PEORIA, Ill. -- Sophomore defensive specialist/libero Allie Gardner (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week announced by the league office Monday afternoon. Gardner helped Bradley to a 2-1 record and second-place finish at the season-opening Hotels at Grand Prairie Invitational.
In her first action as the Braves libero, she earned a spot on the all-tournament team after averaging a Missouri Valley Conference best 5.83 digs per set in three matches last week and helped BU average a league-best 21.00 digs per set during the opening weekend of play.
She opened the year with a then career-best 18 digs against Western Illinois and followed it with a career-best 29 digs in Saturday's five-set victory against USC Upstate. The only player in the MVC to have two outings with more than 20 digs during the first week of play, Gardner capped the week with a 23-dig effort against Southeast Missouri State.
Gardner is the first Bradley player to garner Valley Defensive Player of the Week honors since the award was first issued in 2007. She is the first BU player to earn any MVC weekly honor since Lindsay Stalzer captured Valley Player of the Week honors three times during the 2005 season.
The Braves return to action Tuesday when they travel to DeKalb, Ill., for a 7 p.m. match at Northern Illinois. Live stats for the match against the Huskies will be available at www.niuhuskies.com NIU is offering a subscription video stream at the link above.
