DENVER ? Utah State opposite side hitter Amanda Nielson has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 15-21. This is the first career WAC Player of the Week honor for the senior.
The West Valley City, Utah (Granger) native, led Utah State to a 2-1 record last week with wins against Idaho (3-0) and Boise State (3-0) and a loss to 11th-ranked Hawai?i. Nielson began her week by recording a match-high 16 kills and a team-high nine digs against Hawai?i. Against Idaho, Nielson tied the school record for most kills in a three-game match with 24. She also had eight digs against the Vandals and hit .312 (24-9-48). Nielson then concluded her week by again tying the school’s single-match kills record with 24 more kills against Boise State. In the match against the Broncos, she hit .353 (24-6-51) and notched her sixth double-double of the season with 11 digs. For the week, Nielson averaged an amazing 7.83 points, 7.11 kills, 3.11 digs, 0.78 blocks and 0.33 service aces per game.
Other nominees included: Tairyn Rasmussen of Fresno State led the Bulldogs with 15 kills and 11 digs ... Shannon Phillips tallied 27 kills and and 20 digs over the weekend against San Jose State and Nevada ... Karly Sipherd of Nevada had 30 kills and 12 blocks as the Wolf Pack went 1-1 ... Lindsey Yon of New Mexico State had 40 kills and 37 digs in two wins by the Aggies.