Keene State Women’s Volleyball junior Gigi Stake was named the Little East Conference offensive player of the week during the week of October 28-November 3.
“I think it’s definitely rewarding and I appreciate it especially because none of us have gotten an LEC award this year, it was definitely a surprise,” said Stake.
During this week, Stake had an average of 13.7 kills per game, a .313 attacking percentage and 10.3 digs per game. During their 3-0 game against Mount Holyoke, Stake helped the team with nine kills with only one error and 11 digs.
“As a player on the team and an outside position, we all compete every single day in practice and as an underdog who doesn’t normally score many points I’m more there for support and I think it proves that my coach can trust me on the court,” said Stake.
In the second game of the week against Rhode Island College, Stake had 14 kills with no errors, for her season best (minimum 10 attempts). Stake also had nine digs and an attacking percentage of .368.
New head coach Jacob Girard commented, “When I walked in the door everyone was really good and there was a lot of talent here. I think especially in the outside position that [Stake] plays, there is a lot of talent and so it’s a really tough competition everyday in practice and I think throughout this season we’ve been mixing up the lineups and I think that might have caused a bit of turmoil internally. But with [Stake] I think she figured it out that it’s really on her to go out there and earn that spot and she rose to the occasion.”
In the final game of the week against New England College, Stake finished with a season best of 18 kills and a .302 attacking percentage.
“[Stake] is one of the kids that is always focused, in practice she is one of the hardest workers on the court. Every practice she comes in and gives it one-hundred-and-ten percent and in the games it’s the same thing,” said Girard.
Last year during the 2023 season as a sophomore, Stake had the second-most points and kills for the Owls. This resulted in the third-most points and kills per set average for the team.
Stake and the rest of the KSC volleyball team secured a sixth place spot in the Little East Conference and had the opportunity to compete in the conference playoffs.
Olivia Casale can be contacted at
ocasale@kscequinox.com
