SPARTANBURG, S.C. – ETSU’s Rylee Milhorn and Chattanooga’s Megan Kaufman have been named Southern Conference volleyball offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for matches played Sept. 18-24, the conference office announced Monday. This is the second weekly award this year for Kaufman and first for Milhorn.

Milhorn, an outside hitter, helped ETSU earn its first conference win of the season on Sept. 19 with a 3-1 win over Western Carolina. The senior tallied a team-high 20 kills and chipped in 10 digs to earn a double-double. Milhorn followed that performance with 14 kills and nine digs on Sept. 22 in a loss to UNCG. The Kingsport, Tennessee, native finished the week with a .258 hitting percentage, 34 kills, 19 digs and three total blocks. Milhorn averaged 4.25 kills per set and had a team-high three service aces in the two matches. Milhorn currently ranks seventh in the conference with 3.48 kills per set and third in service aces with 21.

Kaufman, a defensive specialist/libero, racked up 42 digs in a five-set loss to Western Carolina on Sept. 22, the second-most in any NCAA Division I match this season. The freshman followed with another double-digit dig performance on Sept. 23, totaling 23 digs in a sweep over UNCG. The Liberty Township, Ohio, native finished the weekend with 65 total digs, four assists and two service aces. Kaufman, who averaged 8.12 digs per set in the two matches, ranks in the top 10 in NCAA Division I in total digs and digs per set and leads the SoCon with 6.23 digs per set.

Also nominated for offensive player of the week: Sharlissa De Jesus (The Citadel), Jamila Johnson (Furman), Morgan MacGilvary (Mercer), Ashley Muench (UNCG), Taylor Anderton (Samford), Emily Plumlee (Chattanooga), Abigail Veit (Western Carolina) and Colleen Reilly (Wofford).

Also nominated for defensive player of the week: Megan Fuhr (The Citadel), Courtney Hoffman (Furman), Claire Waliczek (Mercer), Christina Gregory (UNCG), Kendal Strand (Samford), Aleah Keaton (Western Carolina) and Colleen Reilly (Wofford).

2017 SoCon Volleyball Offensive Players of the Week
Aug. 28 Ally Ford, R-So., OH, Chattanooga
Sept. 4 Catie Cronister, So., OH, Wofford
Sept. 11 Paige Alsten, Jr., MB, Mercer
Sept. 18 Taylor Anderton, Jr., S, Samford
Sept. 25 Rylee Milhorn, Sr., OH, ETSU

2017 SoCon Volleyball Defensive Players of the Week
Aug. 28 Megan Kaufman, Fr., DS/L, Chattanooga
Sept. 4 Christina Gregory, Jr., DS/L, UNCG
Sept. 11 Meg DeMaar, Sr., L, Furman
Sept. 18 Taylor Gill, Jr., L, Wofford
Sept. 25 Megan Kaufman, Fr., DS/L, Chattanooga