Women's Volleyball

1999 Players of the Week

(November 8-14)
Rachel Widener, Mount Vernon Nazarene College (player)
Becky Jefferys, Mount Vernon Nazarene College (setter)
CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Mount Vernon Nazarene College teammates Rachel Widener (Elyria, OH; Open Door Christian) and Becky Jefferys (Elyria, OH; Elyria H.S.) are the AMC women's volleyball Player and Setter of the Week, respectively. They earned the recognition after leading the Lady Cougars to the AMC tournament title.

Widener, a 5-foot-9 senior outside hitter, averaged 5.43 kills and 4.14 digs in two tournament wins to go along with a .385 attack percentage and a .966 serve accuracy. She hammered 21 kills in a victory over Ohio Dominican and added 17 more in the championship decision against host Walsh.

Jefferys, a 5-foot-6 senior setter, averaged 8.43 assists in MVNC's two-setter system with 1.83 digs per game. She had a .975 serving accuracy with only one error in 40 attempts. Jefferys handed out 38 assists in the Ohio Dominican match as the Cougars set a school record with 91 kills. MVNC, who was also the regular season league champ, is 41-4 overall.

(November 1-7)
Janel Hemker, Tiffin University (player)
Cara Gigliotti, Saint Vincent College (setter)
CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Tiffin University middle blocker Janel Hemker (Saginaw, MI) and Saint Vincent College setter Cara Gigliotti (Greensburg, PA; Greensburg-Salem H.S.) are the Players of the Week in AMC women's volleyball.

Hemker, a 5-foot-8 junior, led Tiffin to three AMC wins which allowed the Dragons to grab the sixth and final AMC Tournament slot. She averaged 3.75 kills and 3.75 digs per game with a .246 attack percentage and a .924 serving accuracy. Tiffin is 12-27 overall and 7-6 AMC.

Gigliotti, a 5-foot-5 senior, averaged 12.88 assists in a pair of road victories for Saint Vincent, 25-12 overall and 6-7 AMC. She posted a .967 serve percentage and contributed 1.13 kills and 2.63 digs per game.

(October 25-31)
Rachel Widener, Mount Vernon Nazarene College (player)
Nicole Jackson, Malone College (setter)
CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Mount Vernon Nazarene College outside hitter Rachel Widener (Elyria, OH; Open Door Christian Academy) and Malone College setter Nicole Jackson (Willard, OH; Willard H.S.) are the AMC women's volleyball Players of the Week. Jackson was also named the NAIA Region IX Setter of the Week.

Widener, a 5-foot-9 senior, averaged 4.0 kills and 5.86 digs in a pair of MVNC victories which included a four-game win at Walsh. It guarantees the Cougars of at least a share of their second straight AMC crown. Widener had a .310 attack percentage, a .966 serving accuracy, and she did not commit a passing error in 29 attempts. She also became the school's all-time leader in digs with 2,221. MVNC is 34-2 overall and 12-0 AMC.

Jackson, a 5-foot-5 sophomore, helped Malone stay in a second-place tie with three AMC victories by averaging 14.15 assists per game. She recorded 50 serves without an error and averaged 2.77 digs per game. Her highlight was 78 assists in a five-game win over Cedarville. Malone is 26-5 overall and 11-1 AMC.

(October 18-24)
Amanda Schumm, Mount Vernon Nazarene College (player)
Kristy Welsh, University of Rio Grande (setter)
CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Mount Vernon Nazarene College outside hitter Amanda Schumm (Rockford, OH; Parkway H.S.) and University of Rio Grande setter Kristy Welsh (Jackson, OH; Woodford County KY H.S.) have been selected the AMC women's volleyball Players of the Week. Both players were also named NAIA Region IX Players of the Week.

Schumm, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, guided MVNC to a 3-0 week and the NCCAA East Regional title which qualifies the Cougars for their 10th straight trip to the NCCAA Nationals. She averaged 3.36 kills with a .381 attack percentage and 2.27 digs. She served at a .948 accuracy with five aces and recorded a .970 pass percentage.

