CANTON, Ga. – The Vikings sweep week six athlete of the week honors with Whitehead and Hurt having strong performances over the weekend.
Around the SAA:
SAA Volleyball Schedule/Results
SAA Volleyball Standings
SAA Volleyball Stats
2025 SAA Volleyball Tournament
Athletes of the Week:
Offense:
Madie Whitehead | Berry | JR | Pearland, TX – A junior from Pearland, TX Whitehead helped lead the Vikings to a 2-1 weekending with the one loss coming to No. 2 East Texas Baptist. In the first game against Covenant Whitehead led the Vikings with 10 kills with a .368 hitting pct. and three aces as they won in a 3-0 sweep. Then in game two against second ranked East Texas Baptist Whitehead led the way again with a season high 22 kills with a .426 attacking pct to go with two more aces and a game high four blocks despite losing 3-1. Then in the final game against Oglethorpe Whitehead added nine kills as the Vikings swept 3-0 and improved to 6-1 in conference play. Whitehead leads the SAA with 3.64 kills per set and 4.32 points per set.
Defense:
Andrea Hurt | Berry | JR | Columbus, GA – A junior from Columbus, GA Hurt helped the Vikings to a 2-1 weekend with their only loss coming to No. 2 East Texas Baptist. Hurt led the Vikings with eight digs as they swept Covenant 3-0. Then in game two against East Texas Baptist Hurt racked up 20 digs despite the Vikings falling 3-1. Finally she led with nine digs in a 3-0 sweep of Oglethorpe as the Vikings improved to 6-1 in SAA play.
Notable Performances:
Offense
- Syd Bietz | Centre | JR | Versailles – Syd Bietz had her best performance of the season and one of the best of her career in Centre's lone contest of the week, a 3-1 victory against Sewanee on Saturday. Bietz finished the afternoon with a season high 22 kills in the win, by far her highest kill total in a four-set match ever. Her hitting percentage of .462 was also was also the highest mark for Bietz in any match where she finished with ten or more kills.
- Ella Hughes | Oglethorpe | FR | Columbus, GA – Oglethorpe freshman Ella Hughes posted a great week up against three nationally-ranked teams all inside the top 15. She had her best match of the week in a nonconference tilt against No. 2 East Texas Baptist, posting seven kills alongside only two errors. She also added seven total blocks on the defensive end in that match, marking a new career high.
- Anna Ellison | Sewanee | JR | Charlotte, NC – Anna Ellison was the leading point scorer for the Tigers this weekend against Centre and Spalding with 31 kills and 12 blocks. Against Centre, Anna scored 16.5 points with a .375 hitting percentage, averaging 3.4 kills per set. Against Spalding, Ellison tallied 24.5 points, averaging 4.9 points per set, hitting .289 and killing a personal best 18 kills (3.6 kills/set) and eight blocks.
2025 Volleyball Report Archive (AOW Offense/Defense)
Week One (Sept. 2) – Madie Whitehead/Izzy Rodriguez
Week Two (Sept. 8) – Regan Whatley/Olivia Wiseman
Week Three (Sept. 15) – Ally Baer/Izzy Rodriguez
Week Four (Sept. 22) – Regan Whatley/Sophia Caruso
Week Five (Sept. 29) - Marissa Drange/Jenna Rodriguez
For more information on all things SAA, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the SAA's home on the internet at
www.saa-sports.com. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Southern Athletic Association news by following @SAA_Sports on Twitter (X) and @SAA_Sports on Instagram.