JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The United Athletic Conference (UAC) has announced its weekly award winners for Women’s Soccer, Volleyball and Cross Country for Tuesday, September 8.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Player of the Week: Avery Mendez, Tarleton State
Mendez posted her first career brace, and first two collegiate goals of her career, on Sunday, helping Tarleton State secure the 4-4 draw at Houston Christian.
Defensive Player of the Week: Baylie Simon, Abilene Christian
Simon played a full 90 minutes at Tulsa on Thursday, helping the Wildcats limit the Golden Hurricane to just two goals at home.
Goalkeeper of the Week: Hanna Hargrave, Central Arkansas
Hargrave recorded her second shutout of the season in the Bears' 1-0 victory over UT Martin on Sunday and saved her only shot on goal against the Skyhawks.
VOLLEYBALL
Player of the Week: Emilee Hill, EKU
Hill led EKU to a 2-1 weekend at the GATA Challenge hosted by Georgia Southern where she posted two triple-doubles and one double-double. Hill recorded match-highs in kills (19) and assists (28) while also tallying 15 digs, four blocks and three aces in a 3-2 win over Radford. In EKU's 3-1 victory against Prairie View A&M, Hill notched another match-high in assists (28) along with 13 kills and 10 digs for her third consecutive triple-double. Hill fell one kill short of her fourth straight triple-double feature in a five-set thriller with Georgia Southern where she finished with a team-high in assists (25) and digs (21).
Setter of the Week: Kinslee McGowan, North Alabama
McGowan accumulated 146 assists over four matches last week to average 12.17 assists per set. McGowan has registered at least 32 assists in each of North Alabama's seven matches this season, including a season-high 39 assists against Chattanooga on Friday. She posted a pair of double-doubles against Alabama A&M on Wednesday (35 assists and 13 digs) and Jackson State on Friday (37 assists and 15 digs). McGowan is currently ranked second in NCAA DI in assists per set this season (11.71).
Defensive Player of the Week: Ava Martindale, North Alabama
Martindale tallied 66 digs in a 4-0 week for North Alabama. Martindale has posted double-digit digs in all seven Lion matches so far this season, and matched a season-high 21 digs on Friday versus Chattanooga. Her 5.57 digs per set this season ranks second-best among NCAA DI.
Freshman of the Week: Alyssa Todd, Abilene Christian
Todd recorded at least 14 kills and 17.0 points in each of ACU's three matches in the Houston Invitational that consisted of a pair of victories against Houston Christian and Texas Southern along with a five-set battle with Houston. She posted a .313 hitting percentage throughout the tournament and set a career-high .400 hitting percentage in the match versus Houston after notching 15 kills with just three errors on 30 attempts. Todd's 3.24 kills per set this season ranks sixth-best in the UAC (minimum 2.00/set).
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Runner of the Week: Cosmas Kiprop, EKU
Kiprop won the EKU Invitational on Friday, covering the 5K course at Elmwood Mansion in a time of 14:47.0 and leading the EKU men to a victory over Morehead State in the dual meet.
Freshman of the Week: Dillon Millard, EKU
Millard finished fourth out of 13 competitors to help the EKU men defeat Morehead State at the EKU Invitational dual meet on Friday. The freshman covered the 5K course at Elmwood Mansion in 15:52.0.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Runner of the Week: Ann Kiplagat, EKU
Kiplagat won the EKU Invitational on Friday at Elmwood Mansion, covering the 4K course in a time of 15:21.0. She defeated a field of 15 competitors and led the EKU women to a victory over Morehead State in the dual meet.
Freshman of the Week: Ava Tannehill, Tarleton State
Tannehill placed 14th in her collegiate debut at the John McKenzie Invitational hosted by TCU. Tannehill led the Texan women as the highest finishing Texan and was the second highest finishing freshman in the meet.
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About the United Athletic Conference
The newly rebranded United Athletic Conference (UAC) is a competitive NCAA Division I conference sponsoring sixteen (16) sports and championships with nine (9) full member institutions including Abilene Christian University (Abilene, Texas), the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (Little Rock, Ark.), Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tenn.), the University of Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), Eastern Kentucky University (Richmond, Ky.), the University of North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), Tarleton State University (Stephenville, Texas), the University of Texas at Arlington (Arlington, Texas), and the University of West Georgia (Carrollton, Ga.) with the University of West Florida (Pensacola, Fla.) as an affiliate member in football.