Schumm was named to the All-NCCAA East Region Team. She averaged 3.63 kills with a .417 attack percentage in tournament wins over AMC foes Malone and Geneva. Mount Vernon Nazarene is 32-2 overall and 11-0 AMC.

Welsh, a 5-foot-7 senior, averaged 13.71 assists and 5.14 digs in a pair of AMC wins over Saint Vincent and Seton Hill. She had 53 serves without an error and added 1.29 kills per game. The Redwomen are 13-16 overall and 4-5 AMC.

(October 11-17)
Rachel Widener, Mount Vernon Nazarene College (player)
Jennifer Pafford, Walsh University (setter)
CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Mount Vernon Nazarene College outside hitter Rachel Widener (Elyria, OH; Open Door Christian Academy) and Walsh University setter Jennifer Pafford (Pittsburgh, PA; Baldwin H.S.) are the AMC women's volleyball Players of the Week.

Widener, a 5-foot-9 senior, was also named the NAIA Region IX Player of the Week after averaging 4.33 kills with a .490 attack percentage to lead Mount Vernon Nazarene to a pair of AMC victories. She had 15 kills and 14 digs in a three-game sweep over Ohio Dominican and then recorded 11 kills and 12 digs in a three-game victory at Malone in a battle of AMC unbeatens. Widener supplied 4.33 digs per game and served at an .875 accuracy. MVNC is 29-2 overall and 11-0 AMC.

Pafford, a 5-foot-8 senior, averaged 13.0 assists and 3.38 digs in AMC wins over Seton Hill and Ohio Dominican. She added 1.25 kills and commited just one serving error in 32 attempts. Pafford handed out 68 assists at ODC as the Cavs rallied from a 2-1 deficit for the victory. Walsh is 23-5 overall and 9-0 AMC.

(October 4-10)
Amy Martin, Cedarville College (player)
Becky Jefferys, Mount Vernon Nazarene College (setter)
CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Cedarville College middle hitter Amy Martin (South Charleston, OH; Southeastern H.S.) and Mount Vernon Nazarene College setter Becky Jefferys (Elyria, OH; Elyria H.S.) are the AMC women's volleyball Players of the Week.

Martin, a six-foot sophomore, helped Cedarville extend its winning streak to nine straight matches with three more victories. In 12 games played, she averaged 4.42 kills with a .523 attack percentage. Her hitting accuracy was .500 or higher in all three matches which included a 21-kill performance in a victory at Saint Vincent which equalled her career-high. Martin added 12 blocks for the Lady Jackets, 16-7 overall and 4-1 AMC.

Jefferys, a 5-foot-6 senior, averaged 5.64 assists in Mount Vernon Nazarene's two-setter system to help the Cougars to a 4-0 week and the Michigan-Dearborn Classic championship. She served at a .958 accuracy in 71 attempts with five aces. Jefferys recorded 21 assists and 13 digs in a victory over NAIA No. 17 Madonna. MVNC is 27-2 overall and 9-0 AMC.

(Week of September 27 - October 3)
Mary Imber, Walsh University (player)
Kristy Welsh, University of Rio Grande (setter)
CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Walsh University outside hitter Mary Imber (Clinton, MI; Clinton H.S.) and University of Rio Grande setter Kristy Welsh (Jackson, OH; Woodford County KY H.S.) are the AMC women's volleyball Players of the Week.

Imber, a 5-foot-9 junior, led Walsh to a 3-0 week by averaging 3.27 kills and 5.82 digs per game. She posted a .256 attack percentage, a .952 passing accuracy, and averaged 0.73 aces. The Cavaliers improved to 18-4 overall and 6-0 AMC.

Welsh, a 5-7 senior, averaged 11.35 assists per game in helping Rio Grande to a 4-1 record against NCAA Division II competition. She recorded a .945 serve percentage in 73 attempts, pounded 26 kills in the five matches, and averaged 3.95 digs. The Redwomen have won five of their last six matches and are 8-14 overall and 0-4 AMC.

