KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has announced new volleyball athletes of the week from the third week of the 2025 season. Nebraska Kearney’s Carly Purdy was named the Offensive Athlete of the Week and Central Oklahoma’s Mikiah Perdue and Lindsey Houran were named the Defensive Athlete of the Week and the Setter of the Week.
OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Carly Purdy, Nebraska Kearney
Carly Purdy led the Lopers offense to four straight set victories through week three of the 2025 season. The graduate student from North Platte, Neb., averaged just over 4.1 kills per set while hitting .404. She totaled 42 kills over the week with a match-high of 16 in No. 5 Nebraska Kearney’s 3-0 win over Truman State. Purdy also supplied 0.8 digs and 0.5 blocks per set and added one assist. She was named to the Prairie Stars All-Tournament team after helping the Lopers to a 3-0 shutout performance in the event.
DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Mikiah Perdue, Central Oklahoma
Mikiah Perdue has been named the MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week for the second consecutive week. The senior middle blocker continued her dominant play this season with another stellar week that led No. 2 Central Oklahoma to go 5-0 with three sweeps. Perdue led the Bronchos defense with 16 blocks – six solo blocks and 10 assisted denials to average 0.94 per set (17 sets played). Perdue had a week-high five blocks in UCO’s 3-1 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday in Edmond, just one shy of her season high. She finished the week with a four-block match in UCO's sweep of Southern Nazarene. Perdue now has 45 blocks this season, averaging 1.02 per set as the Bronchos wrapped up non-conference play with a 14-0 record that includes 12 sweeps.
SETTER OF THE WEEK: Lindsey Houran, Central Oklahoma
Lindsey Houran helped lead No. 2 Central Oklahoma to a perfect 5-0 week that included three more 3-0 sweeps as the Bronchos remain perfect through non-conference play. Houran dished out an MIAA-leading 177 assists on the week for 11.06 per set, which included a season-high 48 assists in the Bronchos 3-1 win over Texas Woman's. Houran also added 11 kills and five aces along with 50 digs and six blocks. This is the second time this season Houran has been named the MIAA Setter of the Week.
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Sydney Huck, Central Oklahoma
Sydney Huck led No. 2 Central Oklahoma to a 5-0 week in Edmond that included three 3-0 sweeps in the MIAA/GAC Crossover. Huck landed an MIAA-leading 55 kills over the week for 3.67 kills per set with a .226 hitting percentage. The senior outside hitter had 11 kills in the Bronchos 3-1 win against Texas Woman's, 14 in the 3-0 sweep of Northwestern Oklahoma State, and a season-high 15 in another 3-0 win over Southern Nazarene. After missing opening weekend and being limited with injury, Huck is now averaging 3.63 kills per set and hitting .252 in nine matches played this season. She also had one service ace, 10 digs, and three blocks on the week as UCO finished non-conference play with a 14-0 record that includes 12 sweeps.
Austin Broadie, Washburn
Austin Broadie was a force in all three of Washburn’s matches, leading the No. 9-ranked Ichabod offense on the weekend with 43 kills (3.91 per set) while hitting a blistering .402 over the weekend, helping Washburn move to 11-0 on the season. In the tournament finale against Ouachita Baptist, Broadie slashed 25 kills while hitting .373 in the match in the victory. She also added six blocks, adding to her scoring total over the weekend.
Rachel Ziesman, Central Missouri
Rachel Ziesman helped the Jennies to a 3-0 record this past weekend at the Comfort Inn Invitational in Warrensburg, including sweeps over Missouri S&T and McKendree. The Shawnee, Kan. native recorded 16 blocks, averaging a league-best two blocks per set on the week, while adding 24 kills on 57 swings (.298 hitting percentage) for good measure. In the opening match of the tournament, Rachel earned her first double-double of the season with 12 kills and 10 blocks in the 3-1 victory, earning a nod on the All-Tournament Team for her efforts.
Mia Frisbie, Emporia State
Mia Frisbie was dominant for the Hornets at the MIAA-GAC Crossover, posting four solo blocks and nine block assists in the middle, which included three solo blocks and three assists in Emporia State's five-set win at Oklahoma Baptist. In addition to defensive performance, Frisbie was also dominant in the attack, tallying 21 kills on 31 attacks, hitting .613 across the four matches. Frisbie's stretch helped the Hornets push their win streak to nine matches, the longest for Emporia State since the 2009 season.
Peyton Neff, Nebraska Kearney
Peyton Neff helped the No. 5-ranked Lopers to four straight set victories over the week, leading Nebraska Kearney with 123 assists for an MIAA-leading 11.18 assists per set. Neff averaged 2.7 digs, 0.8 kills and 0.3 blocks per set while hitting .296 over four matches. She also helped the Lopers offense come in at .323 with 15.9 kills per set on the week.
ALSO NOMINATED:
OFFENSE
– Nyia Anderson [Emporia State], Maliyah Johnson [Pittsburg State], Shaye Koski [Central Missouri], Caiya Reyes [Fort Hays State]
DEFENSE – Taylor Rottinghaus [Washburn], Josie McCroskey [Pittsburg State], Kristen Evans [Fort Hays State], Ellie Spang [Nebraska Kearney]
SETTER – Abrey Galt [Fort Hays State], Brailee Bogle [Emporia State], Corinna McMullen [Washburn], Ella Caffery [Northwest Missouri]
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