Player and Team of the Year
Each week in the fall, one collegiate player originally reported as a recruit by AVSR Global is named AVSR Global Player of the Week for her performance of the past week and current season. At the season’s end, one is named AVSR Global Player of the Year.
2011 Player of the Year:Jekaterina “Kate” Stepanova
Florida State University
Senior; 6'2"Outside Hitter
Home:Riga, Latvia
Reported by AVSR Global:November 2007
See Kate Stepanova’s bio at the Florida State web site.
Highlights:
• Led Florida State into the NCAA Final Four, capping the best season in the team’s 44-year history. It was the first time an Atlantic Coast Conference team has reached the Final Four.
• Won the MVP award of the Minneapolis regional, clinching FSU’s Final Four bid. Stepanova scored 31 kills and 31 digs in victories over Purdue 3-1 and Iowa State 3-2.
• Opened the season in August as MVP of the Florida State Invitational, then kept rolling. She led FSU with 3.3 kills per set, hitting at .266 efficiency and averaging 2.8 digs per set.
• Teammate Rachael Morgan, FSU’s four-year starting right side hitter from New Zealand, was reported by AVSR Global with Stepanova in 2007, both as Class of ’08 recruits.
Excerpt from original AVSR report (2007):
“Recruitable to play LH or RH for a Top 20 Division I team. .... Swift, light, dynamic athlete and an experienced, all-purpose LH. .... Fast, lively arm and superior mid-air agility. .... Exceptional transition quickness. .... Placed 9th at the 2007 Under-21 World Beach Championships.”
2011 Team of the Year:Hampton University
City:Hampton, Virginia
League:Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
AVSR Global Recruits:Five Hampton players were originally reported by AVSR Global.
See the MEAC Championship news report at the Hampton University web site.
Highlights:
• Five AVSR Global recruits — four freshmen and a sophomore — ignited a turnaround season for one of the nation’s most improved teams. Hampton achieved its first winning record in the MEAC since 2001 and grabbed third place at the league championship tourney.
• Freshman Krista Kraskura led the charge, scoring 3.3 kills and 3.1 digs per set for the year. Sonja Maksimovic and Joana Kalfinova also were starters. Kraskura became Hampton’s first player on the All-MEAC Championship team since the Pirates joined the league in 1995.
• Hampton jumped 43 spots in the Division I RPI, from #314 in 2010 to #271 in 2011.
2011 Players of the Week
Click name for bio and Player of the Week report.
| Player of the Year:Jekaterina “Kate” Stepanova, Florida State Univ., LH, Sr., Latvia Team of the Year:Hampton University, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference |
|||||
| Week | Name | College | Position | Yr. | Home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Kate Stepanova | Florida State University | LH | Sr. | Latvia |
| #2 | Maryna Samoday | Seminole State College | LH/RH | So. | Ukraine |
| #3 | Iva Partaleva | Binghamton University | LH | Jr. | Bulgaria |
| #4 | Zuzana Markova | U.of Louisiana-Monroe | Set/OH | Jr. | CzechRep. |
| #5 | Ingrida Zauere | University of Houston | LH | Sr. | Latvia |
| #6 | Kelsie Wills | Hofstra University | LH | Fr. | N. Zealand |
| #7 | Martyna Gluchowicz | Cowley County College | RH/LH | Fr. | Poland |
| #8 | Rachael Morgan | Florida State University | RH | Sr. | N. Zealand |
| #9 | Paulina Piegza | St. John’s University | RH/MB | Sr. | Poland |
| #10 | Elzbieta Klein | Colby Comm. College | LH | So. | Poland |
| #11 | Kiriana Hirini | Alabama-Birmingham | MB | Fr. | N. Zealand |
| #12 | Viktorija Jablonska | Texas Woman’s Univ. | RH/Set | Jr. | Latvia |
| #13 | Martyna Gluchowicz | Cowley County College | RH/LH | Fr. | Poland |
