KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has announced new volleyball athletes of the week for week 10 of the 2026 season. Three student-athletes from three different MIAA institutions collected this week’s honors with Missouri Western’s Tanith Roush named the Offensive Athlete of the Week, Northwest Missouri’s Ellery Luhring was named the back-to-back Defensive Athlete of the Week, and Central Oklahoma’s Riley Roberts returned as the Setter of the Week.
OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Tanith Roush, Missouri Western
Tanith Roush helped lead the No. 10-ranked Griffons into second place in the MIAA standings with a perfect 2-0 weekend that included straight-set victories over Arkansas-Fort Smith and Northeastern State. The redshirt sophomore opened the week with six kills (.238 hitting percentage), four digs and two block assists in MoWest’s 3-0 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith last Friday (Oct. 30). Roush then delivered a match-high 14 kills on 22 attempts with just two errors for an impressive .545 hitting percentage, while adding two digs and two block assists in the Griffons’ 3-0 win over Northeastern State on Saturday (Oct. 31). For the week, Roush totaled 20 kills across six sets, averaging 3.33 kills per set while hitting .395 with just three attacking errors on 43 attempts. She also finished with six digs, four block assists and 22.0 points, averaging 3.67 points per set. She’s the first Griffon to be named the MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week in the 2026 season.
DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Ellery Luhring, Northwest Missouri
Ellery Luhring averaged an MIAA-leading 8.00 digs per set with 64 total digs in two MIAA victories for the Bearcats over the weekend. The junior libero posted 25 digs and five assists in a 3-0 sweep of Northeastern State last Friday (Oct. 30) before tallying a career-high 39 digs and five assists in a five-set triumph over Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday (Oct. 31). Luhring's 39 digs rank as the sixth-best single-match dig total in Bearcat history. This is her second consecutive, and second overall, MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week honor this season.
SETTER OF THE WEEK: Riley Roberts, Central Oklahoma
Riley Roberts led No. 23-ranked Central Oklahoma's offense with 66 assists in two matches this week. The senior setter averaged an MIAA-leading 9.43 assists per set over the weekend, while also adding nine kills and 24 digs. Roberts had 23 assists in a three-set loss at No. 12 Emporia State on Wednesday (Oct. 28) before storming back with 43 assists in a four-set win at Pitt State on Friday (Oct. 30). This is her fourth MIAA Setter of the Week award this season, also earning the honor in Week Three, Seven and Eight.
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Sawyer Franz, Central Oklahoma
Sawyer Franz led Central Oklahoma’s offense with 25 kills in two matches last week. The senior outside hitter averaged an MIAA-leading 3.57 kills per set, finishing with 12 kills against No. 12-ranked Emporia State and 13 against Pittsburg State.
Chloee Hayes, Northwest Missouri
Chloee Hayes hit .375 and led the Bearcats with 22 kills (2.75 kills/set) while guiding Northwest Missouri to a pair of home conference wins. The junior notched nine kills (.389 hitting percentage) with three blocks and two digs in a 3-0 sweep of Northeastern State before collecting a career-high 13 kills (.367 hitting percentage) and adding five blocks in a five-set triumph against Arkansas-Fort Smith.
Taylor Rottinghaus, Washburn
Taylor Rottinghaus led the No. 16-ranked Ichabod through a pair of MIAA sweeps over the weekend, totaling 37 digs (6.17 per set) across six sets. The senior libero led Washburn’s defensive efforts that saw the opposing team hit under .150 in both matches. In the three-set win over Central Missouri, Rottinghaus scooped up 24 digs and made five assists. She also added seven assists and an ace.
ALSO NOMINATED:
OFFENSE – Piper Bahr [Emporia State], Hayden Meats [Washburn]
DEFENSE – Crystal Smith [Pittsburg State], Kaitlyn Parrott [Central Oklahoma], Anna Weberg [Missouri Western], Grace Schmedding [Nebraska Kearney]
SETTER – Mya Karrick [Northwest Missouri], Emma Duff [Missouri Western], Callie Squiers [Nebraska Kearney]
2026 MIAA VOLLEYBALL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
WEEK ONE:
Offensive – Emma Siron, Washburn
Defensive – Ellie Spang, Nebraska Kearney
Setter – Shannon Frakes, Washburn
WEEK TWO:
Offensive – Lydia Pitts, Arkansas-Fort Smith
Defensive – Taylor Rottinghaus, Washburn
Setter – Shannon Frakes, Washburn
WEEK THREE:
Offensive – Lavra Krizanic, Emporia State
Defensive – Kaitlyn Parrott, Central Oklahoma
Setter – Riley Roberts, Central Oklahoma
WEEK FOUR:
Offensive – Carly Purdy, Nebraska Kearney
Defensive – Anna Weberg, Missouri Western
Setter – Mya Karrick, Northwest Missouri
WEEK FIVE:
Offensive – Brynne Topolski, Washburn
Defensive – Morgan Manning, Central Oklahoma
Setter – Annie Eaton, Fort Hays State
WEEK SIX:
Offensive – Ella Goodwin, Fort Hays State
Defensive – Anna Weberg, Missouri Western
Setter – Annie Eaton, Fort Hays State
WEEK SEVEN:
Offensive – Brynn Stowell, Nebraska Kearney
Defensive – Crystal Smith, Pittsburg State
Setter – Riley Roberts, Central Oklahoma
WEEK EIGHT:
Offensive – Brynn Stowell, Nebraska Kearney
Defensive – Ryann Hamilton, Emporia State
Setter – Riley Roberts, Central Oklahoma
WEEK NINE:
Offensive – Sydney Davis, Nebraska Kearney
Defensive – Ellery Luhring, Northwest Missouri
Setter – Mayli Whetter, Arkansas-Fort Smith
WEEK TEN:
Offensive – Tanith Roush, Missouri Western
Defensive – Ellery Luhring, Northwest Missouri
Setter – Riley Roberts, Central Oklahoma