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FRISCO, Texas - Central Arkansas junior Jessica Hays and Nicholls junior Danielle Daigle were named the Southland Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, the league announced Monday.

Hays receives her second award of the season giving UCA a league-leading four weekly honors. Daigle ties UTSA junior Kelsey Jewasko for the most weekly awards this year with three apiece. Daigle's award also marks her fifth-career weekly honor for the most in school history.

Offensive Player of the Week - Jessica Hays, Central Arkansas
Hays, a native of Friendswood, Texas, helped the Sugar Bears to a pair of wins averaging 5.17 kills per set and hitting .323. She recorded 16 kills and hit .355 with an ace and four digs in a sweep against in-state rival Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday. In Saturday's sweep over league rival Texas State, Hays led all players with 15 kills and hit .290 with three aces and match-best eight digs. Hays leads the Southland with 63 aces on the year and moved into second on UCA's career aces list with 146.
Honorable Mention: Rachel Yezak, Nicholls; Kendra Rowland, UTSA.

Defensive Player of the Week - Danielle Daigle, Nicholls
Daigle led the Colonels to a 2-0 week averaging 5.44 digs per set over nine sets played. A native of Napoleonville, La., Daigle helped Nicholls turn in a .224 team hitting percentage and limited opponents to a .111 hitting percentage. She turned in 26 digs at rival Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday and recorded another 23 digs against Stephen F. Austin Tuesday. Daigle has recorded 20-plus digs in four of her last five matches. She currently leads the Southland with 508 digs and is the only player in the league with more than 500 digs on the year.

Honorable Mention: Cristin Curl, Central Arkansas; Alicia Shaffer, UT Arlington; Kelsey Jewasko, UTSA.

Offensive Player of the Week - Carli Kolbe, Sam Houston State
Kolbe, a native of College Station, Texas, played a huge role in raising Sam Houston's Southland tournament seed from the No.7 to No.5 by leading the Bearkats in kills in a pair of 3-set wins over Lamar and McNeese State. With 36 kills over the weekend, Kolbe is the first Sam Houston player in since Alisha Fowler in 2004-05 to post more than 400 kills in two consecutive seasons. Kolbe enters the Southland tournament with 401 kills this year ranked third in the league.

Honorable Mention: Chloe Smith, Central Arkansas; Amanda Aguilera, UT Arlington; Mo Middleton, Texas State.

Defensive Player of the Week - Alicia Shaffer, UT Arlington
Shaffer led the Mavericks to two sweeps with her outstanding defensive play last week. In a 3-0 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Shaffer recorded the most digs (28) in a three-set match by a player against a Southland team this season. A native of Magnolia, Texas, Shaffer led a strong defensive team effort with 80 digs, the most by a league team in a three-set match this year and held the Islanders to a .035 attack percentage. She ended the regular season with 17 digs in a sweep over the West Division champion and No. 2 seed UTSA. Shaffer currently ranks third in the league in digs and is one of only three conference players with more than 500 digs on the year (580).

Honorable Mention: Cristin Curl, Central Arkansas; Danielle Daigle, Nicholls; Kim Black, Sam Houston State;

Runners-up, yet again.