Quinnipiac Duo of Leigh, Pansari & Rider's Aldaya Take Home Weekly Volleyball Awards
MAAC Sports
Offensive Player of the Week
Allison Leigh, Quinnipiac
Sr., MH, Palmer, AK/Colony HS
Leigh returned to the lineup after missing all but the opening weekend last season with an injury to lead the Bobcats to a 3-1 record at the La Salle Invitational, enabling Quinnipiac to match its win total from all of last season already. Leigh’s size in the middle was key to Quinnipiac’s success on both sides of the net, as she led the team in both hitting percentage (.354) and blocks (14). Over the four matches, she had 65 kills and committed only nine errors, while earning a spot on the All-Tournament team. She opened the tournament with nine kills in 16 attempts in a win over Saint Francis (Pa.) and closed it out with 10 kills in 14 attempts in a win over Morgan State.
Libero of the Week
Emma Aldaya, Rider
Jr., Libero, Prospect Park, PA/Merion Mercy Academy
Aldaya averaged 3.92 digs per set and added 0.67 assists per set as Rider went 1-2 at the Bryant Hampton Inn-vitational this past weekend. In a five-set win over Hartford, Aldaya had 18 digs and she helped Rider take a set from BIG10 Rutgers with a 14 dig effort.
Rookie of the Week
Maria Pansari, Quinnipiac
Fr., Setter, Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central
Pansari stepped into the starting setter role on the first weekend of her collegiate career and had an outstanding performance at the La Salle Invitational. She reached the 40-assist mark in all three of Quinnipiac’s wins, helping the Bobcats match their win total from all of last season on the opening weekend. She had a high of 48 assists in the opening match against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Friday and added 41 and 40 assists in wins over NJIT and Morgan State on Saturday. For the weekend, she tallied 153 assists, an average of 10.2 per set, and also led Quinnipiac in service aces with nine.