Olson Named Defensive Player of the Week
11/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
FRISCO, Texas - Stephen F. Austin women's volleyball junior OJ Olson was named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the period of Nov. 3-9, the league office announced Monday afternoon.
The honor is the third of the season for Olson, who was also recognized for her tremendous defensive play on Sept. 15 and Sept. 29. She is the only student-athlete in the conference to win the defensive award three times in 2014.
"OJ is a very good defender and has been very steady for us all season long," said head coach Debbie Humphreys. "When you talk about consistency on our team right now, OJ is the name that comes to mind as far as someone we can count on night-in and night-out to go out and perform at an extremely high level. She's very much a driving force on the court, she's very vocal and plays with a high level of energy. She does a lot more than just pass and dig which is certainly what we want from the libero spot."
Olson, a native of Cedar Park, Texas (Leander HS), had a huge week in the back line for SFA, leading the Ladyjacks to road victories against Lamar (3-0) on Tuesday and Northwestern State (3-1) on Friday. She recorded 45 digs over the two matches, including a match-high 27 digs in a defensive battle against the Lady Demons on Friday night. She helped limit NWLA to a .187 hitting percentage in the match.
In seven sets played during the week, Olson averaged 6.43 digs per set to increase her season average to 5.29 digs per set. The libero has tallied 518 total digs this season to rank second in the SLC and among the top 25 in the nation at the Division I level.
The win against the Lady Demons on Friday night secured at least a share of the 2014 SLC regular season title for SFA - it's first volleyball championship since 2007. Olson and the Ladyjacks are currently riding a 14-match win streak dating back to Sept. 25. It is the sixth-longest active winning streak in the nation.
SFA will wrap up the regular season this week with matches on the road against Abilene Christian on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. and Incarnate Word on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. The Ladyjacks, who swept both programs in Shelton Gym earlier this season, can claim the title outright with a win against either team.
-SFA- 
