AMHERST, N.Y. --
Maggie Burns (Louisville, Ky.),
Mickaley Monahan (Saline, Mich.) and
Dunja Masic (McHenry, Ill.) of the Daemen University women's volleyball team have all been named East Coast Conference Weekly Award winners, the conference announced on Monday afternoon in the
weekly sport report. This is the sixth straight week that the Wildcats have won ECC weekly awards.
Burns, a 5-9 outside hitter, picks up her second ECC Player of the Week honors after a career performance in Saturday's 3-1 win over D'Youville. She led the Wildcats offensively for the ninth time this season, knocking down a career-high 21 kills against the Saints to average 5.25 kills per set for a .333 hitting percentage. Burns' 21 kills marks the most for a Daemen player this season, and is five more than her previous single-game career-high (16). In Saturday's victory, Burns added two assists, two service aces, and nearly finished with her sixth double-double of the season after tallying eight digs.
This is Burns' third Player of the Week honors. She earned the same award on Sept. 12, and on Oct. 4, 2021. She is the fifth Wildcat this season to earn Player of the Week. Burns leads the team offensively this season, totaling 150 kills, and ranks third on the team in digs with 142 (3.30 digs/set). She ranks second in the ECC in kills per set (3.49), and ranks fourth in the league in kills.
Senior defensive specialist Monahan earns her first career ECC weekly award, being named Defensive Player of the Week after her career-high performance at D'Youville. Monahan tallied 24 digs against the Saints, averaging 6.0 digs per set, tying junior libero
Jasmine Brundage (East Aurora, N.Y.) for a single-game high in digs on the season (Brundage totaled 24 digs against American International on Sept. 9). Monahan added two service aces in the win, moving to second on the team in aces with 17.
On the season, Monahan totals 123 digs in 13 matches, averaging 2.9 digs/set. She is the third Wildcat to be named Defensive Player of the Week this season
Masic, a 5-9 junior setter, picks up her third career ECC Setter of the Week, her first of the season. As the Wildcats' primary setter against the Saints on Saturday, Masic tallied a season-high 48 assists to average 12.0 assists per set. She nearly earned her third double-double (assists-digs) of the season, adding eight digs to her stat line against D'Youville. Masic tallied four kills (1.0 kills/set) for a .286 hitting percentage, as well as two aces on the day.
On the season, Masic totals 244 assists, and is tied for third on the team in service aces with 16. Masic ranks second in the ECC in assists per set (9.07), and leads the league in services aces per set (0.59). She is the second Daemen setter to earn ECC Setter of the Week honors.
Olivia Alessi (East Aurora, N.Y.) has picked up the award twice already this season, on Sept. 19 and 26.
The Wildcats have won eight straight matches. Daemen is 13-3 on the season, and a perfect 6-0 in ECC play.
Daemen hosts Gannon in a non-conference match on Tuesday evening. Tip-off at Lumsden Gymnasium is set for 6 PM.
Daemen University features the premier 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.
Follow the Daemen women's volleyball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWVB.
