University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Earn B1G Weekly Awards
9/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The University of Minnesota had three student-athletes garner Big Ten Player of the Week honors, announced today by the conference office. Sarah Wilhite was named Big Ten Player of the Week, while Samantha Seliger-Swenson was named Setter of the Week and Alexis Hart was named Freshman of the Week.
Wilhite led all Gopher attacker with 34 kills in back-to-back wins over ranked teams this past weekend as she hit .312 in two games. Also producing three aces, 12 digs and four blocks, the six rotation outside hitter averaged 4.86 kills per set. Against No. 14 Texas A&M (Friday), Wilhite hit .464 and led the team with 16 kills. She followed with an 18 kill performance against No. 16 Florida State Saturday. The award marks the third time Wilhite has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week in her career.
Seliger-Swenson led the Gopher offense as Minnesota hit .308 on the weekend. Individually, Seliger-Swenson had 88 assists, averaging 12.57 per set. On Friday, the sophomore setter had 34 assists and helped the Gophers to a .287 efficiency. Minnesota hit .320 Saturday against FSU as she had a match-high and season-best 54 assists. Along with her setting ability and running a 5-1 offense, she also had one ace, nine digs and six blocks. This week's award marks the third Big Ten Setter of the Week award of her career.
Hart hit .308 on the weekend against ranked teams in just her second weekend of collegiate competition. The outside hitter ranked third on the team with 22 kills, had 3.14 kills per set in 52 attempts, recorded two aces and four blocks. Against No. 14 Texas A&M, Hart had seven kills, two aces and three block assists. In the match against No. 16 Florida State, Hart added a career-high 15 kills and hit for a .333 efficiency. It's the first Big Ten honor for the rookie in her short career.
Minnesota faces two additional ranked teams this weekend when it travels to the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Sept. 9-10, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Minnesota faces No. 21 Louisville Friday and No. 12 and host North Carolina Saturday.
