Xavier University Athletics
Semona and Kemp Earn Weekly BIG EAST Honors
09.28.26 | Volleyball
NEW YORK – Margo Kemp and Gabby Semona earned BIG EAST weekly honors following a 2-0 conference opening weekend at home.
Kemp was named Defensive Player of the Week by the league after totaling 14 blocks over the weekend. Against Georgetown, Kemp had a season high eight blocks, and she now totals 49.0 blocks this season. The middle blocker also had seven digs on the weekend and an ace.
The Redshirt Junior had 23 kills in the conference opening weekend and a season high 15 kills in the five-set victory over Villanova. Kemp hit .700 against Villanova and marks a new single match top 10 mark in program history.
Semona was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week and currently leads the league in conference hitting percentage with a .593 clip. The freshman tallied 18 total kills on the weekend while hitting .429 against Georgetown and .650 against Villanova. Semona's hitting percentage against Villanova marks in the program's all-time top 10 single game hitting percentage. She also had three digs and five blocks over the weekend.
As a team, Xavier leads the BIG EAST in conference stats in both blocks (2.63/set) and digs (16.25/set).
The Musketeers go 2-0 to open conference play for the first season since 2023. In 2023, Xavier defeated Butler and Creighton to start the conference slate.
Up next, Xavier travels to St. John's and Seton Hall to begin a four-match road stint. The Musketeers face the Red Storm Friday, Oct. 2 with first serve set for 7 p.m. Xavier will then face Seton Hall Saturday, Oct. 3 at 4 p.m.
