Valparaiso freshman libero Taylor Root (Jenison, Mich./Jenison) became the first two-time recipient of ‘The People’s Choice’ honor on the Horizon League Network as announced by HLN this afternoon.

Root was up for ‘The People’s Choice’ accolade after being named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week last week for her 5.50 digs/set performance over three Crusader matches.  The freshman beat out Loyola’s Katie Groesch (women’s soccer), Butler’s Brett Heinz (men’s soccer) and Cleveland State’s Beth Greulich (volleyball) for the honor this week.  Root previously was named ‘The People’s Choice’ on Oct. 15.

‘The People’s Choice’ is a weekly segment on HLN that allows fans to choose which athlete they believed had the most outstanding week among the Horizon League’s Athletes of the Week.  Voting is open from Monday around noon through Tuesday afternoon each week, with an interview with the winner posted on HLN Thursday afternoon.  In this week’s interview, Root talks about how she’s settled into her role as a freshman and looks back at last week’s action while also looking ahead to the Crusaders’ upcoming matches.