After one of the largest voting turnouts in the history of the CSM Fall Athletes of the Week poll, presented by Jake Weston State Farm, Madison Hubner of Pekin volleyball was named CSM Girls Athlete of the Week and Henry Drozd of Richwoods boys soccer won CSM Boys Athlete of the Week for the week of Sept. 25-Oct. 1.
More information and Q and A's with each athlete are below.
Hubner, a senior on Pekin's volleyball team, earned 48 percent of the vote total for the Girls Athlete of the Week poll and 765 total votes, the most that any athlete has earned in the polls so far.
The setter was one of two Dragons, alongside Malayia Higgins, to earn all-tournament honors at the Pekin Volleyball Invitational last weekend, where Pekin took home fourth place. Hubner put up nearly 13 assists per match in the tournament, notching 64 over the 5-game span where the Dragons beat strong local teams in Eureka and Peoria Notre Dame. Even in a pair of Pekin losses, she still performed well, including a team-high nine digs against IVC and a team-high four aces against Dunlap.
Get to know Hubner in a Q and A below:
Q. What’s been your favorite memory of the season so far?
A. Winning the Richwoods Tournament because we played super hard for three sets and came out on top.
Q. If you had to be stranded on an island with a teammate, who would it be and why?
A. I would be with Abby Davis because we would be able to work together well and still have a good time.
Q. Favorite music artist?
A. Zach Bryan
Q. Favorite food?
A. Tacos for sure!
Q. Do you have any pregame routines/rituals?
A. I always eat a pack of fruit snacks. I also do the same setting warmup routine every game to get in the right mindset.
Q. Who’s your favorite college or professional athlete?
A. Harper Murray on the Nebraska volleyball team because she plays with so much grit and determination and it shows on the court.
Q. Who’s your role model and why?
A. My mom because she is the most hard-working I know and she never fails to be there for others.
Q. Do you have any hidden talents?
A. I always sneeze at least five times when I sneeze.
Q. What’s your dream career?
A. An elementary school teacher.
Drozd, who won 43 percent of the vote total in the Boys Athlete of the Week poll, is a junior goalkeeper for Richwoods boys soccer team and helped the Knights to three shutout wins –all against teams that were above .500– last week.
He made five saves in a closely-contested 2-0 non-conference win over Limestone on Sept. 30 and shutout Roanoke-Benson/Eureka with five saves on Sept. 29, which Richwoods also won 2-0. The Knights got just one goal from Mahdi Rezqui in a Sept. 27 conference match against Champaign Centennial, but thanks to Drozd not letting a ball get by him, Richwoods won the match 1-0.
So far this season, Drozd has a goals against average of 0.914 and recorded 11 shutouts in between the pipes for the 10-6-3 Knights.
Get to know Drozd in a Q and A:
Q. What’s been your favorite memory of the season so far?
A. Our 0-0 tie against Morton
Q. If you had to be stranded on an island with a teammate, who would it be and why?
A. Cristo Hernandez because he's funny and would keep me entertained.
Q. Favorite music artist?
A. Kanye West
Q. Favorite food?
A. Chicken wings
Q. Do you have any pregame routines/rituals?
A. No.
Q. Who’s your favorite college or professional athlete?
A. Lionel Messi
Q. Who’s your role model and why?
A. Cal the Dragon because I aspire to goal keep like him
Q. Do you have any hidden talents?
A. No.
Q. What’s your dream career?
A. Professional athlete
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