PROVIDENCE, R.I. – SMU’s Avery Acker and Janelle Giordano are the American Athletic Conference volleyball players of the week for Nov. 24, with Acker earning Offensive Player of the Week honors and Giordano garnering the Defensive Player of the Week award.
 
Acker tallied 13.25 assists/set in a pair of SMU wins this weekend, including 61 in a four-set win over Temple on Sunday to strengthen the Mustangs’ at-large chances into the NCAA tournament. At least three SMU attackers had 10 or more kills in each of the four-set victories on the weekend. Acker also racked up two more double-doubles for a conference-leading 25.
 
Giordano tied an American Athletic Conference record with 13 blocks in Friday’s win over UConn and added six more Sunday vs. Temple for 2.38 blocks/set on the weekend. Giordano also added 11 kills in Sunday’s win and recorded a .310 hitting percentage for the weekend to improve the Mustangs to a conference-best 24-6 overall record.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Avery Acker, SMU: 13.25 assists/set; 61 assists in win over Temple; 24^th and 25^th double-doubles of the season
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Janelle Giordano, SMU: 2.38 blocks/set; 13 blocks in win over UConn; .310 hitting pct.
 
Honor Roll
Kia Bright, UCF: 3.25 kills/set; 3.25 digs/set; five blocks at Tulane; UCF clinched conference title with win Sunday
Erin Fairs, USF: 4.11 kills/set; 3.78 digs/set; two double-doubles; USF went 2-0 on weekend
Morgan Heise, SMU: 6.50 digs/set; 29 digs in four-set win over UConn; SMU went 2-0 on weekend
Tea Juric, Tulane: 4.78 kills/set; 4.22 digs/set; hit .327 with 22 kills and 21 digs vs. conference-leading UCF
Erica Bohannon, Tulsa: 4.12 kills/set; 18 kills and 12 digs in win over Temple; Tulsa went 2-0 on weekend