PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of the league’s weekly volleyball honors for the week ending on Sept. 17.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kia Bright * R-Sr. * OH * UCF
Bright helped her side to two sweep victories over Virginia this weekend in the Knights’ home-opener. Bright tallied a double-double in each win, hitting over .300 in both matches. She registered 11 kills and a team-leading 16 digs with a .429 hitting percentage in the first sweep on Friday before tallying another 11 kills and 13 more digs while hitting .381 in the second win of the weekend. She averaged 3.67 kills and 4.83 digs per set with just four attacking errors. She has seven double-doubles this year, which are tied for leading The American.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Giorgia Civita * R-Fr. * L * Wichita StateRV
Civita earned All-Tournament honors and averaged 7.86 digs per set, while the Shockers hosted two nationally ranked opponents over the weekend. She recorded 29 digs, as Wichita Sate
RV took down Creighton
8 in four sets on Friday. That win served as the second top-10 victory in the Shockers’ program history. She also guided the back row with 26 digs in a loss against Iowa State
19.
WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Natale Zanellato * Fr. * OH * Memphis
Memphis enjoyed a 3-0 weekend in its home-opening tournament, as Zanellato fueled the Tigers’ offense with 3.50 kills per set and a .351 hitting percentage. She logged double-digit kills in all three wins on the way to earning All-Tournament honors. She had a .429 hitting percentage in the four-set win over UT Martin.
Brianna Kadiku * So. * MB * Memphis
Kadiku was a force at the net, registering 16 blocks over the weekend to help the Tigers go undefeated in their home-opening tournament. Averaging 1.60 blocks per set, she had a season-best seven stuffs against Louisiana-Monroe, five versus Nicholls, and four more against UT Martin. She also averaged 2.20 kills per set, including a 10-kill performance with a .444 hitting percentage in the three-set win over Nicholls.
Clara Payne * R-Jr. * MB * USF
Payne notched a .383 hitting percentage and averaged 1.27 blocks per set to earn her third All-Tournament honor of the year at the Dolphin Invitational. USF went 2-1 over the weekend, as Payne had 13 kills and hit a .520 in the four-set win over Presbyterian and posted nine kills and a .471 hitting percentage in the sweep over Jacksonville. She had eight blocks in the four-set loss to Austin Peay.
Kristen Thompson * Fr. * RS * Tulane
The Green Wave had a second consecutive 3-0 weekend at home to complete a six-match winning streak, while Thompson was named the MVP of the tournament. She averaged 3.22 kills per set, reaching double-digits in all but one match. She put down 14 kills in the five-set win over Northwestern State and added 11 kills with a .429 hitting percentage in the 3-0 win over Alabama State.
Mikaela Raudsepp * Sr. * OH * Wichita StateRV
Raudsepp contributed 11 kills while hitting a .296 in the 3-1 win over Creighton
8 and led the Shockers with 19 kills and a .295 hitting percentage in their loss to Iowa State
19. She finished the weekend averaging 4.29 kills per set with a .296 hitting percentage. She earned All-Tournament honors for her weekend performance.