Loras College’s Mayotte is crushing it
We’ve got a national player of the week on our hands...
For the week of Feb. 6, Loras College outside hitter Corey Mayotte (Geneva High School) was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) men’s Division III player of the week. The 6-foot-3 junior hit .570 in a pair of wins, averaging 5.6 kills and 6.1 points per set, with 18 kills in the No. 8-ranked Duhawks’ three-game sweep of Dominican on Feb. 3.
In the College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin (CCIW), Mayotte earned consecutive “hitter of the week” awards. The conference leader in kills and points per set so far in this young season, Mayotte in 2023 set Loras single-season records in both categories, on the way to AVCA second-team All-America honors.
On the other end of volleyball offense, in late January North Central College’s Tyler Donovan (Lakes) was named CCIW setter of the week for a second straight week and for the sixth time overall. Counting back-to-back contests Jan. 26-27 against California Lutheran and Benedictine, by sets played that week the 6-foot-7 senior led the CCIW in assists, was third in digs, and eighth in blocks and aces. Donovan was a first-team AVCA All-American in 2023, when he set the Cardinals’ record for assists in a season with 1,028.
Also in January, the Missouri Valley Conference named Northern Iowa’s Amber Finke (Glenbard North) as its swimmer of the week, the first such honor for the senior. She earned the award for three first-place finishes in the Panthers’ senior day dual meet against Iowa State. Finke won the 100-yard backstroke, won the 200-yard backstroke by three seconds, and added a victory in the 200-yard individual medley.
A one-time MVC champion and twice first-team all-MVC, Finke owns Northern Iowa’s records in the 200 freestyle (1 minute, 49.43 seconds), the 200 backstroke (1:56.25), the 100 backstroke (53.73) and as part of the 200 freestyle relay (1:31.35), and ranks top-10 in seven other events.
Waubonsee Community College men’s basketball team finished ninth in NJCAA Division II last season and the Chiefs again are headed toward the upper reaches. At 22-3 after beating Morton College 94-87 on Feb. 8, Sugar Grove-based Waubonsee averages 92 points a game and as of Feb. 5 was ranked 16th in the nation.
Sophomore swingman Fernando Perez (Larkin) is Waubonsee’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, 14.8 points a game and 6 rebounds, plus 2.5 assists. Sophomore forward Dylan Fuzak (Geneva) has started all 24 games in which he’s played, averaging 8.3 points. Freshman big man Edvin Bosnjak (Schaumburg) has played in 17 games.