PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of the league’s weekly volleyball honors for the week ending Sunday, Oct. 6.
Offensive Player of the Week
Jordan Thompson * R-Sr. * RS/OH * Cincinnati
Thompson enjoyed an impactful stretch for American Athletic Conference East Division leader Cincinnati, logging a conference-high 65 kills and 9.29 kills per set in a 2-0 weekend. Thompson’s hitting percentage of .447 ranked fifth in The American last week and led all players who attempted at least 45 total attacks. Thompson’s match-high 28 kills and .468 hitting percentage keyed a sweep of the visiting Knights in an afternoon home showdown with UCF on Friday on ADN. Thompson closed the weekend with 37 kills, her third 35-kill match of the 2019 campaign, to go along with 10 digs and two blocks on Sunday against USF. Through 16 starts this season, Thompson leads The American in total kills (363), kills per set (6.26) and hitting percentage (.356).
Defensive Player of the Week
Taylor Horsfall * Sr. * DS/L * Tulsa
Horsfall repeated as conference defensive player of the week after pacing The American with 5.62 digs per set (45 total digs) and no reception errors in a 1-1 league weekend for Tulsa. She added 10 assists and five service aces to the cause for the Golden Hurricane over eight sets played. Horsfall notched 28 digs and chipped in five assists and three aces, while also becoming just the fourth player in conference history to surpass 2,000 career digs after reaching the milestone on Friday at SMU. Tulsa bounced back with a sweep at Memphis on Sunday, with Horsfall registering 17 digs and five assists in just three sets played. Horsfall’s 5.54 digs per set this season lead the conference as of Oct. 7.
Weekly Honor Roll
Katie Karbo * Sr. * DS/L * Houston
Led The American with 52 total digs (5.20 digs per set) in a 2-0 weekend for Houston that featured a pair of matches that went five sets; opened the weekend with 26 digs and six assists at Tulane and added 26 digs, six assists and a service ace on Sunday at Temple
McKenna Melville * So. * OH * UCF
Posted double-digit kills in both matches during a 1-1 weekend for UCF, averaging 4.33 kills per set while hitting at a .343 clip; logged 10 kills and four digs on Friday at Cincinnati before closing the weekend with 16 kills and 11 digs in three sets against East Carolina on Sunday
Alex Glover * Fr. * MB * SMU
Led SMU with a .455 hitting percentage after finishing with 23 kills (2.88 kills per set) and seven blocks in a 2-0 weekend; registered 16 kills on an even .500 hitting in five sets against Tulsa on Friday before notching seven kills and a block against Wichita State on Sunday
Yvette Burcescu * So. * RS * Tulane
Averaged 3.00 kills per set (24 total kills) and chipped in 10 digs and eight total blocks in a 1-1 Tulane weekend; carded 11 kills, seven digs and four blocks in a five-set showdown with Houston on Friday and closed the week with 13 kills, three digs and four blocks in a sweep at UConn
Sydney Kleinman * Jr. * OH * East Carolina
Capped a 1-1 showing for East Carolina with the third-highest hitting percentage in The American (.488) for the weekend, finishing with 26 kills (4.33 kills per set); recorded 19 kills and hit .586 in a win over USF before tallying seven kills in a setback against UCF