Valparaiso freshman Allison Ketcham (Mishawaka, Ind./Marian) has been named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week after a standout MVP performance last weekend at the Crusader Crossroads of America Classic.

Ketcham earned the tournament MVP honor, her second All-Tournament Team nod of the year, as she posted a tournament-high 5.50 digs/set over the Crusaders’ three wins, helping Valpo claim a tournament title for the third straight weekend.  Ketcham reached double figures in digs in all three contests, highlighted by a career-best 26-dig effort in the win over Murray State.  The freshman also tallied 51 serve receptions over the trio of wins without committing a serve receive error.

Ketcham also contributed offensively to the Crusaders’ success as well, hitting .253 with 2.90 kills/set and posting two double-doubles.  She capped the tournament by hitting .500 with 10 kills and 18 digs in the sweep of George Washington Saturday evening.

Ketcham is the second Valpo player to earn a weekly award from the league office this season, joining Emily Campbell, who picked up Offensive honors last week.  Ketcham and the rest of the Crusaders open up Horizon League play Friday evening at Green Bay.