Leisa Elisaia Claims Second Big Ten Setter Of The Week Honors

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Penn State women’s volleyball standout Leisa Elisaia was named the Big Ten Setter of the Week for the second time this season on Monday after leading the Nittany Lions to wins over Maryland and Rutgers.

Elisaia combined for 88 assists, 15 digs, seven kills, four blocks, and two aces against the Terrapins and Scarlet Knights. Elisaia’s 55 assists in a 3-1 win over Maryland on Friday in College Park surpassed her previous season high of 49 set on September 2 against Iowa State.

The South Jordan, Utah, native previously earned Big Ten Setter of the Week recognition on September 5 after guiding the Nittany Lions to a trio of wins at LSU’s Tiger Challenge, including a 3-1 victory over the Cyclones, who recently beat then-No. 1 Texas in five sets.

Elisaia, Allie Holland, and Kash Williams are the only Nittany Lions to receive weekly Big Ten accolades so far this season, as Holland and Williams were both honored on September 12 for their contributions to Penn State’s wins over Stanford and Oregon at the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge.

Minnesota’s Taylor Landfair, Northwestern’s Temi Thomas-Ailara, Ohio State’s Kylie Murr, and Nebraska’s Bekka Allick joined Elisaia as this week’s honorees. The Nittany Lions (17-4, 6-4 Big Ten) climbed two spots to No. 11 in this week’s AVCA rankings. They next play Illinois in Champaign Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.

Elisaia has 766 assists, 160 digs, 66 kills, 66 blocks, and 19 aces so far this season. She’s currently fifth in the Big Ten with 10.08 assists per set. Elisaia and libero Maddy Bilinovic are the only Penn State players to start all 21 matches. Earlier this fall, head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley discussed Elisaia’s impact on the team.

β€œShe’s a veteran player,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “I think she’s pretty calm and collected on the floor, and I think that provides stability for the players. She puts the time in. She does a lot of extra reps and gets herself in the gym and gets prepared.”