Rigdon Earns First Big 12 Player of the Week
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas volleyball’s first Big 12 Player of the Week nod goes to freshman outside hitter Madison Rigdon. On Monday, the league announced that the Jayhawk rookie earned Offensive Player of the Week status.
The Big 12 also awards a Rookie of the Week accolade, so Rigdon becomes the first freshman to collect the Offensive Player of the Week award since West Virginia’s Hannah Sackett during the 2012 season.
“We’ve been very pleased with Madison and how she has developed through the non-conference part of our schedule,” head coach Ray Bechard said. “I don’t want to say that she is a surprise because we knew the type of talent she would bring to the table, but with her position being deep with upperclassmen her emergence has been really good to see.”
Rigdon burst onto the Kansas offensive scene long before this week, but with all three of the Jayhawks’ upperclassmen belonging to the outside hitter group, Rigdon can sometimes end up second or third in the conversation. At the Jayhawk Classic, however, Rigdon was a huge key to KU’s third tournament title in four weeks. She led the team with 4.18 kills per set on a .301 attack percentage. In the championship match against Arkansas, Rigdon broke loose for a personal-best 20 kills and nine digs.
This tournament followed her performance at the Villanova Classic, where the Jayhawks ended the weekend against defending national champion, Penn State (9/13). In that match, it was Rigdon again that led the offense with her 11 kills.
In her debut season, Rigdon is second on the team in kills (129) and points (156.5), trailing only All-Big 12 First Team senior Chelsea Albers. Equally impressive, her potent jump serve has her leading the team in aces (19).
A year ago, the Jayhawks tallied 11 Big 12 weekly awards, which tied for the fifth-most by one team in a single-season in league history. Seven different Jayhawks were weekly award recipients, which broke the previous Big 12 record. Texas had six different players collect honors in 2008.
UP NEXT
No. 23 Kansas will open the Big 12 Conference season on the road when the Jayhawks travel to Norman, Oklahoma to face the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, Sept. 27. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
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