Volleyball 9/14/2021 1:05:39 PM

Canaba, O'Bannon Named Volleyball Players of the Week

AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Matches: September 7-11, 2021

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Annika Canaba, S/MB, Sr., Sul Ross State
Sul Ross State senior setter/middle blocker Annika Canaba (Alpine, Texas) hit .390 with 3.45 kills, 4.73 assists, 2.00 digs and 0.64 blocks per set as the Lobos went 2-1 in conference play. She started the week with eight kills, 15 assists and five digs in a three-set loss to No. 12 Mary Hardin-Baylor. Canaba followed with 12 kills, 12 assists, seven digs and three aces in a sweep of Hardin-Simmons, followed by a triple-double of 18 kills, 25 assists, 11 digs, five aces and three blocks in a five-set victory over McMurry. This is Canaba’s sixth Player of the Week award of her career.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Bailey O’Bannon, MB, Sr., East Texas Baptist
East Texas Baptist senior middle blocker Bailey O’Bannon (Redwater, Texas) led the Tigers with 1.43 blocks per set, while connecting on 11 kills and hitting .391 in a conference split. She posted six blocks in a four-set loss to No. 12 Mary Hardin-Baylor and had seven kills and four blocks in a sweep at Concordia Texas. This is her second career Player of the Week award.

OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
Offensive
Mary Hardin-Baylor senior outside hitter Lauren Williams (Houston, Texas) hit .298 with 19 kills (2.7 per set) as the No. 12 Cru picked up a pair of conference wins. She posted 11 kills with two blocks and three digs against Sul Ross State and followed with eight kills versus East Texas Baptist.

LeTourneau freshman right side Kaci Monk (Euless, Texas) had eight kills, an ace and three blocks in a loss at UT Dallas.

UT Dallas sophomore outside hitter Catherine Croft (Buda, Texas) averaged 3.54 kills per set while hitting at a .130 clip as the Comets posted a 2-2 record at the UTD Fall Festival over the weekend. Croft had 17 kills Friday night in a 3-1 loss to Carnegie Mellon and then had 14 kills in a loss to Southwestern (Texas) on Saturday. She added 3.00 digs and 0.23 blocks per set along with four aces over the Comets four matches.

Howard Payne junior outside hitter Mya Ross (Irving, Texas) made the All-Tournament Team at the Spike It Up Classic hosted by Colorado College, with 60 kills (2.85 per set) on the week. She also averaged 2.14 digs per set.
East Texas Baptist freshman outside hitter Avery Reid (Fulshear, Texas) hit .333, averaging 3.29 kills, 1.71 digs and 0.86 blocks per set as the Tigers went 1-1 in conference play.

McMurry senior middle blocker Megan Martinez (El Paso, Texas) hit .516 with 2.00 kills and 1.11 blocks per set as the War Hawks went 1-1 in conference play. She hit .800 with eight kills and no errors against Howard Payne.

Defensive
Mary Hardin-Baylor sophomore Hannah Frasca (Spring, Texas) averaged 4.29 digs per set along with 3.00 kills as the No. 12 Cru went 2-0 in conference play. She tallied 14 digs and a pair of blocks in a sweep of the Sul Ross State, then had 16 digs in a four-set win over East Texas Baptist.

LeTourneau freshman defensive specialist Ty Shannon (Cypress, Texas) had nine digs (3.00 per set) in a loss to conference foe UT Dallas.

UT Dallas freshman libero Rachel Baxter (Katy, Texas) averaged 5.69 digs per set as the Comets posted a 2-2 record at the UTD Fall Festival over the weekend. Baxter topped double-digit digs in all four matches, including a weekend-best 21 digs in a 3-1 loss to Carnegie Mellon Friday night. She had 18 digs each against Southwestern (Texas) and Aurora and opened the event with 17 digs in a sweep of LeTourneau.

Howard Payne freshman defensive specialist Sydney Sullivan (Van Alstyne, Texas) averaged 3.23 digs per set at the Spike It Up Classic in Colorado. She had 30 digs in a five-set loss to Occidental.

McMurry sophomore outside hitter Kaylie Vasil (Midlothian, Texas) averaged 3.55 digs and 2.22 kills per set as the War Hawks went 1-1 in league play. She had a team-best 15 digs in a win over Howard Payne and 17 digs and two blocks in a five-set loss at Sul Ross State.

Sul Ross State sophomore libero Faith Herrera (El Paso, Texas) averaged 5.00 digs per set with six assists and five aces as the Lobos went 2-1 in ASC play. She had 17 digs, two assists and an ace in a loss to No. 12 Mary Hardin-Baylor. Herrera then had 17 digs, three assists and two aces in a sweep of Hardin-Simmons and 21 digs and two more aces in a five-set win over McMurry.