Youngstown State sophomore outside hitter Paula Gursching has earned her third Nike Horizon League Player-of-the-Week nod of the 2022 volleyball season, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
Gursching, a native of Schwalbach am Taunus, Germany, has now earned the award three times in the first six weeks of the season. This also brings her career total to five, which extends her school record.
Gursching averaged 6.38 kills per set, which was the second-most in the country in matches played between Sept. 30 and Oct. 2, as the Penguins split their two matches against IUPUI and Purdue Fort Wayne over the weekend. The closest Horizon League player to her averaged 4.78 kills compared to Gursching's 6.38. Gursching also averaged 7.19 points, which was 2.19 more than the closest conference player.
Gursching finished with 51 kills in the two matches last week on just 103 attempts, meaning nearly one out of every two swings from her outside hitter position resulted in a point. She had just 11 errors in those attempts and hit a tremendous .388, which was the third-best mark in the conference (the two players above her had 47 and 26 attempts). Gursching also had a double-double in each of her matches, and her weekly averages were 6.38 kills, 0.63 aces, 2.75 digs and 7.19 points per set.
In the five-set match against the Jaguars on Friday, she tied the school record for most kills in a match regardless of length or format with 31. She added an ace and two blocks while hitting .364 in the match. In the sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday, Gursching had 20 kills on a .432 attack percentage while also contributing four aces.
For the season, Gursching leads the Horizon League with 4.74 kills and 5.42 points per set, and she is third in aces per set (0.42) and fifth in attack percentage (.288). On the national level, Gursching ranks second in the country with 308 total kills, and she's third in total points with 352.5. Additionally, she ranks ninth in kills per set and 10th in points per set.
Gursching and the Penguins have just one match this week as they'll host Robert Morris on Friday at 6 p.m.
