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'Dons Rake in Postseason Awards: Ratkai POY, OPOY, Rosneck FOY, Jones Earns Sportsmanship Award
11/21/2024 2:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
INDIANAPOLIS - Purdue Fort Wayne women's volleyball claimed four of the major postseason awards, the Horizon League announced on Thursday (Nov. 20). Panna Ratkai was named the Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, Riley Rosneck was selected as the Freshman of the Year and Nicole Jones received the Sportsmanship Award.
This is the first time in the Division I history of the program that the Mastodons and 10th time in Horizon League history that Player of the Year and the Freshman of the Year were on the same team.
Ratkai was selected as the Horizon League's Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the First Team All-League. Ratkai is the first Mastodon since Katie Crowe in the spring of 2021 to earn Horizon League Player of the Year. The redshirt-sophomore is also the first Mastodon to earn two Offensive Player of the Year honors since Hall of Famer Fabiana Souza did in 2003 and 2005. She is one of two Horizon League players since the honor was first awarded in 2016 to earn two Offensive Player of the Year awards. She is also the first Mastodon to earn two First Team All-League honors since the 'Dons joined the Horizon League in 2020. Ratkai earned three Horizon League Player of the Week awards, totaling seven for her career, which ranks fifth in Horizon League history. This Horizon League season, Ratkai led the league with 5.26 points and 4.61 kills per set. She recorded 3.00 digs per set, which ranked 15th among all players in the league. Her 0.41 aces per set ranked third in the league. She hit .235 in league play, which was 17th in the HL. She had 12 double-doubles in the 15 league matches she played. She reached double-digit kills in all 15 matches, with six matches of at least 20 and one with 30. Ratkai is the only sophomore in the country to have over 1,000 kills in her career.
Rosneck was named the Freshman of the Year and to the All-Freshman Team. This is the second year in a row that Purdue Fort Wayne has claimed the Freshman of the Year award, with Ratkai earning the award in 2023. She is the fourth Mastodon ever to earn Freshman of the Year. Rosneck is also the fifth freshman since the Mastodons joined the HL in 2020 to earn an All-Freshman Team nod. She got better as the year went on, improving to 2.94 kills per set in Horizon League play with a .165 hitting percentage. Her kills per set mark was 14th-best in HL play. The Cleveland, Ohio native finished the league season with 1.39 digs per set.
Jones earned the second Sportsmanship Award in Horizon League history. From the setter spot, she helped lead the 6-2 offense that dished out 13.1 assists per set, the league's second-most. She was responsible for 5.44 of those assists per set in league play, which was a top-10 mark in the league. The team captain was named the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational MVP and earned a spot on the Horizon League All-Academic Team this season. As head coach Steve Florio said of her, "she is a great example of sportsmanship through her actions as a leader on her team, and always exhibits a good attitude and respect for opponents and officials."
Ratkai, Rosneck, Jones and Mastodons will take on the Horizon League Championship this weekend, facing No. 4 seed Green Bay on Friday (Nov. 22) at 6 p.m. in Dayton, Ohio.
This is the first time in the Division I history of the program that the Mastodons and 10th time in Horizon League history that Player of the Year and the Freshman of the Year were on the same team.
Ratkai was selected as the Horizon League's Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the First Team All-League. Ratkai is the first Mastodon since Katie Crowe in the spring of 2021 to earn Horizon League Player of the Year. The redshirt-sophomore is also the first Mastodon to earn two Offensive Player of the Year honors since Hall of Famer Fabiana Souza did in 2003 and 2005. She is one of two Horizon League players since the honor was first awarded in 2016 to earn two Offensive Player of the Year awards. She is also the first Mastodon to earn two First Team All-League honors since the 'Dons joined the Horizon League in 2020. Ratkai earned three Horizon League Player of the Week awards, totaling seven for her career, which ranks fifth in Horizon League history. This Horizon League season, Ratkai led the league with 5.26 points and 4.61 kills per set. She recorded 3.00 digs per set, which ranked 15th among all players in the league. Her 0.41 aces per set ranked third in the league. She hit .235 in league play, which was 17th in the HL. She had 12 double-doubles in the 15 league matches she played. She reached double-digit kills in all 15 matches, with six matches of at least 20 and one with 30. Ratkai is the only sophomore in the country to have over 1,000 kills in her career.
Rosneck was named the Freshman of the Year and to the All-Freshman Team. This is the second year in a row that Purdue Fort Wayne has claimed the Freshman of the Year award, with Ratkai earning the award in 2023. She is the fourth Mastodon ever to earn Freshman of the Year. Rosneck is also the fifth freshman since the Mastodons joined the HL in 2020 to earn an All-Freshman Team nod. She got better as the year went on, improving to 2.94 kills per set in Horizon League play with a .165 hitting percentage. Her kills per set mark was 14th-best in HL play. The Cleveland, Ohio native finished the league season with 1.39 digs per set.
Jones earned the second Sportsmanship Award in Horizon League history. From the setter spot, she helped lead the 6-2 offense that dished out 13.1 assists per set, the league's second-most. She was responsible for 5.44 of those assists per set in league play, which was a top-10 mark in the league. The team captain was named the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational MVP and earned a spot on the Horizon League All-Academic Team this season. As head coach Steve Florio said of her, "she is a great example of sportsmanship through her actions as a leader on her team, and always exhibits a good attitude and respect for opponents and officials."
Ratkai, Rosneck, Jones and Mastodons will take on the Horizon League Championship this weekend, facing No. 4 seed Green Bay on Friday (Nov. 22) at 6 p.m. in Dayton, Ohio.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Players Mentioned
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