What's the best way to celebrate being named conference Athlete of the Week?
How about put up even bigger numbers the next week?
That's exactly what Hillsdale College junior Karoline Shelton did in road matches against Malone and Walsh this past weekend, totaling a combined 33 kills and 4.71 kills per set in two Charger victories.
On Monday afternoon, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference office announced that Shelton had repeated as the G-MAC volleyball Offensive Athlete of the Week, the third such honor in her career.
The Shawnee, Kansas native had arguably the best match of her career in a four-set Charger win over previously unbeaten Walsh on Saturday, finishing with 21 kills, a career-high for a four-set match and the highest total in the G-MAC this season, on a .364 hitting percentage and 19 digs.
That performance came on the heels of a strong effort in a three-set win over visiting Malone the previous night, where Shelton led the Chargers with 12 kills on a .458 hitting percentage and added four service aces.
For the season, Shelton has been the Chargers' kills leader in all four matches Hillsdale has played. She's also the only player in the G-MAC who is in the Top 10 in all three major offensive categories, currently sitting in second in kills per set (4.23), third in hitting percentage (.370) and sixth in service aces per set (0.54). Shelton has 55 kills and just four attack errors on 138 total attacks so far this season.
She's currently second in the conference in total points per set (4.85), behind Lake Erie's Kariema Rodriguez (4.88), and Shelton has played four matches this season to Rodriguez's one.
Shelton will look to keep up her red-hot start this weekend as the 12th-ranked Chargers travel to Ursuline at 7 p.m. on Friday for a G-MAC contest, then continue east to Erie, Pennsylvania for a non-conference showdown with 23rd-ranked Gannon in their first meeting with a ranked foe this year.
Photo by Anthony Lupi