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PROVIDENCE, R.I. –  The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of the league’s weekly volleyball honors for the week ending on Sept. 24.
 
                        OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Lauren Mills * Sr. * OH * SMU
Mills led the Mustangs to a 2-0 weekend in the conference’s opening week of league play, as she picks up Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. While hitting .302 through seven sets, she averaged 4.86 kills, 5.00 points and 3.71 digs per set. Mills hit a .365 and had 23 kills and 12 digs for a double-double to snap Tulane’s winnings streak with a four-set victory on Friday. She had her second double-double of the weekend with 11 kills and 14 digs to lead her side to a 3-0 win over Houston on Sunday. The senior shares the conference’s lead of nine double-doubles this season with UCF’s Kia Bright.
 
                        DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Giorgia Civita * R-Fr. * L * Wichita State²⁴
Civita earns Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second straight week after guiding the Shockers in the back row to their first two American wins over the weekend. She averaged 6.29 digs per set in Wichita State’s two road wins. The redshirt-freshman logged 25 digs in the 3-1 win over Temple and had another 19 in the sweep over UConn, as her team hit over .300 in each match.
 
WEEKLY HONOR ROLL   
Erica Kostelac * R-Fr. * OH * Cincinnati
Kostelac helped the Bearcats to a 2-0 start in American play on the road, posting 4.00 digs and 1.17 blocks per set, while hitting .352 through two sweep victories this weekend. She put down five stuffs and 13 kills with just one error for a .400 hitting percentage in the 3-0 win over USF. She then had 11 kills in the 3-0 win over UCF.

Natalie Montini * Sr. * MB * ECU
Montini was a force at the net to pace the Pirates to a 3-1 record through the week. She hit over .420 in all four matches and averaged 1.07 blocks per set. She hit a .556 and a .455 in sweeps over N.C. Central and North Carolina A&T, respectively, on Tuesday. During the weekend, she hit a .579 with 13 kills in a 2-3 loss against UCF. She then finished the week with 17 kills and a .424 hitting percentage in the four-set win over USF.
 
Kyra Coundourides * Sr. * S * Temple
Coundourides totaled a conference season-high 59 assists in the narrow four-set loss to Wichita State²⁴  on Friday on the way to averaging a double-double of 48.5 assists and 12.5 digs per match over the weekend. She ended the week with 38 assists and 17 digs in the 3-0 win over Memphis. She averaged 13.86 assists and 3.57 digs per set in the Owls’ two weekend matches, which stands as her career-best in a conference series.
 
Izzy Rapacz * Sr. * OH/RS * Temple
Rapacz averaged 16.5 kills and 4.5 blocks per match in the Owls’ two contests over the weekend. She had a career-high 21 kills with a .385 hitting percentage in a four-set loss to Wichita State²⁴ on Friday. In the 3-0 win over Memphis, she hit a .350 and had 10 kills and six blocks. She registered averages of 4.43 kills and 1.29 blocks per set this week. The senior leads the league in blocks with 1.34 stuffs per set this season.

Abbie Lehman * Sr. * MB * Wichita State²⁴
Lehman had a strong offensive outing for the Shockers over the weekend to help them to a 2-0 start in The American. Averaging 4.43 kills, 5.43 points and 1.71 blocks per set, she had 14 kills and eight blocks in the four-set win over Temple and 17 kills, a .773 hitting percentage and four blocks in the sweep over UConn. She enjoyed a .569 hitting percentage this week.