KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced its weekly award winners for the second week of the 2023 volleyball season, awarding a Griffon a weekly award for the first time since 2019.

MIAA Setter of the Week – Nessa Johnson, Missouri Western  
Nessa Johnson led the Griffons to a 3-1 showing this past weekend at the Washburn Invitational in Topeka, Kansas. Johnson notched three straight double-doubles to end the tourney, garnering 142 assists and 41 digs overall. Johnson tallied 31 assists and 11 digs in the 3-0 win over No. 25-ranked Harding, the Griffons' first sweep of a ranked team since 2017. This is Johnson's first MIAA Athlete of the Week honor.
 
MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week – Kersti Nix, Central Missouri              
Kersti Nix led the Jennies with 69 kills over four matches, averaging 3.83 per set as Central Missouri went 2-2 in the Colorado Premier Challenge. The redshirt senior from Overland Park, Kan. recorded three double-double performances, all against top-25 opponents. Against No. 13-ranked West Florida, Nix recorded a match-high 18 kills and a team-high 15 digs. She then totaled a team-high 16 and added 11 digs against No. 16-ranked Cal State LA and added 17 kills and 11 digs against No. 6-ranked Metro State - Denver.
 
MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week – Emily Ellis, Fort Hays State   
Emily Ellis averaged 1.57 blocks per set for the week with a total of 22 blocks over 14 sets to help Fort Hays State to an undefeated weekend at 4-0 while hosting the 2023 Tiger Classic. In a 3-1 win over Minnesota State, Ellis had recorded a double-double in blocks and kills with 10 each. She was just one assisted block shy of her own school record for assisted blocks in a four-set match with nine. Ellis totaled a weekend-high 12 kills in FHSU's 3-1 win over New Mexico Highlands. She was just one point shy of the team lead for the weekend with 46 total points. Even as a middle blocker, she still averaged 1.14 digs per set for the week.
 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Offensive
Addison Wimmer – Central Oklahoma
Addison Wimmer earned MVP honors at Texas Woman's Denton Volleyfest after helping the Bronchos sweep the weekend, 4-0. Wimmer played in all five matches and in all 19 sets, leading the team with 59 kills and 3.11 kills per set. The junior hit .232 through five matches while also adding two service aces, 38 digs, and eight blocks on the week.
 
Sandora Sasaki – Emporia State
Sandora Sasaki extended her string of double figure kill matches to eight as she hit .299 and led the Hornets to a 3-1 record at the Missouri S&T Invitational. The junior opened the weekend with 13 kills and nine digs in a 3-1 loss to the host Miners. She put the Hornets back on the winning track with a career high 19 kills on .333 hitting with four digs and two block assists in a 3-1 win over Lake Superior State. In a 3-0 sweep of Kentucky Wesleyan, Sasaki totaled 12 kills with an ace and four digs. She wrapped up the weekend with 15 kills on .448 hitting as Emporia improved to 6-2 on the year with a sweep of Union (Tenn.). Sasaki was named to the All-Tournament Team for her performance in the invitational.
 
Jaden Ferguson – Nebraska Kearney
Jaden Ferguson was one of two Lopers to make the UCCS Classic All-Tournament team. Ferguson helped the No. 10-ranked Lopers sweep all four foes in Colorado as she hit .462 while averaging 3.2 kills, 2.7 digs, 1.0 blocks and 0.3 aces per set.

Defensive
Josie McCroskey – Pittsburg State
Josie McCroskey averaged 5.07 digs per set from her libero position in four matches in the Gorilla Classic over the weekend. The Springdale, Ark., native helped Pittsburg State post a 3-1 record in its home tournament with wins over Drury (3-2), Northwestern Oklahoma (3-1) and Arkansas Fort Smith (3-0) and a loss to No. 11-ranked Southwest Minnesota State (3-0).
 
Jenna Karp – Central Oklahoma
Jenna Karp led Central Oklahoma to a 4-1 week, cruising past everyone at the Texas Woman's Denton Volleyfest, where she earned All-Tournament Team honors. Karp totaled 11 blocks on the week with five solo stops. She averaged 0.65 blocks per set and added 18 digs. Karp was also versatile at the net for the Bronchos, finishing the week with 47 kills, 2.76 per set, with a blistering .378 hitting percentage in 17 sets played.
 
Setter
Caiya Stucky – Fort Hays State
Caiya Stucky helped FHSU to a 4-0 week at its home tournament, the Tiger Classic, by averaging 10.73 assists, 2.47 digs, and 0.87 blocks per set. Her best single-game average for the weekend in assists came in a 3-0 win over Southern Nazarene as she handed out 12.7 per set. Stucky's weekend high for total assists was 45 against New Mexico Highlands in a 3-1 win while adding five blocks in the match. Against Cameron, she added 14 digs with 41 assists for her second double-double performance of the season in those categories. Stucky also scattered in seven kills and three service aces for the weekend.
 
Olivia Olson – Central Missouri
Olivia Olson recorded 163 assists (9.06 assists per set) while adding 46 digs, 19 kills and 10 blocks in four matches this past weekend at the Colorado Premier Challenge to the Jennies finish 2-2.