KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has announced new volleyball athletes of the week from the 2025 season. Three student-athletes from three different MIAA institutions earned Week Six’s weekly honors, with Washburn’s Alex Dvorak named the Offensive Athlete of the Week, Central Missouri’s Grace Winkelmann named the Defensive Athlete of the Week, and Missouri Western’s Katelyn Diani-O'Day named the Setter of the Week.
OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Alex Dvorak, Washburn
Alex Dvorak led a hyper-efficient offensive attack through week six for the Ichabods as Washburn went 3-0 with straight set wins over Emporia State, Fort Hays State and No. 2-ranked Nebraska Kearney. The senior middle hitter delivered 24 kills (2.67 kills per set) while hitting an MIAA-leading .605 on the week in the Ichabods three sweeps. She also made 13 blocks on the week (1.44 blocks per set), adding to her point total of 33.5 points on the week. In the win over the No. 2 Lopers, Dvorak delivered 10 kills on just 13 swings for a .769 hitting percentage, helping Washburn move to 17-1 on the year.
DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Grace Winkelmann, Central Missouri
Grace Winkelmann helped the No. 24-ranked Jennies to a perfect 3-0 record on the week with sweeps over Missouri Southern and Newman, while beating Pittsburg State in four sets inside John Lance Arena. Winkelmann finished the week with 67 digs, averaging 6.7 digs per set, adding 11 assists and 10 service aces for good measure. In the 3-1 win over the Gorillas in Pittsburg, the redshirt senior had a match-high 31 digs, before collecting a match-best 20 digs and a career-high six service aces in the sweep of the Jets. During the final match of the week against Newman, Winkelmann eclipsed 1,700 career digs, moving into sixth place in program history with 1,705. This is the second straight week a Jennie has been named the MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week, with Winkelmann’s teammate Kaelyn McDonald earning the honor in Week Five.
SETTER OF THE WEEK: Katelyn Diani-O’Day, Missouri Western
Katelyn Diani-O’Day delivered a standout weekend for MoWest, orchestrating the Griffon offense with poise and precision in wins over Arkansas-Fort Smith and No. 4-ranked Central Oklahoma. In the 3-1 upset victory over the No. 4 Bronchos, she averaged 10.75 assists per set, finishing the match with 43 assists and 22 digs in a complete performance that fueled one of MoWest’s biggest wins of the season. Across the weekend, Diani-O’Day totaled 62 assists and averaged 8.86 assists per set, helping MoWest pick up two key conference victories. She also added 32 digs through seven sets, continuing to be a steady two-way contributor.
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Nyia Anderson, Emporia State
Nyia Anderson led Emporia State’s offense through three conference matches last week, helping the Hornets to sweeps over No. 2-ranked Nebraska Kearney and Fort Hays State. The outside hitter totaled 33 kills, which included 12 kills on .308 hitting against the No. 2 Lopers, and 16 kills on .325 hitting against the Tigers. Anderson averaged 3.67 kills per set and hit .239 for the Hornets last week, which helped them secure the win over the Lopers – the highest-ranked team the Hornets have beaten in program history.
Sydney Huck, Central Oklahoma
Sydney Huck led the offensive efforts for Central Oklahoma last week, averaging 4.0 kills per set through nine sets played. The senior outside hitter put down 36 total kills, which included a season-high 21 kills in a five-set win over Northwest Missouri last Friday night. She then added 15 kills in a four-set loss to Missouri Western last Saturday. Huck added two assists and two aces as well as four blocks on the week.
Bella Limback, Washburn
Bella Limback led the defensive effort at the net for the Ichabods in three straight sweeps this week as Washburn collected conference wins over Emporia State, Fort Hays State and No. 2-ranked Nebraska Kearney. The senior made 15 total blocks (1.67 blocks per set) with five coming in each match, including four solo rejections on the week. Washburn held all three opponents to under .150 hitting percentages on the week. Limback also added 21 kills (2.33 per set) on the week while hitting .555 across the three matches.
Kayla Baer, Central Missouri
Kayla Baer helped the No. 24-ranked Jennies to a perfect 3-0 record on the week with sweeps over Missouri Southern and Newman, while beating Pittsburg State in four sets inside John Lance Arena. Baer, the reigning MIAA Setter of the Week, collected an MIAA-leading 109 assists in Week Six, averaging 10.9 assists per set while adding 10 kills on 22 swings (.455 attack percentage), 24 digs, seven blocks, and three service aces for good measure. Against the Lions, Baer recorded a match-high 36 assists, eight digs, two kills, and one block. In the 3-1 win over Pitt State, she had a match-best 48 assists, eight digs, six kills, and four blocks, before having a match-high 25 assists, eight digs, and two blocks in the sweep of the Jets.
ALSO NOMINATED:
OFFENSE – Holly Heldt [Missouri Western], Fernanda Merancio [Missouri Southern], Kaelyn McDonald [Central Missouri]
DEFENSE – Kaitlyn Parrott [Central Oklahoma], Anna Dean [Pittsburg State], Anna Weberg [Missouri Western], Mia Frisbie [Emporia State], Tori Hamilton [Missouri Southern]
SETTER – Lindsey Houran [Central Oklahoma], Corinna McMullen [Washburn], Jesa Wallace [Pittsburg State], Hannah Allick [Missouri Southern]
WEEK ONE:
Offensive – Kedron Burk, Central Oklahoma
Defensive – Kaitly Parrott, Central Oklahoma
Setter – Lindsey Houran, Central Oklahoma
WEEK TWO:
Offensive – Taylor Russell, Missouri Western
Defensive – Mikiah Perdue, Central Oklahoma
Setter – Peyton Neff, Nebraska Kearney
WEEK THREE:
Offensive – Carly Purdy, Nebraska Kearney
Defensive – Mikiah Perdue, Central Oklahoma
Setter – Lindsey Houran, Central Oklahoma
WEEK FOUR:
Offensive – Camilla Ossola, Emporia State
Defensive – Mia Frisbie, Emporia State
Setter – Peyton Neff, Nebraska Kearney
WEEK FIVE:
Offensive – Rachel Ziesman, Central Missouri
Defensive – Kaelyn McDonald, Central Missouri
Setter – Kayla Baer, Central Missouri
WEEK SIX:
Offensive – Alex Dvorak, Washburn
Defensive – Grace Winklemann, Central Missouri
Setter – Katelyn Diani-O'Day, Missouri Western