Eastern volleyball swept the Ohio Valley Conference players of the week voting this week, as juniors Abby Saalfrank and Stephanie Wallace were named the offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively. Both awards were career firsts for the Panther duo.

In last week’s tournament at Western Illinois that started on Friday, Saalfrank posted her fifth consecutive kill-dig double-double of the season in six matches. During the weekend she posted 60 kills and 66 total points, along with an average attack of .266 with 25 of those kills leading all players in the five-set marathon against the Leathernecks, which the Panthers won in five sets.

She also leads the team in kills, (98) aces (seven) and points, (112) while ranking second in digs (76), and blocks (13). The Hoagland, Ind., native was later named to the all-tournament team, her second on the season, as she made the all-tournament team at Ball State to open the season.

Her teammate, Wallace, earned Defensive Player of the Week, tallying 62 total digs at Western. She also scored double digits in digs in every match. That includes a season-high of 25 in the four-set win over the UTEP. She is also the team leader in digs, with 110 this season, and 918 on her career at Eastern. She is only 82 digs away from reaching Eastern’s 1,000-dig club.

Both women currently rank first in the OVC, with Saalfrank leading in both kills-per-set (3.3) and points-per set (5.08), while Wallace ranks first in digs with 110 total and 4.4 per set.

Eastern Kentucky’s Dena Ott was named the co-defensive player of the week. The senior from Wauconda led the Colonels in digs in wins over Marshall (23), Wright State (14), and Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (13). She is now moved up to third on the school’s all-time list with 1,944 career digs.

Around the OVC

Murray State remained unbeaten after defeats of Liberty, South Carolina-Upstate and Howard at the Liberty Invitational. Sophomore Scottie Ingram earned all-tournament honors after recording 41 kills and 24 digs over the three matches, including a double-double in the win over Liberty.

Teammate Sam Bedard was named the OVC Setter of the Week. In her best game, she tabbed 48 assists. 17 digs and six kills in the Racers win over Liberty. She also averaged 32 assists per game in wins over Upstate and Howard.

Blake Nash can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].