Illinois Natives Earn Weekly Honors For Daemen WVB

11/11/2019 5:39:00 PM

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

AMHERST, N.Y. - Georgia Wicker (Woodstock, Ill.) and Loren Alberts (Huntley, Ill.) of Daemen College have each earned weekly accolades from the East Coast Conference for games played November 4-10. Wicker, a 5-foot-3 junior, has been named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week, and Alberts, a 5-foot-10 freshman, has been named the ECC Rookie of the Week. The official announcement was made in the ECC's weekly sport report which was released today from conference headquarters on Long Island.

Wicker totaled 56 digs over two matches last week, averaging 7.0 digs per set. She notched 23 digs in a three-set loss to Gannon University (Nov. 6), marking her first match with 20+ in more than a calendar year (Oct. 21, 2018 at New York Tech). Wicker then matched her career-high with 33 digs in a five-set loss to the University of Bridgeport on Sunday (Nov. 10). That effort marked her second career match with at least 30 digs, and her first since posting 33 against American International College on October 28, 2017.

Wicker has appeared in all 84 matches for Daemen since the start of the 2017 season. She's totaled 924 digs, 397 assists and 78 service aces in her career. This season, she ranks second on the team and 14th in the ECC with 201 digs. Wicker is the second Daemen player to earn ECC Defensive Player of the Week honors, joining classmate Ali Greenwood (North Aurora, Ill.) who has twice been selected this season.

Alberts has seen an increased workload over the last several matches. After posting a season-best 10 kills in a win at Queens College on November 2, Alberts went on to appear in all eight sets last week, totaling 11 kills (1.38 kills/set) on a .345 hitting percentage. She totaled eight kills and added three blocks Sunday vs. Bridgeport.

Alberts, who was an honorable mention All-American selection as a high school senior by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, has appeared in 12 matches this season. She's averaging 1.18 kills and 0.46 blocks per set while attacking at a .253 clip. She is the eighth Daemen player to earn ECC Rookie of the Week honors since the Wildcats joined the league in 2013, and the first since teammate Isa McCaffrey (North Royalton, Ohio) on Oct. 29, 2018.

Wicker and Alberts will lead Daemen (14-11, 4-5 ECC) into action this week as they wrap up the regular season with matches against Le Moyne College (home, Wednesday, Nov. 13) and Roberts Wesleyan College (away, Saturday, Nov. 16). The Wildcats have already clinched a berth to the upcoming ECC Championships which will takes place November 22-23 on the campus of top-seeded Molloy College.

Daemen College features the only NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

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