CAA Volleyball Weekly Awards – Oct.18
Hunter Peters
RICHMOND, Va. (Oct. 18, 2021) – The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) has announced its volleyball weekly award winners as the halfway point of the conference slate has come and went. Charleston’s Lexi Wierzbicki was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week, James Madison’s Annie Smith earned Defensive Player of the Week honors and Sydney Love of Elon collected CAA Rookie of the Week accolades.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Lexi Wierzbicki, Charleston
Junior | Outside Hitter | Easley, S.C. / Pickens HS
Wierzbicki led Charleston to a weekend sweep of Hofstra with 32 kills (4.57 per set) on a .394 hitting percentage. In a straight-set victory on Saturday, Wierzbicki recorded a team-high 13 kills on a blistering .545 hitting percentage while adding four digs and a pair of blocks. In the weekend finale, the junior outside hitter tallied a career-high 19 kills, hitting .318 for the match. She added five blocks and four digs to round out her performance. Wierzbicki paces the Cougars with 238 kills (2.83 per set) this season, and she has recorded double-digit kills in 11 of her previous 12 matches.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Annie Smith, James Madison
Freshman | Middle Blocker | Jupiter, Fla. / The King’s Academy
Smith had the best weekend of her young career, helping James Madison limit William & Mary to a combined -0.086 hitting percentage in their weekend series. The freshman middle blocker led the Dukes with 14 blocks (2.33 per set) in back-to-back straight-set victories. On Saturday, Smith recorded a career-best nine blocks to lead the match, as JMU held the Tribe to -0.094 hitting for the contest. She came back Sunday with five blocks and added five kills to help the Dukes earn the weekend sweep. Smith ranks second on the Dukes with 1.21 blocks per set this season and has a total of 41 blocks during her freshman campaign.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Sydney Love, Elon
Freshman | Outside Hitter | Chesapeake, Va. / Hickory
Love continued the great start to her collegiate career, helping Elon to a 2-0 weekend against UNCW. She tallied 12 kills (3.00 per set) without an error and hit a red-hot .600 over six sets. Love started the weekend with six kills, swinging .500 with a pair of blocks and one dig in a straight-set win for the Phoenix. She followed the performance hitting .750 and tallying six kills, two digs and a block as Elon defeated UNCW in three sets. On the season, Love ranks second on the Phoenix with 165 kills (2.54 per set), and she has surpassed double-figures on eight occasions this fall.
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