SEWARD, Neb. – Following a perfect 3-0 week, the Concordia University volleyball team swept GPAC honors announced on Tuesday by the league. The conference named Tiegen Skains the attacker of the week, Alayna Kavanaugh the setter of the week and Jocelyn Garcia the defensive player of the week. Both Garcia and Kavanaugh have garnered seven conference weekly awards during their collegiate careers. Meanwhile, this marks the second career GPAC weekly award for Skains.
Kavanaugh’s 76 assists in last week’s win over Dakota Wesleyan marked the highest assist total in a single match for any NAIA player in the nation this season. The native of Roca, Neb., averaged 12.25 assists per game last week while facilitating an attack that posted hitting percentages of .235, .386 and .310, respectively, over last week’s three wins. Kavanaugh now has piled up 4,335 assists over 441 sets played as a Bulldog. She’s a two-time first team all-GPAC honoree.
Skains, a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., floored a career high 26 kills to help Concordia hold off Dakota Wesleyan in five sets. For the week, Skains hit .402 with 52 total kills from the right side. In the win over Central Christian, she mashed 13 kills on just 17 swings. With 276 kills on the year, Skains is closing in on her career best 279 kills that she hammered in 2015. Skains now has 817 kills for her career.
A first team all-conference honoree last season, Garcia also notched a career high with 32 digs versus Dakota Wesleyan. Garcia, who hails from Brighton, Colo., also collected 25 digs in the four-set win at College of Saint Mary on Oct. 26. Garcia has totaled 1,276 career digs over 330 sets played as a Bulldog. She currently ranks 32nd nationally in digs per game (5.2).
Concordia (14-16, 5-8 GPAC) will return to action on Wednesday when it hosts No. 2 Hastings (22-2, 13-1 GPAC). First serve is set for 7:30 p.m. CT from Walz Arena.