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COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Volleyball student-athletes Maya Sands and Sierra Dudley both earned SEC Player of the Week honors, the league announced Monday.
Sands was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Week while Dudley was selected as the Co-Freshman of the Week as Mizzou went 2-0 over its pair of SEC matches.
Libero Maya Sands grabbed 42 digs (5.25 digs/set) over Missouri’s two matches this past week.
The Rock Falls, Illinois, native, tallied 12 digs to go with two assists at Alabama on Oct. 11.
Sands then notched a career-best 30 digs to complement two assists and an ace in the win over Ole Miss on Oct. 15. The outing marked her ninth 20-plus dig outing of the year.
The sophomore also finished the week with four assists and two aces.
Sands leads the conference in 2023 with 342 digs (40th in the NCAA) and is averaging 4.75 digs per set (34th in the NCAA). In league play, she paces the conference with 157 digs (5.06 digs/set).
As a team, Missouri ranks second in the SEC with 1,054 digs (14.64 digs/set, third in SEC).
The SEC weekly honor marks the first for Sands at Mizzou and is the fourth in her career (three Mountain West Player of the Week awards).
Freshman setter Sierra Dudley dished out 107 assists (13.38 assists/set) to go with 21 digs (2.63 digs/set) over Mizzou’s SEC slate this past week.
Dudley who hails from Spartanburg, South Carolina, totaled 47 assists with eight digs and three blocks as Mizzou hit a season-best .354 in the victory over Alabama on Oct. 11. The 47 assists is the most for an SEC setter over three sets this season in conference play.
She then tallied her seventh double-double on the season, setting a new career-best of 60 assists to complement 12 digs. The contest marked her 10th 40-plus assist performance of the season. She has now finished with 40 or more assists in four of the last five matches.
The 60 assists are the second-highest total for an SEC setter this season in conference play.
Dudley also finished the week with five blocks, three kills and one ace.
She ranks second in the SEC with 700 assists (44th in the NCAA) and fifth with 10.00 assists per set. In conference play, Dudley is fourth with 11.00 assists per set (330 assists).
As a team, Mizzou is third in the league with 844 assists (11.72 assists/set).
The SEC weekly honor is the first for Dudley in her career.
Week 8 SEC Volleyball Weekly Award Winners:
Co-Offensive – Elise Goetzinger, Kentucky & Amina Shackelford, Mississippi State
Co-Defensive – Maya Sands, Missouri & Morgan Perkins, Texas A&M
Setter – Emma Grome, Kentucky
Co-Freshman – Sierra Dudley, Missouri & Brooklyn DeLeye, Kentucky
Player of the Week – Emma Grome, Kentucky
LOOKING AHEAD
- Mizzou next travels to Auburn, Alabama, to face #22 Auburn on Friday, Oct. 20.
- First serve is set for 6 p.m., CT. The match will be streamed on SEC Network.
- Following that match, Missouri returns home to take on #10 Tennessee at the Hearnes Center on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
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