Last Week’s Stats: 2.86 points per set, 1.79 blocks per set
Plante, the NEC’s top blocker, was nearly impenetrable against some stiff competition last week. A graduate student from Alpharetta, GA, she contributed 2.86 points per set against Seton Hall, Bryant, St. John’s and Iona last week after she led the conference with 25 total blocks and 1.79 rejections per set. Most impressively, Plante, who had four-or-more blocks in each of LIU’s four matches, committed just one blocking error during that stretch. Starting the week with back-to-back six-block efforts in respective 3-1 defeats to Seton Hall (Sept. 17) and Bryant (Sept. 20), she delivered a season-high nine rejections — the most by an NEC player in a three-set match this season — against St. John’s (Sept. 20). The middle blocker also chipped in offensively for the Sharks, compiling 24 kills, including nine in a straight-set win over Iona that saw her hit .692 with no miscues. She is the only player in the NEC averaging more than 1.00 block per set (1.26), while her 59 total blocks are 21 more than the next closest competitor in the league. With Plante’s honor, LIU has landed an NEC/Molten Defensive Player of the Week recipient in three of four weeks, as senior libero Alasha Colon took home the distinction on Sept. 4 and Sept. 17.