Catawba’s Whitmer, Tusculum’s Sarmiento Named Volleyball Players Of The Week

ROCK HILL, S.C. ­- Catawba College outside hitter Kaitlyn Whitmer has been named the Volleyball Player of the Week, while and Tusculum College setter Ashley Sarmiento has been named Volleyball Specialist of the Week, the league announced Monday. Sarmiento wins for the third time this season.

Whitmer, a sophomore from Ferrum, VA (Franklin Co. HS), helped Catawba to a pair of league wins last week, averaging four kills per set and hitting at just over 35 percent. She posted a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs in a key win against Lenoir-Rhyne then hit at 61 percent with 11 kills in the win over Brevard. On the week, Whitmer averaged 4.0 kills and hit at 35.7 percent. She added 3.6 digs per set while chipping in with three blocks.

Sarmiento, a freshman from Dayton, Ohio (Centerville HS), averaged 11.75 assists per set in leading Tusculum to three South Atlantic Conference wins last week. In Tusculum's 3-1 win at Carson-Newman, the Dayton, Ohio native recorded 42 assists and 20 digs as the Pioneers completed the season-sweep over the Lady Eagles. She followed that with a 49-dig effort in a 3-1 win over Newberry. In that match, Sarmiento added 16 digs and three kills in the win. She closed out the week with 50 assists and 14 digs in a four-set triumph over Anderson (No. 8 ranked team in NCAA Southeast Region). She also contributed seven digs and hit .500 against the Trojans. Sarmiento leads the South Atlantic Conference in assists, averaging 10.41 per set.

Kaitlyn Whitmer	Ashley Sarmiento