Michigan State University Athletics
Garvelink, Minarick Earn Big Ten Weekly Honors
11/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
East Lansing, Mich. -- - Juniors Alyssa Garvelink (Holland, Mich.) and Rachel Minarick (Naperville, Ill.) have earned Big Ten weekly honors, as announced by the Conference office on Monday, Nov. 14. Garvelink shares the Defensive Player of the Week honor for the second straight week, while Minarick earns Setter of the Week kudos for the first time this season.
Michigan State posted victories over (RV) Purdue and No. 17 Michigan in a pair of home games last week.
Garvelink averaged 2.57 blocks per set, including a second-straight 10-block performance last Wednesday vs. Purdue (she had 10 vs.Illinois the previous Saturday). Her two solo blocks vs. the Boilermakers tied her season best. Against the Wolverines, she posted nine kills and hit .200 (MSU's team high) while compiling eight more blocks, including her eighth of the night to seal the victory. The junior is having a career-best season, averaging 1.41 blocks per set and hitting .360 overall, and her 18 blocks last week moved her into 10th place all time at MSU with 374 career total blocks, and 8th place with 335 block assists.
It is the fifth time in Garvelink's career that she has earned Big Ten weekly honors. In addition to the two Defensive Player of the Week awards this season, she was the Big Ten Player of the Week once (Oct. 10, 2015) and was twice the Big Ten Freshman of the Week in 2014.
Minarick averaged 12.29 assists per set in a 2-0 week for the Spartans, along with 2.29 digs and 0.71 blocks per frame as MSU extended its winning streak to six Big Ten matches. She led MSU with 39 assists, two kills, eight digs, three aces, and two blocks in the Wednesday win over Purdue. In Saturday's showdown in front of a record-capacity crowd, the junior posted 47 assists and eight digs, along with three blocks and an ace. She has pushed her career total to 3,173 assists, which is good for sixth all-time in the Spartan annals.
It is the fourth career Big Ten Setter of the Week honor for Minarick, who earns the kudos for the first time in the 2016 season. She is also a standout in the classroom, as she was named a CoSIDA Academic All-District Selection on top of her previous Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar awards. The kinesiology major maintains a 3.95 cumulative grade-point average as a member of the Honors College.
The Spartans stand at 23-5 overall on the season and 12-4 in Big Ten Conference matches, which is the most Conference victories for the Spartans in the Cathy George era. MSU heads out on the road for a pair of critical matches at No. 2 Minnesota and No. 3 Wisconsin this weekend as they begin a four-match road swing to conclude the regular season.
