RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference announced the league's first Volleyball Player of the Week awards of the 2021 season. Henderson State's Violeta Mendoza Quintana earned Offensive Player; Southeastern Oklahoma State's Grace Shehadeh claimed Defensive Player and Harding's Sarah Morehead garnered the Setter award.
GAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Violeta Mendoza Quintana, Henderson State, OH, Jr., Chihuahua, Mexico
Mendoza Quintana paced the Reddies to a 3-1 record at the Drury Invitational as she tallied 56 kills across their four matches. She averaged 4.00 kills per set and hit .374 against Texas Woman's, Missouri Southern State, LeMoyne-Owen and Drury. She did not commit an error against either Texas Woman's or LeMoyne-Owen.
GAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Grace Shehadeh, DS/L, Sr., Plano, Texas
Shehadeh landed on the All-Tournament Team at the Southeastern Classic after she amassed 74 digs in the Savage Storm's three contests. She totaled at least 20 digs in all three matches, highlighted by 29 against New Mexico Highlands. She notched 21 in a three-set sweep against Emporia State.
GAC SETTER OF THE WEEK – Sarah Morehead, Harding, Jr., Aledo, Texas
Morehead averaged 9.71 assists per set at the Washburn Invitational that featured three matches against nationally-ranked opponents. On Friday, she collected 52 assists against No. 25 Rockhurst and No. 8 Washburn. In a four-set win against No. 15 Northern State, she dished out 40 assists and followed up with 44 in a four-set win against Cameron.
OTHERS NOMINATED
Whitney Bowie, OPP/MB (Southern Nazarene), Malia Leatherland, OH (Oklahoma Baptist), Skylor Lewis, DS/L (Southeastern Oklahoma State), Emily Ragsdale, MB (Arkansas Tech), Landry Rogers, OH (Southern Arkansas), Ally Stoner, OH (Harding),
Nyah Walker, OH/DS (East Central), Addison Wimmer, OH (Northwestern Oklahoma State)
Diana Carranza, DS (Oklahoma Baptist), Thalianette Garcia, OH/L (East Central), Madison Grantham, L (Arkansas Tech), Madeline Lynch, DS (Southern Nazarene)
Kaley Brubaker, S (Southern Nazarene), Kaylee Buell, S (Oklahoma Baptist), Ruthie Forson, S (Southeastern Oklahoma State), Lisa Gonzalez, S (East Central), Brianna Merkel, S (Arkansas Tech), Morgan Schuster, S (Southern Arkansas)
