Player of the Week: September 12, 2011

Each Monday in the fall, one collegiate player originally reported as a recruit by AVSR is named AVSR Player of the Week for her performance in the past week and current season.

Player of the Week:Iva Partaleva

Binghamton University
Junior; 5'11"Outside Hitter
Home:Kyustendil, Bulgaria
Reported by AVSR:August 2008
See Iva Partaleva's bio at the Binghamton University web site.

Last week’s action:
• MVP of the Rutgers Invitational and Player of the Week of the America East Conference.
• Powered Binghamton to victories over Princeton, Howard, Rutgers and Siena.
• Scored 63 kills in the four wins, hitting at .382 efficiency and averaging 3.94 kills per set.
• Leads the Bearcats this fall with 3.15 kills per set, emerging as a force after the graduation of top terminators Michelle McDonough and Anna Lejina.
• Starred as a junior college freshman at Seminole State College before advancing last year to Binghamton, a perennial title contender in the America East league.

Excerpt from original AVSR report (2008):
"Powerful athlete, hard-charging competitor and all-purpose player without elite training. Her skills and game exceed those of her teammates in a one-club town, and she has a great range of physical, mental and emotional talents for higher-level development."

Special Mention:Laura Avena

Macalester College
Sophomore; 5'10"Right- and Left-Side Hitter
Home:Cesis, Latvia
Reported by AVSR:November 2007
See Laura Avena's bio at the Macalester College web site.

Last week’s action:
• The left-hander floored 67 kills at a rate of 4.5 per set. Macalester defeated Wisconsin-Stout, Bethany Lutheran and Alverno following a five-set loss to Crown.
• Also scored 45 digs (3.0 per set), 10 blocks (.7 per set) and six aces (.4 per set).
• Avena is double-majoring in Chemistry and Physics at academically elite Macalester. She was selected last spring to join a molecular synthesis research team, funded partly by the National Science Foundation and the American Chemical Society.

Excerpt from original AVSR report (2007):
"Versatile, high-energy left-hander and long-time veteran of indoor and beach volleyball. .... Bold, free-form attacker with a fast, high swing and superior vision. .... Off the court she's an outgoing, disciplined achiever. Wants a strong pre-med program with an emphasis in Chemistry.”