Pair of Spartans Receive NIIC Player of the Week

AURORA, Ill. October 4, 2005 - One week after having three student-athletes named Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference (NIIC) Player of the Week, Aurora University had two more student-athletes named NIIC Players of the Week for the week ending Oct. 2, 2005. AU men’s soccer player Chase Corricelli (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame HS) and women’s volleyball outside hitter Lindsey Gruber (Antioch, Ill./Antioch HS) were named NIIC weekly award recipients.

Men’s soccer freshman striker Chase Corricelli led the Spartan men’s offense with three goals on the week in which AU remained the eighth-ranked team in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Central Region. On the week, AU went 1-1 with a win over regionally (West region) ranked Loras College 2-1 and fell to the second ranked-team in the central region, Wheaton College, 4-2. Against Wheaton, Corricelli tallied two goals and added one goal in the victory over Loras. On the year, Corricelli has a team-high seven goals and three game-winning goals. The Spartan men next compete on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2005, when they host Maryville University, Mo., for a 1:00 p.m. contest.

Spartan women’s volleyball junior outside hitter Lindsey Gruber led AU to a 2-1 week that also found the Spartans surpassing their win total from a year ago. In action last week, Gruber amassed 47 kills, six serving aces, 60 digs and six blocks. She had double-digit kill totals in all three matches on the week. On the season, Gruber leads the Spartan attack with 266 kills (3.64 per game) and is averaging 4.11 digs per game. The Spartan women’s volleyball team will next compete on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2005, when they travel to Beloit College for a 7:00 p.m. contest.

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