A career weekend lifted Charlotte outside hitter Janell Sparks to Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week honors. Western Kentucky’s Sydney Engle and Jessica Lucas, and Nicole Lennon from Rice rounded out the league’s Week 4 honorees.
Sparks averaged 4.93 kills per set, while hitting at a .368 clip and leading the 49ers to a school-record 10-match win streak. The senior kicked off the week with a career-high 20 kills, five digs and four blocks in a win over rival Davidson on Tuesday. She remained on a roll throughout the weekend at the George Mason Classic, besting her career-high kill tally and posting double-digit kills in all three matches en route to MVP honors. At the tournament, the Tacoma, Washington, native downed 24 kills, while hitting .364 and added four stuffs vs. George Mason. Saturday brought a pair of 15-kill efforts against Loyola (Md.) and Hampton, as well as hitting efforts over .400. Her .481 clip against Hampton marked another career-best performance for Sparks. In addition to her hitting prowess, Sparks added 17 digs and 11 blocks to Charlotte’s wins.
Engle was a defensive guru in WKU’s 4-0 effort on the week en route to defensive accolades She was a perfect 47-for-47 on serve receive to start things off for the Lady Toppers. The senior also tacked on 28 digs and 16 blocks. All told, she hit at a .340 clip and averaged 2.15 digs, 1.92 kills, 1.23 blocks and 1.08 assists per set in wins over Lipscomb, Ohio State, Dayton and Northern Illinois. On Tuesday against Lipscomb, the Floyds Knobs, Indiana, native put up a career-best eight blocks. Engle wrapped the tournament with eight kills, 10 digs and three stuffs against NIU.
Lucas nabbed her third straight Setter of the Week nod by guiding her team to four near .300 or better hitting performances with 11.23 assists per set. The senior narrowly missed a double-double against Lipscomb with 26 assists and nine digs as the team hit .295. The Seymour, Indiana, native dished the ball efficiently in an upset of Ohio State, helping WKU to a stellar .506 effort for the match. She managed a 48-assist, 10-dig effort against Dayton, while also chalking up four stuffs and leading the team to a .321 hitting percentage. Lucas capped the weekend by lifting the Lady Toppers to a .375 hitting effort.
Lennon garnered Freshman of the Week honors after posting four straight 20-kill efforts and three double-doubles as the Owls went 4-0. The Rice Adidas Invitational MVP average 4.67 kills per set, with 84 kills and 50 digs. The Katy, Texas, native kicked off the week with a 20-kill, 13-dig effort against Houston Baptist on Tuesday. A 20-kill, 17 digs effort followed as the Owls faced Arkansas State to open the tournament. The outside hitter added 21 kills and six digs against Georgetown, then chalked up 23 kills and 14 digs in the finale against Stephen F. Austin.
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