SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Southern Conference named the volleyball players of the week for the matches played the week of October 18. Georgia Southern's Parker Small was named Offensive Player of the Week, while College of Charleston's Sarah Havel was selected as Defensive Player of the Week. The Freshman of the Week honors went to Wofford's Amanda Liguori. The players of the week are voted on by the league office.
Small, a junior from Charlotte, N.C., received the honor for the second time this season, as she also received the award in week five of the season. The middle hitter led the Eagles over the weekend with a .758 hitting percentage. Small posted 25 kills on no errors in 33 attempts for a 4.17 kills per set average. Against UNCG, Small reeled off 13 kills on 18 attempts with no errors for a .722 hitting percentage. The junior had an even stronger showing against Elon, as she hit .800 in the match with 12 kills on 15 swings with no errors. She helped lead the Eagles to a 2-0 record on the weekend with sweeps over both UNCG and Elon.
Havel, a Carmel, Ind., native, helped the Cougars to an undefeated weekend with a sweep over Samford and a 3-1 win over Chattanooga. The junior middle blocker led the team with six blocks against Samford. She came back the next day against Chattanooga to record eight blocks. Against the Lady Mocs, the Cougars combined for 16 total blocks as a team. Havel averaged 2.0 blocks per set in the two matches this weekend.
The SoCon's Freshman of the Week award went to Amanda Liguori of Wofford. The freshman from Jacksonville, Fla., had 13 kills with one error on 21 attempts against Western Carolina for a .571 hitting percentage, which set a career-high for Liguori. She also added two service aces against the Catamounts for a match-high total of 15 points. Against Appalachian State, Liguori had 13 kills, one service ace and four total blocks for a total of 16.5 points, which was one point shy of her career-high mark. Liguori collected 16 digs in the match to collect her fourth double-double of the season. For the week, the outside hitter averaged close to a whole kill better per set with 3.25 than her season average of 2.26 kills per set. She finished the week with the team high in kills per set and was second on the team in digs per set with 2.62.
Also nominated for Offensive Player of the Week were Appalachian State's Anna Wagner, College of Charleston's Cole Dawley, Davidson's Hayley Lawson, Elon's Caroline Lemke, Furman's Chandler Ambrester, UNCG's Ariel Newman, Samford's Elizabeth Neisler, Chattanooga's Courtney Barnes, Western Carolina's Amanda Chaparro and Wofford's Amanda Liguori.
Nominated for Defensive Player of the Week were Appalachian State's Alison Blasingame, Davidson's Jorden Benedict, Elon's Megan McMahon, Furman's Natalie Braun, Georgia Southern's Ashley Roe, UNCG's Ari Lysacek, Samford's Alexis Bauer, Chattanooga's Paula Passmore, Western Carolina's Morgan Cochran and Wofford's Arden Anderson.
Nominated for Freshman of the Week were College of Charleston's Madelyn McGinnis, Furman's Elle Ross, UNCG's Kellie Orewiler, Chattanooga's Jennifer Kuroski and Western Carolina's Morgan Cochran.
2010 Volleyball Offensive Players of the Week
Week 1 - Whitney Russell, College of Charleston
Week 2 - Hillary Fountain, Samford
Week 3 - Courtney Barnes, Chattanooga
Week 4 - Kelly Kirby, Furman
Week 5 - Parker Small, Georgia Southern
Week 6 - Sarabeth Peele, Davidson
Week 7 - Sarabeth Peele, Davidson
Week 8 - Parker Small, Georgia Southern
2010 Volleyball Defensive Players of the Week
Week 1 - Kayren Finney, UNCG
Week 2 - Alison Blasingame, Appalachian State
Week 3 - Paige Johnson, College of Charleston
Week 4 - Paula Passmore, Chattanooga
Week 5 - Ashley Roe, Georgia Southern
Week 6 - Kelly Kirby, Furman
Week 7 - Kayren Finney, UNCG
Week 8 - Sarah Havel, College of Charleston
2010 Volleyball Freshmen of the Week
Week 1 - Katie Murphy, Samford
Week 2 - Sarah McCarthy, Furman
Week 3 - Erin Bucherl, The Citadel
Week 4 - Kellie Orewiler, UNCG
Week 5 - Jennifer Kuroski, Chattanooga
Week 6 - Cali Estes, Elon
Week 7 - Katie Murphy, Samford
Week 8 - Amanda Liguori, Wofford