Wednesday, October 26, 2011
USI's LaGrange garners AVCA national honor
Danielle LaGrange
LaGrange, who is the second USI volleyball player to earn AVCA National Player of the Week honors in the program's 32-year history, averaged 5.60 points, 4.90 kills, 1.00 blocks, and 1.60 digs per set as theEagles posted wins over McKendree University, Saint Joseph's College, and No. 21 University of Indianapolis. She also attacked at a .415 clip and added apair of service aces to her yearly total. In USI's sweep of McKendree last Tuesday, LaGrange hit .600 and posted 18 kills, six digs, and three assists. She became the 11th member of USI's 1,000-kill club Friday night as she racked up 15 kills, a .370 attacking percentage, four digs, two blocks, and a pair of aces in USI's sweep of Saint Joseph's. LaGrange, who was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday, concluded theweekend by racking up 16 kills, eight blocks, six digs, and a .297 attacking clip in USI's four-set victory over UIndy. The win was USI's first over the Greyhounds since the 2005 season. "This is a well-deserved award for Danielle," said USI Head Coach Leah Mercer. "She led our team to three important victories last week and she is peeking at the righttime. She's become a vocal leader on the court and demands the ball in pressure situations when we need a point." For the year, LaGrange is averaging a team-best 4.59 points on a team-high 3.84 kills and 0.87 blocks per set. She leads the Eagles and ranks fifth in the GLVC with a .332 hitting percentage. LaGrange also is ranked second in the league in points per set, fourth in kills per set, and10th in blocks per set. A graduate of Heritage Hills High School and a kinesiology major, LaGrange joins former All-American Laura Ellerbusch '04 as the only players in USI history to earn AVCA National Player of the Week honors. Ellerbusch was named AVCA NationalPlayer of the Week in 2005. It also is the second consecutive week that a player from the GLVC has been named the AVCA National Player of the Week - ÂNorthern Kentucky University setter Jenna Schreiver earned the honor last week. USI, which has won nine of its last 11 matches and its last seven GLVC contests, returns to action tonight 7 p.m. when it hosts Kentucky Wesleyan College at the Physical Activities Center. |
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