists and four kills in a victory against Michigan Tech. Stawski is tied for the team lead in blocks with 74, while adding 144 kills this season. The two wins this weekend for the Lakers moved them to 20-1 overall, setting a new program record for best start to a season.
SETTER OF THE WEEK: Kaylee Maat, Ferris State
Ferris State University senior setter Kaylee Maat led the nation’s second-ranked Bulldogs to two GLIAC home wins this past week as FSU improved to a nation-leading 22-0 on the year, which marks the best season start in school history. Maat became the school’s all-time career assists leader over the weekend with more than 5,300 assists in her Bulldog career and is closing in on the GLIAC’s all-time mark. She totaled 60 assists in a pair of 3-0 sweeps against Davenport and Roosevelt. Maat had 32 assists with a service ace and four digs in FSU’s 3-0 home win over the Panthers on Thursday before coming back with 28 assists, three kills, three digs and an ace in Friday’s 3-0 road win at Roosevelt. For the week, she averaged 10 assists per set, finishing with 60 overall as FSU stayed on top of the conference standings. Maat also recently became the Bulldogs’ all-time career leader in service aces.
HONORABLE MENTION
Offense: Abby Alan (Davenport), Syann Fairfield (Ferris State), Jordyn Gates (Grand Valley State), Marina Gronkiewicz (Purdue Northwest), Elle Truckenbrod (Parkside)
Defense: Kendyl Andrews (Wayne State), Leah Bylut (Ferris State), Natalie Harris (Parkside), Cydney Martinez (Roosevelt)
Setter: Kayla Dulgar (Wayne State), Jordyn Gates (Grand Valley State), Mehl Hansen (Davenport), Karlee Lois (Parkside), Olivia Brooke (Purdue Northwest)
