O'Brien, Behrendt net player-of-the-week honors
Following another strong week that saw the No. 4 University of Illinois women's volleyball team earn a pair of wins with a 3-0 sweep of Maryland and a 3-1 victory at No. 9 Nebraska, sophomore Morgan O'Brien was named Big Ten defensive player of the week on Monday.
The Libertyville High School graduate nabs her first weekly conference honor of her career. The sophomore libero totaled 44 digs in just seven sets for an impressive 6.29 digs-per-set average, as opponents were held to a .083 hitting percentage. She added 7 assists and 2 service aces in the two wins, including the first Illini victory over the Huskers since 2014.
O'Brien started her week with 12 digs against the Terrapins on Wednesday, as UMD was held to a .055 attack clip. She then put together an outstanding performance against the Huskers with a career-high 32 digs, tying for the seventh-most digs in a single match in program history as the Illini held Nebraska to a .099 team hitting percentage.
• Carthage College's Megan Behrendt was selected as a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin volleyball player of the week on Tuesday.
Behrendt, a junior outside hitter from Lindenhurst and Lakes Community High School (management & marketing major), won her second-straight CCIW player of the week honor as she averaged 4.33 kills per set for the 3-0 Lady Reds last week. She had 10 kills and 6 digs in a three-set win at Wheaton last Tuesday, as Carthage moved to 7-0 in CCIW play. She added 19 kills and 12 digs in a five-set win over UW-La Crosse, followed by 23 kills and 15 digs in a four-set win at UW-Stevens Point on Saturday.
Women's diving
Libertyville High School graduate Morgan Paul started her sophomore diving season with Brigham Young University by placing first in the 3-meter event in the Intermountain Shootout hosted by Colorado Mesa University.
BYU, Colorado Mesa University and Colorado State University competed in the competition. Paul bested the field by almost 30 points. Her score qualified her to compete in the D1 Zone meet in the spring.
Men's golf
Coming off the first individual victory of his collegiate career, Loyola University Chicago sophomore Tyler Anderson (Mundelein/Carmel Catholic) was selected as the Missouri Valley Conference men's golfer of the week for the week ending Sept. 30.
It marked the first weekly league honor of Anderson's time in Rogers Park.
Anderson continued the impressive start to his sophomore season earlier in the week in Iowa's state capital. He carded a 2-under-par 69 during second-round play, the top round at the event by a Rambler, before firing a final-round 1-over 72 to take capture individual medalist honors with a 1-over total. He finished the event with team-high marks in both birdies (9) and pars (35).
Loyola closed out the fall portion of its schedule by competing in the Titans Motown Collegiate in Highland, Mich., in mid-October. The Ramblers turned in a runner-up finish, aided by Anderson's 80.DSD