Freshman Duo from Volleyball Pick Up Weekly Awards

Canisius freshmen Bree Long and Ella Loussia were both recognized as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference announced its final weekly award winners of the 2019 season on Tuesday. Closing out the regular season at home, the Golden Griffins were winners of both contests over the weekend, snapping Fairfield's 19-match winning streak before sweeping Quinnipiac the next day.

Long, a native of Temperance, Mich., was named the MAAC Libero of the Week while Loussia, a West Bloomfield, Mich., product, was tabbed the conference's Co-Rookie of the Week. On the weekend, Long tallied 42 digs and nine assists, while Loussia racked up 31 kills and two blocks.

This is Long's second time being honored by the league as the top libero for the week, being named the Libero of the Week back on Sept. 3 for her performance during the opening weekend of the season. The freshman started this past weekend by posting 27 digs and four aces in the five-set win over the Stags, and she followed that with 15 digs and five assists in the sweep over the Bobcats. Her 42 digs on the weekend also pushed her to 521 for the year, making her only the second Canisius freshman after Allyson Severyn in 2009 to reach the 500-dig plateau in a single season.

Loussia is being honored by the conference for the first time. The outside hitter was the main offensive threat for Canisius in the win over Fairfield, pounding down a career-high 19 kills at a .319 hitting percentage to go along with two digs and two blocks. The freshman continued her hot streak into Sunday, where she notched 12 kills and a .500 hitting clip to help make quick work of Quinnipiac, adding on a dig as well. Loussia is now just two kills away from reaching 200 for the campaign, as she would become the fourth Canisius freshman in the last three seasons to achieve the milestone.

Canisius will head to the MAAC Championship later this week, where the Griffs have earned a bye into the semifinal round as the No. 2 seed. The Blue and Gold will play Saturday at 5 p.m., as they will face the winner of Friday's match between Rider and Quinnipiac.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Bree Long: L; 5' 5"; Freshman

#2 Ella Loussia: OH; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#4 Bree Long
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: L

#2 Ella Loussia
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: OH

Players Mentioned

#4 Bree Long

#2 Ella Loussia

Players Mentioned

#4 Bree Long

#2 Ella Loussia