Missouri State continued its run of Missouri Valley Conference volleyball award winners on Monday, with senior Simone House garnering Player of the Week honors and Daniele Messa earning Freshman of the Week recognition for the third consecutive week and fourth time overall in 2016. Five different Bears have now been honored a total of nine times by the MVC this season.
House picked up her first career weekly MVC honor after posting nine kills on .444 hitting and five blocks while anchoring a defense that held the MVC’s top offense to a .167 attack efficiency in a 3-1 victory at Wichita State on Friday. The middle blocker from Oshkosh, Wis., contributed to five of the Bears’ 10 team blocks in the win, stuffing at least five attacks for the seventh time this season while hitting above the .400 mark for the ninth time in 2016.
Messa handed out 37 assists and scooped a team-high 16 digs in Friday’s 3-1 win at Wichita State, adding four kills on .333 hitting and one block while guiding the Bears to a .200 hitting percentage. The Bartlett, Ill., native passed former MSU All-American Carly Thomas for second in school history for assists among freshmen with 845 on the season during the match.
The Bears (17-7, 8-2 MVC) moved into a share of first place in the league standings with Wichita State after Friday’s win, and return home to face Drake at 7 p.m. Friday and UNI at 7 p.m. Saturday.
