Michigan State University Athletics
Garvelink Repeats as B1G Freshman of the Week
12/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
East Lansing, Michigan -- Freshman Alyssa Garvelink (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) has earned her second consecutive Big Ten Freshman of the Week award, as announced by the Conference office on Monday afternoon.
Garvelink averaged two blocks, 3.17 kills, and .64 digs in a perfect 2-0 final week of the regular season, as MSU swept both No. 19 Purdue at home and Iowa on the road. Michigan State enters this week's NCAA Tournament on a five-match winning streak, during which Garvelink has played a large role - she is averaging 2.81 kills and 1.94 blocks per set, hitting .359. She had a season-best eight block assists at Iowa, and shared the team lead with 10 kills in the upset of No. 19 Purdue.
On the season, Garvelink is hitting .208, averaging 2.04 kills and 1.06 blocks per set. Her blocks rank 13th overall in the Big Ten, as does her 1.14 blocks per set in Big Ten Conference games only. Her 113 total blocks ranks fifth all-time by a freshman in school history, while her 101 block assists is also fifth and her 1.06 blocks per set average ranks seventh.
Garvelink also won the honor on Nov. 24 after a week filled with career bests. At Northwestern on Nov. 19, she had a season-high 11 blocks, and her four solo stuffs ranked third all-time at MSU in a four-set match. She just missed a double-double with nine kills, hitting .450 (9-0-20), adding an assist and a dig. At home against Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 22, Garvelink tied her career high with 12 kills (which she did earlier in the season against Michigan), hitting a scorching .667 on 15 swings. She added one block and a service ace.
Garvelink and the Spartans are off to Palo Alto for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, hosted by Stanford. MSU's first opponent is Loyola-Marymount University, and that match will be played on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
