(KJCCC) February 24, 2021 – Strong performances by conference athletes are recognized in Week 5 of the KJCCC Athletes of the Week voting.

Division II Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week
There were no nominees this week.

Division II Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week
Hesston sophomore Guard Langston Flowers averaged 25.5 PPG in two games this week for the Larks.Langston was the leading scorer in both games as he came off the bench. Flowers went 15-15 from the free throw line in Hesston's 87-75 victory over Bethel JV.

Division I Women's Basketball Athlete of the Week
Rapaluchi Ngorka, a 6-1 freshman center, averaged 17.5 PPG game and 20.5 RPG this past week for the Independence Lady Pirates.  She shot 48% from the field and had 24 rebounds in a game that was played at high level vs. Seward County. On the defensive end, Ngorka averaged three steals per game this past week.

Division I Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week
Hutchinson Blue Dragon sophomore forward Matt Mayers had a career night, albeit in a 113-99 loss on the road at No. 23 Cowley in Hutchinson's only action of the week. Mayers had career highs of 44 points and 16 rebounds against. Cowley. The 44 points is the fourth-highest single-game title by a Blue Dragon in team history. Mayers became just the eighth Blue Dragon in program history to score 40 or more points in a game and was the first since J.J. Rhymes' 41-point outing at Butler in 2017.Mayers' shot 15 of 20 from the field. His 15 field goals are a single-game Blue Dragon record. Mayers was 14 of 14 from the free-throw line, which tied for the sixth-most free throws in single-game history. Along with his career-high 16 rebounds – which are tied for the 11th most in Hutchinson single-game history, Mayers posted his fourth career double-double of the season.

Division I Volleyball Athletes of the Week
Offensive Player: Jenna Thorne (Hutchinson CC) - Sophomore outside hitter Jenna Thorne hit .269 and led the Blue Dragons to a 4-0 week. Thorne had double-doubles in Blue Dragon Classic wins over Indian Hills (4 sets) and Mineral Area (5 sets). Against Mineral Area, Thorne was held to just four kills over the first three sets, but came to life with eight kills combined in the fourth and fifth sets to lead the Blue Dragon comeback. She had 20 kills on .240 hitting against Indian Hills.

Setter: Chloe Price (Hutchinson CC) - Hutchinson sophomore setter Chloe Price posted two double-doubles in two of the biggest non-conference wins this season at the Blue Dragon Classic and she led the Blue Dragons to a 4-0 week. Price averaged 9.00 set assists per set and had a .353 conversion percentage as the Blue Dragons defeated Butler, Central Nebraska, Indian Hills and Mineral Area last week. She also averaged 0.81 kills, 2.31 digs, 0.56 blocks and 0.38 service aces. Price had a double-double of 32 assists and 12 digs in a four-set Blue Dragon Classic win over Indian Hills. She then put together 43 assists and 13 digs in a come-from-behind five-set win over Mineral Area. 

Defensive Player: Kristina Head (Hutchinson CC) - Hutchinson Community College freshman middle Kristina Head came up big in a 4-0 week for the Blue Dragons. She averaged 1.38 blocks per set and 1.31 digs per set. Head had 22 total blocks (4 solo, 17 block assists) with a career-high seven in a Jayhawk West victory over Butler. She had five blocks and a career-high 11 digs to go with seven kills and two ace serves in a five-set Blue Dragon victory over Mineral Area at the Blue Dragon Classic.

Division II Volleyball Athletes of the Week
KJCCC Division II Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Julianna Squire, Fort Scott Community College Sophomore Outside Hitter, Crowley, TX - Returning All-American Juliana Squires recorded 42 kills, 23 digs, three blocks and a pair of aces while helping Fort Scott to wins over Kansas City and Hesston. She is currently ranked second in the NJCAA in kills (139). 

KJCCC Division II Volleyball Setter of the Week
Jaycee Burghart, Cloud County Community College Sophomore Setter, McPherson, KS - Jaycee Burghart would play a key role this past week in helping Cloud County go 2-0 with wins over Hesston and Allen by dishing out 62 assists and averaging 8.86 assists per set. The McPherson, Kansas native would also add a season-best 17 digs in Thursday's four-set win over the Red Devils and has accounted for 74 percent of the T-Birds assists this year.

KJCCC Division II Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week
Erin Thompson, Cowley College Freshman Libero, Alexander, Arkansas - Freshman Erin Thompson helped Cowley to a pair of victories by recording 24 digs. Thompson currently ranks fifth in the Jayhawk Conference in total digs. 

Division I Softball Athletes of the Week
Player: Alyssa Reyes (Pratt CC) - Alyssa Reyes batted .750 helping Pratt take two of three from Western Nebraska over the weekend. Reaching base three times on Saturday including connecting on a double, Reyes was 5-of-7 on Sunday including a pair of doubles and a 4-for-4 performance on Sunday's back end of the doubleheader.  Reyes also pitched two complete games to earn both victories, including Saturday's six strikeouts and scattering just two hits in the five inning contest.

Pitcher: Ashlee Lucero (Barton CC) - Ashlee Lucero struck out a career second-best eleven strikeouts in Barton's season opener.  Despite taking an eighth inning loss, Lucero kept the Cougars in the game pitching the complete game allowing no earned runs while scattering just three hits.

Division II Softball Athletes of the Week
KJCCC Division II Softball Player of the Week
Kirsten Birdwell, Neosho County Sophomore Outfielder, Arkansas City, KS - The sophomore outfielder from Arkansas City, KS hit three home runs and drove in five runs in the second game of a doubleheader sweep of Neosho County. She went 4-for-8 with six RBIs in the two games and added a stolen base.

KJCCC Division II Softball Pitcher of the Week
Olivia Cummings, Neosho County Freshman Pitcher, Pryor, OK - The freshman from Pryor, OK opened the season with a dominating performance against Barton Community College. The right-hander struck out nine batters in the eight-inning complete game shutout. She allowed only three hits in the 2-0 victory.

Baseball Athlete of the Week
Jordan Ellison led the Barton offense posting a 1.143 slugging percentage and .429 batting average backed by three round trippers and five RBI's helping Barton to a season opening sweep over Western Nebraska. Ellison recorded a solo shot home run and double in Saturday's opener, carrying the hot bat into the nightcap collecting his second multi-hit game connecting on a pair of big fly's in the Cougars' thrilling 11-10 win in extras. In Sunday's contests, Ellison extended his hit streak with singles in each contest while adding another RBI helping the Cougars' complete the sweep.  

Kolby Dougan showed out in a big way in his second career start for the T-Birds as the freshman would toss five innings of no-hit baseball to lead Cloud County to a 10-3 win over Labette at the University of Central Oklahoma JUCO Festival in Edmond, OK. Allowing just one base runner on a walk in his final inning, Dougan would strikeout 13 of the 16 batters he faced while throwing just 75 pitches to earn his first collegiate win.