Roos Sweep Summit Volleyball Peak Performer Awards
9/5/2023 3:00:00 PM | Volleyball
Kaia Dunford and Leah Green each earned their first-career weekly honors
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Following a weekend that saw Kansas City Volleyball win three matches and remain perfect on the season, the Roos have swept the Summit League's Offensive and Defensive Peak Performer of the Week honors. Kaia Dunford brings home the offensive award after earning the MVP title at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational, while Leah Green claimed the defensive award after being named to the All-Tournament Team. It is the first-career weekly honor for both Dunford and Green.
Dunford, a senior transfer from Oral Roberts, has been an all-around force for the Roos to begin the season. She is averaging 3.39 kills per set, which ranks fourth in the Summit League, and is doing so on an efficient .247 hitting percentage. In addition, she ranks second on the team with an average of 3.43 digs per set, and has tallied five double-doubles in six matches played. In Friday's five-set thriller over Missouri State, she sent across a season-high 20 kills, adding 18 digs and three block assists. In the Roos' final match of the weekend against UT Martin, she went for 11 kills, adding a season-high 22 digs.
"Kaia brings a great deal of confidence and composure to our team," Head Coach Christi Posey said. "She's a little bit like a big sister, she can support and encourage while still being aggressive and competitive. She's certainly athletic and her volleyball IQ is extremely high. She can make plays and she has a balanced overall skill set that provides a lot for us."
Green has stepped into the Roos libero role with ease, leading KC's back line efforts. She is averaging 5.0 digs per set, which ranks first in the Summit League and 27th in the NCAA. In addition, her 11 total service aces leads the league to this point. This weekend alone, she averaged 5.7 digs per set, including a career-high 34-dig effort against UT Martin on Saturday. That showing was the most digs by a Roo defender since Oct. 30, 2014.
"Leah is excited about the opportunity for herself and for our program," Posey said. "I think she's been chomping at the bit to have an opportunity and now she's really embracing it and she's listening. (Assistant Coach) Maddie (Renn) has provided her some great guidance ... the fact that they played together as peers has helped as Leah soaks up a lot of knowledge from her."
Carly Gillen was named Defensive Peak Performer of the Week last week, marking the first time KC Volleyball has had back-to-back conference players of the week since Melanie Brecka at the end of the 2021 season. It is also the first time that the Roos have swept the weekly awards since Brecka and Renn, now the Roos' assistant coach, did so on March 23, 2021. With Gillen, Green and Dunford all claiming weekly honors, it is the first time KC has had three different players named Player of the Week in a season since 2018, when the Roos were still a member of the Western Athletic Conference.
Kansas City is back in action at the Golden Grizzlies Invitational in Rochester, Mich. this weekend, taking on Eastern Michigan, Oakland and Chicago State.
