KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has announced new volleyball athletes of the week for week three of the 2026 season. Lavra Krizanic of Emporia State had a dominant offensive weekend to be named the MIAA’s newest Offensive Athlete of the Week, while two Bronchos claimed Central Oklahoma’s first weekly honors of the season with Kaitlyn Parrott named the Defensive Athlete of the Week and Riley Roberts named the Setter of the Week.

 OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:  Lavra Krizanic, Emporia State
Lavra Krizanic led Emporia State through a 5-0 record last week, which included four straight wins in the MIAA/GAC Crossover, hosted by No. 24-ranked Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee, Okla., over the weekend. The sophomore outside hitter tallied an MIAA-leading 69 kills on the week with a .358 hitting percentage. In Emporia’s opener of the MIAA/GAC Crossover, Krizanic had 10 kills on .364 hitting against Ouachita before adding 13 kills and just one error for an impressive .545 hitting percentage in the Hornets’ sweep over tournament host, No.24 Oklahoma Baptist. Krizanic continued the run into day two of the tournament, tallying 19 kills against Southern Nazarene and then 21 kills in a sweep over East Central while hitting .415 in both matches. Krizanic's 21 kills against the Tigers on Friday (Sept. 11) are tied for fifth-most in a three-set match in Division II this season. It was also a three-set career-high for Krizanic and the fourth match in her career with 20 or more kills. She also added three solo blocks and 11 total blocks in Emporia State's five wins.

 DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:  Kaitlyn Parrott, Central Oklahoma   
Kaitlyn Parrott led Central Oklahoma's defensive efforts in a 4-0 week at the MIAA/GAC Central Region Crossover, hosted by the Bronchos in Edmond. Parrott averaged an MIAA-leading 7.50 digs per set over 14 sets played this week. The senior All-American and defending MIAA Libero of the Year totaled 105 digs in four matches. She collected 28 digs in the four-set win over Southeastern Oklahoma State, 20 in the sweep over Northeastern State, 33 in the four-set win over East Central, and 24 in the Bronchos’ finale three-set win over Ouachita Baptist. 

 SETTER OF THE WEEK:  Riley Roberts, Central Oklahoma    
Riley Roberts helped led Central Oklahoma's offense through a 4-0 week as the Bronchos hosted an MIAA/GAC Central Region Crossover in Edmond. The senior setter averaged an MIAA-leading 11.93 assists per set over four matches for the Bronchos. She also led the league with 167 total assists on the week. Roberts dished out 46 assists in the four-set win over Southeastern Oklahoma State, 48 in the sweep of Northeastern State, 40 in the four-set win over East Central, and 43 in the Bronchos’ final match, a straight-set sweep against Ouachita Baptist. 

OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Crystal Smith, Pittsburg State     
Crystal Smith led the Gorillas to a 4-0 record at the MIAA/GAC Crossover in Oklahoma over the weekend, picking up wins against Southern Nazarene (3-1), East Central (3-0), No. 24-ranked Oklahoma Baptist (3-2) and Ouachita Baptist (3-0). The Jasper, Mo., native finished with 4.80 points per set after recording 3.47 kills and 2.13 blocks per set. She totaled 52 kills in the week an MIAA-leading .456 hitting percentage. Smith began the weekend tournament with 10 kills on .467 hitting and 12 blocks (five solo) in the Gorillas’ four-set victory over Southern Nazarene. In the match against No. 24 Oklahoma Baptist, Smith finished with 22 kills on .450 hitting and had 12 total blocks while helping the Gorillas complete the reverse sweep over the Bison. Smith accumulated at least eight kills, four total blocks and hit at or above .450 in each match. Among MIAA ranks, Smith currently leads the conference in hitting percentage among qualified players at .450, total blocks (72) and blocks per set (1.80), while ranking second in total points (173.0) and third in points per set (4.33) on the season.
 
Lydia Pitts, Arkansas-For Smith    
Lydia Pitts, the reigning MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week, led the Lions to another 4-0 weekend as their win streak reached 10 matches. The sophomore outside hitter hit .341 with 61 kills, 11 aces, 36 digs and six blocks. Pitts tallied 18 kills and 14 digs in a five-set win over Albany State. She also recorded six aces, 11 digs and 11 kills while hitting .375 in a sweep over Middle Georgia. Pitts matched her career-high with 21 kills and hit .513 in a sweep over Albany State and finished the week with 11 kills and three aces in a sweep over Auburn Montgomery. She posted an MIAA-leading 5.36 points per set on the week and currently ranks second in the league with 3.71 kills per set.
 
Miyu Tsurumaki, Emporia State    
Miyu Tsurumaki helped the Hornets collect five wins last week. The senior libero finished the week with 97 digs in 16 sets for a 6.06 digs-per-set average. She opened the MIAA/GAC crossover in Shawnee, Okla., with 19 digs in Emporia State's sweep against Ouachita Baptist. Tsurumaki then had 28 digs in the four-set win over Southern Nazarene before capping off the week with 23 digs in the Hornets' three-set win against East Central. Her 28 digs against the Crimson Storm marked a new career high. She now has three matches with 23 or more digs in a match this season.
 
Mayli Whetter, Arkansas-Fort Smith    
Mayli Whetter helped the Lions go 4-0 at the Warhawk Invitational alst week, averaging 10.71 assists per set. The freshman totaled nine aces this week to now rank second in MIAA in service aces (0.46 per set) and fourth in assists (9.10 per set). Whetter helped her team hit .328 for the weekend and had three matches with a team hitting percentage of .300 or above, including a .436 team hitting percentage in the Lions’ sweep over Albany State. Whetter recorded a season-high 47 assists with six kills, six digs and three aces in a five-set win over Albany State. She added 37 assists and eight digs in the sweep over Middle Georgia, 33 in the 3-0 win over Albany State, and finished with 33 assists, six digs and three aces in the sweep over Auburn Montgomery.

ALSO NOMINATED:
OFFENSE – Myla Unterweger [Central Oklahoma], Mylie Brown [Fort Hays State], Brynne Topolski [Washburn], Kaelyn McDonald [Central Missouri], Grace Schmedding [Nebraska Kearney], Tanith Roush [Missouri Western], Tiana Simmons [Missouri Southern]
DEFENSE –  Taylor Rottinghaus [Washburn], Anna Weberg [Missouri Western], Haylee Wolf [Fort Hays State], Sydney Davis [Nebraska Kearney], Abbey Jackson [Arkansas-Fort Smtih], Kasey Goldberg [Missouri Southern]
SETTER – Brailee Bogle [Emporia State], Annie Eaton [Fort Hays State], Shannon Frakes [Washburn], Jesa Wallace [Pittsburg State], Brenna Weaver [Missouri Southern], Emma Duff [Missouri Western]  
 

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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