(Week of September 20-26)
Rachel Widener, Mount Vernon Nazarene College (player)
Cara Gigliotti, Saint Vincent College (setter)
CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Mount Vernon Nazarene College outside hitter Rachel Widener (Elyria, OH; Open Door Christian Academy) and Saint Vincent College setter Cara Gigliotti (Greensburg, PA; Greensburg-Salem H.S.) are the AMC women's volleyball Players of the Week. Both were selected NAIA Region IX Players of the Week and Widener was recognized as the NAIA National Player of the Week.

Widener, a 5-foot-9 senior, paced MVNC to a 5-0 week and was named MVP of the Cougars' invitational. In 19 games played, she averaged 3.47 kills with a .354 attack percentage. She posted a .977 passing percentage in 88 attempts and added 5.21 digs per game. Widener set a single-match school record by hitting at a .762 clip versus Tiffin with 16 kills in 21 attempts without an error. MVNC, winners of 17 straight matches, is 20-1 overall and 5-0 AMC.

Gigliotti, a 5-foot-5 senior, helped Saint Vincent to a 4-0 week by supplying 13.18 assists per game. She served up eight aces with a .917 accuracy and averaged 4.72 digs. The Bearcats open the week 14-5 overall and 2-0 AMC.

(Week of September 13-19)
Abby Feyh, Walsh University (player)
Jennifer Pafford, Walsh University (setter)
CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Walsh University teammates Abby Feyh (Grove City, OH; Franklin Heights H.S.) and Jennifer Pafford (Pittsburgh, PA; Baldwin H.S.) have been named the AMC Players of the Week in women's volleyball. They helped the Cavaliers open the AMC season with three straight wins.

Feyh, a six-foot senior middle blocker, earned Player of the Week honors after averaging 4.80 kills per game with a .506 attack percentage. In ten games played she added 15 blocks and 21 digs.

Pafford, a 5-8 senior, was tabbed Setter of the Week and averaged 12.3 assists per game. She contributed 22 digs and 16 kills while serving at a .902 accuracy. Walsh opens the week 12-4 overall and 3-0 AMC.

(Week of September 6-12)
Angela Lockhart, Malone College (player)
Lisa Flowers, Urbana University (setter)
CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Malone College middle hitter Angela Lockhart (Stow, OH; Akron Hoban H.S.) and Urbana University setter Lisa Flowers (West Jefferson, OH; West Jefferson H.S.) are the AMC women's volleyball Players of the Week. Flowers was also named the NAIA Region IX Setter of the Week.

Lockhart, a 5-foot-10 senior, helped Malone to a 5-0 week and the Baldwin-Wallace Invitational title. She was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 4.0 kills with a .392 attack percentage. Lockhart also supplied 1.87 blocks per game for the Pioneers, 8-1 overall, who swept all five matches in three games.

Flowers, a 5-5 junior, averaged 12.18 assists to lead Urbana to a 3-0 week. Her top outing was 55 assists in a five-game victory over Shawnee state. Flowers had a .917 serve percentage with eight aces to go along with 3.27 digs per game. The Blue Knights improved to 3-4 overall.

(Week of August 30 - September 5)
Kathleen Thomas, Ohio Dominican College (player)
Nicole Jackson, Malone College (setter)
CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- Ohio Dominican College middle hitter Kathleen Thomas (Cleveland, OH; Padua Franciscan H.S.) and Malone College setter Nicole Jackson (Willard, OH; Willard H.S.) are the AMC women's volleyball Players of the Week.

Thomas, a six-foot junior, averaged 5.87 kills and 1.73 blocks during ODC's 3-1 week. She hammered 31 kills, which is just six shy of her school record, in a match versus Ohio Wesleyan. Thomas posted a .413 attack percentage, served at a .944 clip, and averaged 2.53 digs per game for the Panthers, 5-3 overall.

Jackson, a 5-6 sophomore, supplied 11.58 assists per game in leading Malone to the Cornerstone Invitational championship. She handed out 36 assists in a four-game victory over NAIA No. 11 Taylor and totalled over 50 assists in each of her other three matches. Jackson had a .942 serve accuracy for the Pioneers, 3-1 overall.

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