The Grundy County Athlete of the Week is Morris volleyball player Alyssa Jepson, who recorded her 1,000th career dig and added to her school-record total. She had a total of 30 votes to beat out Morris cross country’s Ava Conley (19), Minooka cross country’s Natalie Nahs (11) and Minooka soccer player Ethan Koranda (11).

Weekly ballots go online Sundays and are accessible via Twitter (@roboesterle), with voting going through midday Tuesday.

Here is a Q&A with this week’s winner:

MHN: Did you know coming into the season that the dig record was within reach?

Jepson: The coaches told me I was getting close, but I didn’t actually know I set the record until after the match when I set it. For the 1,000th one, I knew how many I needed before the match started.

MHN: When did you start playing volleyball?

Jepson: I started in about fifth grade, playing both in school and in travel.

MHN: You are a three-sport athlete (along with basketball and softball). What is your favorite sport?

Jepson: Definitely volleyball.

MHN: What do you like best about volleyball?

Jepson: I like playing alongside all of my closest friends, and I really love the energy that volleyball brings. A lot of girls on the volleyball team, I play with in other sports, so that makes it fun, too.

MHN: What will you remember most about your volleyball career?

Jepson: Playing with amazing girls and amazing coaches, the way we have built the program up and accomplished things that never happened before. We were the co-conference champs this year in the Interstate Eight, and we had never won a championship in that conference before.

MHN: What are your goals for the postseason, which starts next week?

Jepson: We’re getting close to the school record for wins, so we would like to break that. We also want to be the Morris team that goes the farthest in the playoffs. We are really starting to come together and we’re playing really well, so I think we can do that.

MHN: Do you have a pre-match routine?

Jepson: Me, personally, no, although I do like to drink a Celcius before every match. As a team, we pretty much do the same things. Watch the JV match, listen to music, then come out on the floor to warm up.

MHN: What is your favorite subject in school?

Jepson: I would have to say math.

MHN: What is your favorite TV show?

Jepson: Vampire Diaries

MHN: What is your favorite meal?

Jepson: Any kind of pasta. Just plain with butter on it.