The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) has announced that University of Maryland Eastern Shore outside hitter Saitaua Iosia is the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I Player of the Week.
The AVCA honors the top weekly performance in all of Division I volleyball. This is the first time ever a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference volleyball player has received this award. It is also the first time in over two years a freshman has earned the honor, the last being Lauren Cook of UCLA in September 2009.
Iosia led the Hawks to a pair of wins over the weekend against Morgan State and Coppin State, the first of which clinched the MEAC Northern Division title for UMES. The victories increased UMES' win streak to 14, home winning streak to 22 and kept the team's conference record perfect at 10-0.
The freshman outside hitter earned a double-double against Morgan State, her tenth of the year, amassing 20 kills with a .567 hitting percentage, 10 digs and three blocks in the four-set match. Against Coppin State, Iosia hit .571 with 18 kills with seven digs and three blocks.
Iosia combined to hit .569 during the weekend, finishing with 38 kills with just five errors, 17 digs and six blocks. Her performance earned her MEAC Player of the Week for the third time this season in addition to her six conference Rookie of the Week honors.
She is already a member of the AVCA 30-kill club, earning a place on September 16th with 30 kills in a five-set victory over Bryant during the Brown Invitational in Providence.