Conference player of the week honors in the sport of volleyball tend to go to players with great offensive numbers. But this week, it was a player on the defensive side of the ball who earned some well-deserved accolades.
Junior libero Taylor Wiese was named the Great Midwest Athletic Conference West Division Player of the Week, the first such honor of her career. The award was chosen and announced by the conference office Monday afternoon.
The libero is a defensive specialist position, one who's play doesn't normally directly lead to points in the same way you see from middle or outside hitters. But Wiese's considerable talents reached a peak during Hillsdale's eighth and ninth consecutive wins of the season over the weekend.
Friday night, she helped engineer a 3-0 road win over Cedarville University with a career-high 31 digs. The next day, she led the Chargers with 30 digs in a 3-0 win over Tiffin University to help solidify Hillsdale's grip on first place in the conference.
The American Volleyball Coaches Association recognizes players who get 30 digs in a match with its 30 Dig Clu. Wiese qualified for that honor twice this weekend, but more incredibly, did it twice in three-set matches. Her average of 10.2 digs per set is an other-worldly number. The current G-MAC leader in digs per set - Lake Erie's Morgan Briggs - averages 6.2 digs per set. Wiese ranks second with 5.94 digs per set this season.
She is the third different Charger to earn conference weekly honors this season, joining senior Paige VanderWall and sophomore Lindsey Mertz in that club. Nine different Hillsdale College athletes have been named G-MAC Player of the Week during the 2018-19 school year.
Wiese, a native of Mattawan, Michigan, was named First-Team All-Conference following the 2017 season.