CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - America East volleyball teams completed their second weekend of action Sunday and three standouts have been awarded for their stellar play with the conference's awards for the week ending Sept. 3, which were announced Tuesday afternoon.
University of Hartford's Sareeta Nethersole led Hartford to a pair of wins and is the Player of the Week, while University of New Hampshire's Taylor Dunklau (Setter of the Week) and Stony Brook University's Melissa Rigo (Rookie of the Week) are repeat winners.
Nethersole (Mogadore, Ohio) led the Hawks to a 2-2 record in the second week of the season with 71 kills, a .297 hitting percentage and 53 digs to earn Player of the Week recognition. Her 4.18 kills per set and .297 hitting percentage ranked second among America East leaders last week, while her 3.12 digs per set ranked eighth. The sophomore outside hitter had a double-double of 23 kills and 10 digs while hitting .362 against Central Connecticut on Wednesday. She then recorded the lone 20-20 match in America East so far this season, racking up 21 kills and 20 digs while hitting .319 in a 3-2 win over Fordham Friday. Nethersole finished her week with 19 kills and 13 digs in a 3-1 win over NJIT Sunday.
Dunklau (Mukwonago, Wis.) earned her second straight Setter of the Week award by averaging a league-best 10.21 assists per set over the four-match span last week. The sophomore setter, who also added 20 digs and five blocks, paced UNH to a .188 hitting percentage for the week, which was the best in the conference. Dunklau racked up 47 assists in a five-set loss to Rhode Island at the Rutgers Invitational and went on to lead the Wildcats past Iona, 3-0, as paced her team to a .333 hitting percentage with 39 assists.
Rigo (East Northport, N.Y.) averaged conference-bests of 5.56 points and 4.89 kills per set over the weekend at the Yale Classic to earn her second straight Rookie of the Week honor. Also the Player of the Week last week, Rigo tallied a match-high in kills in each of her three matches last week, racking up 16, 14 and 14 against American, Yale and Texas A&M, respectively.
2012 America East Volleyball Weekly Award Winners
Aug. 27 - Player of the Week: Melissa Rigo (Stony Brook); Setter of the Week: Taylor Dunklau (New Hampshire); Rookie of the Week: Melissa Rigo (Stony Brook)
Sept. 4 - Player of the Week: Sareeta Nethersole (Hartford); Setter of the Week: Taylor Dunklau (New Hampshire); Rookie of the Week: Melissa Rigo (Stony Brook)