| #14 | Aleksandra Petronijevic | University of Memphis | Libero | Fr. | Serbia |
| #15 | Kate Stepanova | Florida State University | LH | Sr. | Latvia |
2010 Players of the Week
| Player of the Year:Svenja Engelhardt, University of the Pacific, LH, Sr., Germany | |||||
| Week | Name | College | Position | Yr. | Home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Maija Strazdina | Univ. of South Florida | LH | So. | Latvia |
| #2 | Tsvetelina Dureva | Boston College | LH/RH | Jr. | Bulgaria |
| #3 | Izabela Kozon | Middle Tennessee State | LH | Sr. | Poland |
| #4 | Viktorija Jablonska | Frank Phillips College | Set/RH | So. | Latvia |
| #5 | Natasa Kolunija | Troy University | RH/LH | Jr. | Serbia |
| #6 | Asia Stawicka | Georgia Tech | MB | Jr. | Poland |
| #7 | Viktorija Teivane | Western Wyoming C.C. | RH | Fr. | Latvia |
| #8 | Svenja Engelhardt | University of the Pacific | LH | Sr. | Germany |
| #9 | Izabela Grot | Tulane University | LH/RH | So. | Poland |
| #10 | Maryna Samoday | Seminole State College | LH | Fr. | Ukraine |
| #11 | Monika Kasperek | Dowling College | MB | Sr. | Poland |
| #12 | Aleksandra Nowak | Kent State University | Setter | Fr. | Poland |
| #13 | Izabela Kozon | Middle Tennessee State | LH | Sr. | Poland |
| #14 | Christine Bach | University of Memphis | Lib/Set | Sr. | Germany |
| #15 | Rachael Morgan | Florida State University | RH/LH | Jr. | N. Zealand |
2009 Players of the Week
| Week | Name | College | Position | Yr. | Home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Asia Stawicka | Georgia Tech | MB | So. | Poland |
| #2 | Dagnija Medina | Univ. of North Florida | MB | Fr. | Latvia |
| #3 | Zuzana Markova | Kent State University | Set/RH | Fr. | Czech Rep. |
| #4 | Iva Partaleva | Seminole State College | LH | Fr. | Bulgaria |
| #5 | Sabina Piegza | Western Nebraska C.C. | Setter | So. | Poland |
| #6 | Liva Brivule | Kent State University | MB | Jr. | Latvia |
| #7 | Rachael Morgan | Florida State University | LH/RH | So. | N. Zealand |
| #8 | Svenja Engelhardt | University of the Pacific | LH | Jr. | Germany |
| #9 | Monika Kasperek | Dowling College | MB | Jr. | Poland |
| #10 | Aleksandra Niemiec | Jefferson College | LH/RH | Fr. | Poland |
| #11 | Aksiniya Slavcheva | Frank Phillips College | MB | Fr. | Bulgaria |
| #12 | Svetlana Simic | Long Island University | LH | Sr. | Serbia |
| #13 | Anzelika Lukjanska | Frank Phillips College | LH | So. | Latvia |
| #14 | Rachael Morgan | Florida State University | LH/RH | So. | N. Zealand |
| #15 | Izabela Kozon | Middle Tennessee State | LH | Jr. | Poland |
2008 Players of the Week
| Week | Name | College | Position | Yr. | Home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Paulina Piegza | Western Nebraska C.C. | MB | Fr. | Poland |
| #2 | Ingrida Zauere | University of Houston | LH/RH | Fr. | Latvia |
| #3 | Christine Bach | University of Memphis | Lib/Set | Jr. | Germany |
| #4 | Izabela Kozon | Middle Tennessee State | LH | So. | Poland |
| #5 | Kate Stepanova | Mo. State - West Plains | LH | Fr. | Latvia |
| #6 | Svenja Engelhardt | University of the Pacific | LH | So. | Germany |
| #7 | Jola Kelner | Texas A&M University | Setter | Jr. | Poland |
| #8 | Julia Borecka | Florida Southern College | LH/RH | Jr. | Poland |
| #9 | Svetlana Simic | Long Island University | LH | Jr. | Serbia |
| #10 | Sabina Piegza | Western Nebraska C.C. | Setter | Fr. | Poland |
| #11 | Natalia Tomaszewska | University of the Pacific | MB | Jr. | Poland |
| #12 | Nataliya Panova | University of Houston | LH/RH | Fr. | Bulgaria |
| #13 | Monika Kasperek | Dowling College | MB | So. | Poland |
| #14 | Rachael Morgan | Florida State University | LH/RH | Fr. | N. Zealand |
