IRVING, Texas – One final round of weekly honors closes out the 2017 Conference USA volleyball regular season. Florida Atlantic garnered a pair of first-time winners in Setter of the Week Ivone Martinez and Defensive Player of the Week Alex Cardona. C-USA Regular Season Co-Champion North Texas saw its senior Alexis Wright earn Offensive Player of the Week for the first time. Nicole Lennon of Rice picked up her fifth and final Freshman of the Week award.
 
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C-USA Offensive Player of the Week – Alexis Wright, North Texas, Sr., Arlington, Texas
Wright bolstered the Mean Green offense in its final week of regular-season matches. North Texas clinched its first regular-season conference title in school history with a five-set, thrilling takedown of (RV) WKU, which snapped its 38-C-USA match win streak. Wright inked a team-best 18 kills, including five of the last six and the match-clinching point, on .361 hitting. The senior also contributed five block assists and five digs in the effort. In a sweep of Middle Tennessee, the outside hitter tallied four kills at a clip of .667 to pair with a dig and a block. North Texas’ team hitting percentage of .600 marked a program record.
 
C-USA Defensive Player of the Week – Alex Cardona, Florida Atlantic, Jr., Kissimmee, Fla.
Cardona notched her first weekly nod of the season in a productive pair of final regular-season matches. At UAB, she registered 26 digs and three assists before pitching in 12 more digs and a service ace at Charlotte. The pair of double-digit kill performances were her 22^nd and 23^rd of the year. The Owl averaged 6.33 digs/set on the weekend.
 
C-USA Setter of the Week – Ivone Martinez, Florida Atlantic, Jr., Mexicali, Mexico
Martinez, the nation’s leader in assists, was a vital component of the Owl offense this weekend, securing a pair of sweeps against UAB and Charlotte prior to the C-USA Championship. The setter totaled 35 assists and 12 digs, her ninth double-double of the season, on Thursday at UAB. Her stellar play continued on Saturday as she amassed 47 assists and eight digs at Charlotte. The facilitator manufactured 13.67 assists/set and 3.33 digs/set in the final week of league play.  
 
C-USA Freshman of the Week – Nicole Lennon, Rice, Fr., Katy, Texas
Lennon shed her newcomer title quickly this season, gathering five C-USA weekly honors, including one this week for her showing in Rice’s final two matches of the regular-season campaign. Rice earned its ninth five-set victory of the year behind Lennon’s 23-kill, 24-dig output against UTSA. She tied both a season-high digs and kills while working a .323 hitting percentage. Her 14 double-doubles in 2017 are a team-high and her 24 digs meant the seventh-most by a player in a single league match this season. 
 

2017 C-USA Offensive Players of the Week
8/28    Amanda Chamberlain, North Texas
9/4      Tatyana Thomas, Charlotte
9/11     Alyssa Cavanaugh, WKU
9/18    Janell Sparks, Charlotte
9/25    Grace Morgan, Rice |
           Jac’cara Walker, Marshall
10/2    Janell Sparks, Charlotte
10/9    Alyssa Cavanaugh, WKU
10/16  Amanda Chamberlain, North Texas
10/23  Alyssa Cavanaugh, WKU
10/30  Marijeta Runjic, UTSA
11/6     Amanda Chamberlain, North Texas
11/13   Alexis Wright, North Texas
 
2017 C-USA Defensive Players of the Week
8/28   Yumi Garcia, Charlotte
9/4     Yumi Garcia, Charlotte
9/11    Rachel Anderson, WKU
9/18    Sydney Engle, WKU
9/25    Sydney Engle, WKU
10/2    Sydney Engle, WKU
10/9    Grace Morgan, Rice
10/16  Sydney Engle, WKU
10/23  Grace Morgan, Rice
10/30  Sydney Engle, WKU
11/6     Darby Music, WKU
11/13   Alex Cardona, Florida Atlantic

 2017 C-USA Setter of the Week
8/28   Sarah Bell, Southern Miss
9/4     Jessica Lucas, WKU
9/11    Jessica Lucas, WKU
9/18    Jessica Lucas, WKU
9/25    Jessica Lucas, WKU
10/2    Jessica Lucas, WKU
10/9    Madison McDaniel, Rice
10/16  Karley York, North Texas
10/23  Madison McDaniel, Rice
10/30  Karley York, North Texas
11/6    Jessica Lucas, WKU
11/13   Ivone Martinez, Florida Atlantic
 
 
2017 C-USA Freshman of the Week
8/28   Nicole Lennon, Rice
9/4     Chandler Marshall, Southern Miss
9/11    Sydney Rowan, Charlotte     
9/18    Nicole Lennon, Rice
9/25    Nicole Lennon, Rice
10/2    Sydney Nemtuda, Florida Atlantic
10/9    Sydney Rowan, Charlotte
10/16  Barbara Teakell, North Texas
10/23  Sydney Nemtuda, Florida Atlantic
10/30  Barbara Teakell, North Texas
11/6     Valerie Valerian, North Texas
11/13   Nicole Lennon, Rice