ST. LOUIS, Mo. – For the second time in as many weeks, Illinois State libero Sammi Bunch has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Libero of the Week, announced by the MVC office on Monday afternoon.
During the week she had 41 digs over two matches, averaging 5.13 digs per set, while serving up six aces and gave out 15 assists. Her dig total was the second-most in the conference, while her dig per set average was 44th-best in the NCAA during the week. Bunch's 0.75 service aces per set is tied for the 54th-most in the country this year, and her six aces are tied for the most in the conference during the week. She had two 20-dig matches during the week, her fourth and fifth consecutive matches with 20+ digs.
This year she has had 286 digs over 68 sets – 4.21 digs per set – while serving 26 aces with 94 assists. Her season digs per set average is the fourth-best in the MVC, while her service aces per set average of 0.38 is sixth-best. In MVC play, her dig per set average of 5.19 is third-best in the conference, and she leads the MVC in both service aces (17) and service aces per set (0.53).
The Redbirds are 15-4 this season and 6-2 in MVC play. The team has 15 wins through the first 19 matches of a season for the first time since 1999.
ISU has a split weekend ahead of them, traveling to Southern Illinois on Friday, October 23 before returning home on Sunday, October 25 against Belmont.
