Williams Wins Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week Award
10/22/2018 2:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Sophomore middle blocker helped SFA push winning streak to 20 matches
Complete Southland Conference Release
FRISCO, Texas - By playing a large part in helping the SFA volleyball team extend the nation's second-longest active winning streak to 20 matches, sophomore middle blocker Anyia Williams was named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week it was announced by the league office Monday afternoon.
Williams, a product of Cedar Hill, Texas, is the fourth SFA player this season to earn a Southland Conference Player of the Week designation joining junior middle blocker Danae Daron (Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 10), junior setter Ann Hollas (Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 17) and freshman libero Marisabel Torres (Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 8).
In Conway, Ark., last Tuesday night, Williams finished with three block and a trio of digs to help the Ladyjacks win their first road match at Central Arkansas since 2008. SFA's 3-1 victory also represented the Sugar Bears' first home setback of 2018.
Upon returning to Nacogdoches for her next two matches, Williams aided the Ladyjacks in their efforts to remain perfect both at home and in Southland Conference action. During a four-set victory over New Orleans Thursday night, the sophomore totaled five blocks and a dig before submitting five additional rejections and two digs in a 3-0 win over Nicholls Saturday afternoon.
For the week, Williams averaged 1.18 rejections and 0.55 digs per set on defense. Offensively, her 1.64 kills per set and .273 attack percentage helped SFA hit .210 as a team. As of this writing, Williams ranks fourth in the Southland and 100th in all of NCAA Division I volleyball with a blocks per set average of 1.14.
With Williams as one of the key contributors in the Ladyjacks' front-row defensive efforts, SFA leads the Southland Conference and ranks 47th nationally with a blocks per set average of 2.47. Those blocks have helped the Ladyjacks rise to 13th nationally in opponent hitting percentage, too, as SFA is holding its opponents to a collective attacking clip of just .154 this season.
As a team, SFA leads the nation in total wins (23) and owns the highest RPI of any Southland Conference squad with a mark of 54. Included in those 23 victories are a pair of top-45 RPI victories over Rice and Wichita State and those wins are two of the 20 in a row the Ladyjacks have reeled off since Saturday, Sept. 1. SFA is one of three NCAA Division I volleyball teams - BYU and Pittsburgh are the others - who are riding winning streaks of 20 or more.
Williams and the rest of the Ladyjacks are back in action Thursday evening in Lake Charles, La. SFA's 11th Southland Conference match of the 2018 campaign pits it against longtime Pelican State adversary McNeese and first serve inside Memorial Gym has been set for 6:30 p.m.
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