Koppers, Veltman named Investors Group OUA Athletes of the Week

BURLINGTON, Ont. - The following athletes have been named Investors Group Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Athletes of the Week for the period ending March 20, 2017.

MALE: Brandon Koppers (Georgetown, Ont.) – 4^th yr – McMaster Marauders – Volleyball

Marauders outside hitter Brandon Koppers (Georgetown, Ont.) has been named the Investors Group OUA Male Athlete of the Week after he helped lead McMaster to a bronze medal finish at the 2017 U SPORTS FOG Men's Volleyball Championship.

On Friday night, the fourth-year economics major led the Marauders with 21 kills in 3-2 (25-16, 25-11, 23-25, 19-25, 17-15) victory over the No. 4 ranked Laval Rouge Et Or.  In addition, he also recorded nine digs and an ace.

In Saturday’s semifinal against the top seeded rivals, the Trinity Western Spartans, the Georgetown, Ont. native had 14 kills and one block assists for 14.5 points as the Marauders fell to the eventual champs 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-21).

However, Koppers and the Marauders bounced back on Sunday, sweeping the UBC Thunderwolves 3-0 (25-14, 27-25, 25-17) in straight sets to claim their fifth consecutive national medal.  Once again, Koppers led the Marauders with 10 kills, a block and an ace.

Following the championship, Koppers was named a U SPORTS Tournament All-Star.

FEMALE: Kelsey Veltman (Brampton, Ont.) – 3^rd yr. – Western Mustangs  – Volleyball

Western Mustangs middle Kelsey Veltman (Brampton, Ont.) has been named the Investors Group OUA Female Athlete of the week for the period ending March 20, 2017.

On Friday night in the 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship quarter-finals, Veltman, a third-year student-athlete who attends King’s College, had a team-high 10 kills and 3.5 blocks as the Mustangs fell 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20) to the eventual champion UBC Thunderbirds.

In an OUA championship rematch on Saturday, the Brampton, Ont. native picked up a game-high 19 kills to go along with 2.0 blocks and five digs as the Mustangs got some revenge on the rival McMaster Marauders with a 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-16, 27-25) win in the consolation semifinals.

Veltman continued her outstanding play on Sunday as once again Western was led by a 15-kill performance from Veltman, who added two aces and four digs for the Mustangs in a straight sets 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 26-24) loss to Dalhousie.

Earlier in the week, Veltman was named a U SPORTS second-team all-Canadian after being named the OUA West Division Player of the Year earlier this month.