WALKER MAKES HISTORY WITH SECOND OVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD THIS SEASON
11/11/2019 4:43:00 PM | Volleyball
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Justine Walker, a junior on the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team, collected Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors this afternoon.
Walker, who also won the same award on Sept. 9, becomes the first middle blocker in school history to nab multiple OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors in a single season. She joins former liberos Kasey Elswick (2009-12), Chelsea Bowles (2012-15) and Brooke Gyori (2017-18) as the only Skyhawks to claim multiple OVC Defensive Player of the Week accolades in a career.
The Gilbert, Ariz. native helped UT Martin split its two home matches over the weekend, falling 3-2 to Austin Peay on Friday before responding with a 3-2 Saturday triumph over Murray State. Walker was an unstoppable force at the net, swatting away 20 blocks (2.00 per set) while also adding 12 digs (1.20 per set).
During Saturday's win over the Racers, Walker rejected 11 blocks to go along with a career-high eight digs – marking the fifth double-digit blocking performance of her career. She also significantly affected the game on the offensive end, posting 11 kills on a .375 attack percentage with four of her kills coming in the decisive fifth set. One day earlier in the narrow setback to the Governors, she provided nine blocks and four digs.
Walker currently leads the OVC and ranks ninth nationally in total blocks (139) – which is 33 more swats than any other player in the league. Her 1.04 career blocks per set average ranks sixth and her 348 career blocks rank seventh in program history.
The Skyhawks have now boasted four OVC Players of the Week in 2019 as Walker (Defensive, Sept. 9 and Nov. 11), Kenzie Hinshaw (Setter, Oct. 28) and Logan Wallick (Offensive, Oct. 28) have all brought home awards.
UT Martin wraps up the 2019 regular season this weekend on the road, traveling to OVC foes Eastern Illinois (Nov. 15) and SIUE (Nov. 16).
Walker, who also won the same award on Sept. 9, becomes the first middle blocker in school history to nab multiple OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors in a single season. She joins former liberos Kasey Elswick (2009-12), Chelsea Bowles (2012-15) and Brooke Gyori (2017-18) as the only Skyhawks to claim multiple OVC Defensive Player of the Week accolades in a career.
The Gilbert, Ariz. native helped UT Martin split its two home matches over the weekend, falling 3-2 to Austin Peay on Friday before responding with a 3-2 Saturday triumph over Murray State. Walker was an unstoppable force at the net, swatting away 20 blocks (2.00 per set) while also adding 12 digs (1.20 per set).
During Saturday's win over the Racers, Walker rejected 11 blocks to go along with a career-high eight digs – marking the fifth double-digit blocking performance of her career. She also significantly affected the game on the offensive end, posting 11 kills on a .375 attack percentage with four of her kills coming in the decisive fifth set. One day earlier in the narrow setback to the Governors, she provided nine blocks and four digs.
Walker currently leads the OVC and ranks ninth nationally in total blocks (139) – which is 33 more swats than any other player in the league. Her 1.04 career blocks per set average ranks sixth and her 348 career blocks rank seventh in program history.
The Skyhawks have now boasted four OVC Players of the Week in 2019 as Walker (Defensive, Sept. 9 and Nov. 11), Kenzie Hinshaw (Setter, Oct. 28) and Logan Wallick (Offensive, Oct. 28) have all brought home awards.
UT Martin wraps up the 2019 regular season this weekend on the road, traveling to OVC foes Eastern Illinois (Nov. 15) and SIUE (Nov. 16).
Players Mentioned
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