GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced its weekly awards following Week 11 of the 2025 volleyball season. Northern Michigan senior middle blocker McKenzie Gruner was named GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week, Wayne State senior middle blocker Kayla Giroux was honored as GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week and Grand Valley State freshman setter Gabby Orlet was recognized as GLIAC Setter of the Week.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: McKenzie Gruner, Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan senior McKenzie Gruner has been named the GLIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. Gruner delivered a standout weekend as the Wildcats closed the regular season with back-to-back home wins to secure the No. 3 seed in the GLIAC Tournament. She opened the weekend with 14 kills in a 3-0 sweep of Lake Superior State, including three clutch kills late in the third set to help NMU close out the match. She hit .440 in the match. Gruner turned it up a notch in the regular season finale, posting 19 kills while hitting .531 in a 3-1 win over Saginaw Valley State. She also added five blocks, impacting the match on both sides of the net. For the weekend, Gruner averaged 4.13 kills per set while hitting .466. She finished the regular season with 331 kills and a .318 attack percentage. Northern Michigan (15-13, 12-4 GLIAC) now turns its attention to the postseason. The Wildcats will host a GLIAC Quarterfinal match vs. Parkside at Vandament Arena on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Kayla Giroux, Wayne State
Kayla Giroux (Flat Rock, Mich.) was named GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in her career and first instance since her freshman season in 2022, as announced by the league on Monday. This past week, while Wayne State was recording wins No. 20 and 21 and securing a share of the GLIAC Regular Season Championship, the program's first in 44 years, Giroux was a force above the net defensively. The senior racked up 13 blocks (1.86 per set), three of which were of the solo variety. She also hit .297 on the offensive end with 29 kills and 10 errors on 64 total attacks.
SETTER OF THE WEEK: Gabby Orlet, Grand Valley State
Grand Valley State freshman setter Gabby Orlet has been named GLIAC Setter of the Week for the second time this season. Across two games, Orlet recorded 81 assists, 17 digs, 10 kills, two blocks, and two service aces. She had 36 assists, six digs, four kills, two aces, and a block in Thursday’s match at Wayne State. On Saturday, Orlet tied her career-high with 45 assists, doing it in just three sets, adding 11 digs, six kills, and a block in the sweep of Purdue Northwest. This season, Orlet has totaled 226 assists, 53 digs, 20 kills, nine blocks, and seven service aces.
HONORABLE MENTION
Offense: Leigha Baldwin (Wayne State), Sam Fisch (Parkside), Meghan O'Sullivan (Grand Valley State), Gabby Piazza (Ferris State), Karley Pretzer (Davenport), Rachel Zurek (Michigan Tech)
Defense: Lexi Armstrong (Grand Valley State), Hope Davies (Ferris State), Julia Fledderjohn (Michigan Tech), Julia Frederick (Davenport), Natalie Harris (Parkside), Liesl Haugen (Northern Michigan)
Setter: Allie Barlow (Northern Michigan), Madison Berry (Davenport), Kayla Dulgar (Wayne State), Madelynn Kreider (Michigan Tech), Lily Ray (Parkside), Hayley Wegener (Ferris State)
