DENVER – New Mexico State junior outside hitter Kayleigh Giddens has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 21-27. It is the first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor for Giddens.
The Lubbock, Texas native tallied 47 kills, 33 digs, three blocks and three service aces as the Aggies went 3-0 on the week. Giddens averaged 4.73 points, 4.27 kills, 3.00 digs and 0.27 service aces, all well above her season averages, and posted the first two double-doubles of her career. In a win over Interstate 10 rival UTEP, Giddens posted a match-high 14 kills and a career-high 14 digs for her first career double-double. She followed that up with a match-high 14 kills in a sweep of Utah State to open WAC play. Giddens finished the week with her second career double-double, posting 19 kills and 13 digs in a four-set win at Louisiana Tech.
Other nominees included: Sadie Maughan of Boise State tallied a career-high 20 kills as the Broncos picked up their first win of the season … Fresno State’s Baylee Platt tallied a double-double – a season-high 21 kills and 10 digs – in the Bulldogs’ loss to Nevada … Dani Mafua of Hawai’i averaged 11.33 assists, 1.00 kills, 1.33 digs and 1.00 blocks per set as the Rainbow Wahine moved their win streak to seven … Idaho’s Sarah Conwell nearly tallied a triple-double (19 kills, 20 digs and seven blocks) in a win over San Jose State … Nataliya Panova of Louisiana Tech tallied 34 kills and 39 digs in three matches last week, including a win over Utah State, the Lady Techsters’ first WAC win since the 2007 season … Nevada’s Kylie Harrington posted career highs of 22 kills and 20 digs in a win over Fresno State … Kylie Miraldi of San Jose State tallied a career-high seven blocks against Idaho and hit .611 vs. Boise State.