IRVING, Texas - For the second-consecutive week, a pair of Lady Toppers are collecting Conference USA Player of the Week honors. Rachel Anderson has been named the Offensive Player of the Week and Jessica Lucas has earned Co-Setter of the Week honors after helping WKU Volleyball extend its current win streak to 15, the league office announced Monday.
This marks Anderson's second-consecutive Offensive Player of the Week nod and third weekly honor of her career after she was named the Freshman of the Week during her debut season in 2015. For Lucas, this marks the seventh Setter of the Week accolade of the 2016 season, which is a Conference USA single-season record across all four weekly volleyball awards. The junior now owns 12 career Setter of the Week honors, the second most all-time for the award.
WKU swept both of its weekend opponents, taking down Marshall Friday before heading to UAB on Sunday. Anderson worked at a .553 weekend hitting rate while racking up 29 kills for a 4.83 kills per set average. The sophomore also tied for the team-high five blocks, including a pair of solo stops for 0.83 blocks per set. On Friday against Marshall, Anderson led the way for the WKU offense, producing a match-high 17 kills on 28 swings for a .571 clip.
Lucas recorded her 10th double-double performance of the season in Sunday's victory at UAB with 36 assists and a team-high 12 digs. The two-time All-American registered 11.83 assists per set in the weekend sweeps for a total of 71 helpers while leading the WKU squad to a .393 hitting percentage. Lucas worked at a .278 weekend hitting rate herself with six kills while also tallying the second-most digs by a Lady Topper with 20. WKU hitters recorded a kill on more than half (.504) of Lucas' sets over the weekend.
Across the 2016 season, WKU Volleyball has seen 12 weekly honors collected by Lady Topper student-athletes. Anderson owns two awards on the season while Lucas leads everyone with seven. Also earning recognition was Alyssa Cavanaugh twice as the Offensive Player of the Week and Georgia O'Connell once as the Defensive Player of the Week.
WKU will close regular-season action from its own E.A. Diddle Arena with three matches remaining on the docket. In the upcoming week, the Lady Toppers will take on Rice Friday night at 6 p.m. CT and then turn around and host Middle Tennessee in a 2:30 p.m. CT contest on Saturday.
