Ohio Wesleyan University sophomore Olivia Danley, junior Landon Kuhn, and senior Claire Solberg have been named North Coast Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week for the week of Sept. 25, it was announced by the NCAC.
Danley, a forward on the Ohio Wesleyan field hockey team, was named Field Hockey Athlete of the Week; Kuhn, a midfielder on the Ohio Wesleyan men’s soccer team, was named Men’ Soccer Athlete of the Week; and Solberg, a middle blocker on the Ohio Wesleyan volleyball team, was named Volleyball Athlete of the Week.
Danley scored 2 goals in Ohio Wesleyan’s NCAC opener, a 4-0 win over Kenyon last Tuesday. Both goals came in the fourth quarter as OWU built upon a 1-0 lead. Ohio Wesleyan’s 3 goals during the fourth quarter tied the school record set against DePauw on Oct. 5, 2019, and tied at Sewanee on Sept. 10, 2023.
Danley then scored the Bishops’ first 2 goals in a 4-0 non-conference win over Lincoln Memorial last Thursday, first putting Ohio Wesleyan on the scoreboard with :19 remaining in the first quarter and then making it 2-0 with a goal early in the third quarter. Ohio Wesleyan would go on to score 3 goals during the third quarter, tying the school record set against Oberlin on Sept. 8, 2021, and tied against Oberlin on Sept. 1, 2022 and at Earlham on Oct. 29, 2022.
The win was Ohio Wesleyan’s seventh in a row to start the season, tying the school record set by the 1974 team. On the week, Danley scored 4 goals to raise her season total to 6, which is tied for second in the NCAC.
Kuhn scored what proved to be the deciding goal in a 2-1 non-conference win over Otterbein last Wednesday. Kuhn scored to give the Bishops a 2-0 lead early in the second half, allowing OWU to withstand an Otterbein penalty kick later in the half. On Saturday, Kuhn scored an insurance goal in the 78th minute of a 2-0 non-conference win at Wilmington.
Solberg set a school record with 10 block assists and contributed 6 kills in leading the Bishops past Wittenberg, 3-2, in their NCAC opener on Saturday.
Solberg had 3 kills and 2 blocks during a set-ending 7-1 run in the second set as the Bishops took a 2-0 lead in the match, and in the fifth set, Solberg delivered a kill to kick off a 4-0 run that put the Bishops ahead to stay, then teamed up on the match-ending block.
The 10 block assists broke the school record of 9 block assists in a 5-set match set by Gretchen Lenk against Case Reserve on Oct. 19, 1991, and tied by Jen Kraly against Wittenberg on Oct. 27, 1993. The win over Wittenberg was Ohio Wesleyan’s first in a North Coast Athletic Conference regular-season match since Oct. 27, 1993, breaking a 34-match streak.
Solberg opened the week with a team-leading 5 blocks and contributed 7 kills in a 3-1 non-conference win at Earlham. On the week, Solberg collected 13 kills (1.44/set) and 15 blocks (1.67/set).
OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.
