Player of the Week: September 2, 2013

Each Monday during the indoor and beach seasons, one player originally reported as a recruit by AVSR Global is named Player of the Week for an exceptional performance.

Week #2: Lauma Knupke

Central Arizona College, NJCAA Division I.
Sophomore, 6'0" Outside Hitter/Opposite.
Reported by AVSR Global in 2011.
Home: Kuldiga, Latvia.
See Lauma Knupke’s bio at the Central Arizona web site.

Last Week’s Action:

• Knupke shocked defending NJCAA national champion Southern Idaho in a 3-0 blowout. She attacked at .636 efficiency as Central Arizona scored its biggest win in team history.
• Knupke’s hometown of Kuldiga, Latvia, is a longtime volleyball hotbed. Janis Smedins, the world’s top-ranked men’s beach player, is from Kuldiga.
• Knupke took up volleyball at age seven. She’s competed mainly as a middle blocker, but for Central Arizona she plays outside and opposite.

Excerpt from 2011 AVSR Global report:

“Intelligent, longtime player with a powerful body and a strong base of all-around skills and savvy. … Sees the game clearly and plays with an easy demeanor. … Generates great power easily with a high, short swing. Could be a left- or right-side terminator for a Top 60 team.”

Other Notables:

Kelsie Wills, Hofstra University
Junior, 6'0" Outside Hitter, New Zealand.
MVP of the Hofstra Invitational. She drilled 4.6 kills per set at .377 efficiency in four wins.

Aleksandra Petronijevic, University of Memphis
Junior, 5'4" Libero, Serbia.
Averaged 6.7 digs per set as an all-tournament star at the Belmont Invitational.

Andrea Tauai, Hillsborough Community College (Florida)
Sophomore, 5'8½" Outside Hitter, New Zealand.
Led HCC over Central Florida in a battle of NJCAA national title contenders.