For the second consecutive week, Barton volleyball's Jaden Katsis has been named the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Division I Defensive Player of the Week following another strong performance anchoring the Cougars' back row.
The redshirt freshman collected 46 digs across 10 sets for a 4.60 per-set average as No. 17 Barton split a pair of five-set conference battles, rallying for a reverse-sweep victory at Cloud County before narrowly falling to No. 9 Colby.
Katsis opened the week with 26 digs and no reception errors in the Cougars' dramatic comeback at Cloud County, helping Barton erase a two-set deficit for the victory. She followed with 20 digs and a service ace against Colby, giving her three performances of 20 or more digs in her last four matches while committing just one reception error across the two contests.
Continuing to elevate her play as the season progresses, Katsis leads the KJCCC with a season average of 4.59 digs per set. Her latest recognition marks Barton's sixth conference weekly award of the season and her second, adding to the NJCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Week honor she received last week.
Now 8-3 in KJCCC play and 18-8 overall, the Cougars travel to No. 8 Dodge City (10-1, 21-5) tonight for a 6:30 p.m. first serve.
The recognition marks Barton's sixth KJCCC weekly award of the season. Natalia Nowak opened the year with Setter of the Week honors, while Kiera Loe and Ana Fabiely Fachi earned offensive and defensive recognition, respectively. Katsis and Mileah Neal followed with defensive and setter honors last week, with Fachi and Katsis also collecting respective consecutive NJCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Week awards.