Erin Wagner, Rachel Jennings named OAC Volleyball Players of the Week

By Wes Mayberry 

ADA — Ohio Northern sophomores Erin Wagner (Massillon/Perry) and Rachel Jennings (Novi, Mich.) were named Ohio Athletic Conference Volleyball Players of the Week for the week of Sept. 12-18.

Wagner was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week while Jennings was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Polar Bears to a 4-0 mark with wins over Bluffton, DePauw (Ind.), Earlham (Ind.) and Wisconsin-Oshkosh last week.

Wagner was named MVP of the 2022 ONU Invitational after the Polar Bears posted a 3-0 record in the event to win the championship. She recorded a combined 40 kills as ONU scored victories of 3-0 over DePauw, 3-1 over Earlham and 3-1 over Wisconsin-Oshkosh. That total included a career-high 20 kills against UWO, and she added a team-best 15 kills in a sweep of Bluffton to start the week.

Wagner currently ranks second in the OAC with 134 kills and is fourth in the conference with a .352 hitting percentage. This marks her first career OAC Player of the Week accolade.

Jennings led the Polar Bears defensively last week, posting a combined 84 digs in the team's four games. That included 31 digs against Bluffton and 26 more against UWO.

Jennings enters the week tied for seventh in the OAC with 156 digs. She is now a three-time OAC Defensive Player of the Week honoree.

Winners of six straight games, the Polar Bears (9-2 overall) return to the court on Friday and Saturday for a three-game set at the Mt. St. Joseph Invitational.