ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington’s Brianna Ford, UTRGV’s Luanna Emiliano and Kiaraliz Perez have been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Volleyball Player, Setter and Libero of the week, for the match week ending on Monday, Oct. 9.   
 
Ford, a senior outside hitter, averaged an impressive 5.17 kills, 3.14 digs and one block per set while hitting .436 over a pair of conference matches last week. Ford opened the week with 15 kills, 11 digs and four blocks at a .297 clip against Grand Canyon. She then exploded with 25 kills, 11 digs and three blocks with a .561 hitting percentage in just three sets against California Baptist. She matched her career high for kills while pushing her season double-double total to eight. On top of that, the Amarillo native pushed her career kill total to 1,063, which moved her past Jackie Bennett (1,047, 1985-88) for 18th place on the program's all-time list.
 
Emiliano, a junior setter, had another outstanding weekend to propel UTRGV to a pair of road sweeps over Seattle U and Utah Valley. She averaged 12.5 assists per set as she dished out 34 assists with 13 digs for her 10th double-double of the season at Seattle U, then tallied 41 assists at Utah Valley for a total of 75. She led four URTGV players to double-digit kills at Utah Valley (the third-best blocking team in the conference), with the Vaqueros hitting .314 as a team over the weekend. Emiliano averaged two kills per set, with five kills at Seattle U and a career-high tying seven kills at Utah Valley for a .435 hitting percentage over the weekend. Emiliano also tallied 16 digs and two aces, aiding UTRGV’s four-match winning streak. She continues to lead the WAC in total assists, ranking 23rd in the nation with 670, and is T-48th in the nation with 10.00 assists/set.
 
Perez, a junior, anchored a strong defensive effort from UTRGV that helped the Vaqueros earn conference sweeps over Seattle U and Utah Valley, extending their winning streak to four matches and four sweeps. She tabbed 15 digs and had five assists at Seattle U, then followed that up with 18 digs, two kills, two assists and one ace at Utah Valley. Perez averaged 5.5 digs per set. She is fourth in the WAC and T-93rd in the nation with 268 digs.
 
 
2023 TicketSmarter WAC Volleyball Weekly Awards
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brianna Ford, Sr., OH, UT Arlington (Oct. 11)
Izabella Ortiz, So., MB, Stephen F. Austin (Oct. 4)
Izabella Ortiz, So., MB, Stephen F. Austin (Sept. 27)
Ielan Bradley, Sr., RS, Stephen F. Austin (Sept. 20)
Ielan Bradley, Sr., RS, Stephen F. Austin (Sept.13)
Brianna Ford, Sr., OH, UT Arlington (Sept. 6)
Paige Reagor, Sr., MB, UT Arlington (Aug. 30)
 
SETTER OF THE WEEK
Luanna Emiliano, Jr., UTRGV (Oct. 11)
Klaire Mitchell, Gr., Grand Canyon (Oct. 4)
Luanna Emiliano, Jr., UTRGV (Sept. 27)
Mollie Blank, Sr., UT Arlington (Sept. 20)
Klaire Mitchell, Gr., Grand Canyon (Sept. 13)
Luanna Emiliano, Jr., UTRGV (Sept. 6)
Klaire Mitchell, Gr., Grand Canyon (Aug. 30)
 
LIBERO OF THE WEEK
Kiaraliz Perez, Jr., UTRGV (Oct. 11)
Brianna Young, So., California Baptist (Oct. 4)
Tatum Thomas, So., Grand Canyon (Sept. 27) Mia Jerue, Jr., California Baptist (Sept. 13)
Haley Hoang, Sr., Stephen F. Austin (Sept. 6)
Lani Matavao, Fr., Utah Valley (Aug. 30)