DALLAS – Sydney Rowan of Charlotte, who had 52 kills, 31 digs and 55 points in a sweep of Marshall, WKU’s Katie Isenbarger, who had 13 blocks and hit .545 in a sweep of Florida Atlantic, Rice’s Carly Graham, who posted 90 assists and 12 digs in a sweep of Southern Miss, and Giada Bianchi of FIU, who had 30 digs and 46.5 points in a sweep of Old Dominion, earned the ninth 2021 Conference USA Volleyball Player of the Week honors, presented by Surf & Turf Golf.
 
Rowan was selected as Offensive Player of the Week, Isenbarger earned Defensive Player of the Week honors, Graham captured Setter of the Week and Bianchi was picked as Freshman of the Week.
 
C-USA Offensive Player of the Week – Sydney Rowan, Charlotte, Sr., High Point, North Carolina
Rowan posted 52 kills (6.50/set) and hit .385 to lead the 49ers to a pair of victories over C-USA rival Marshall. Rowan had a career-high 31 kills and hit .324 with 19 digs during the five-set victory Friday. She then had an error-free match with 21 kills in a sweep of the Herd as she hit .488 in the victory and also had 12 digs. The senior outside hitter from High Point, North Carolina recorded four or more kills in all eight weekend sets, including eight or more in each of Saturday’s three sets. Rowan posted 55 points (6.88 points/set) and 31 digs (3.88 digs/set) in her eight sets over the weekend.
 
C-USA Defensive Player of the Week – Katie Isenbarger, WKU, Sr., Zionsville, Indiana
Isenbarger keyed the Hilltoppers' defensive efforts in a two-match sweep of C-USA foe Florida Atlantic. She racked up 13 blocks (1.86/set) and hit .545 herself as WKU held Florida Atlantic to a combined .083 offensive hitting average. The senior middle hitter from Zionsville, Indiana had five total blocks and three kills in a three-set sweep of the Owls. Saturday, she posted a season-high 11 kills, hit .688 and added eight blocks and 13 errorless serves in a four-set victory over FAU that earned WKU’s 20th victory of the season, the first team in Division I to reach the mark in 2021.
 
C-USA Setter of the Week – Carly Graham, Rice, Jr., Spring, Texas
Graham earned her third C-USA Setter of the Week award after she played a big part in the Owls' offense during a pair of C-USA victories vs. Southern Miss. The Owls hit .396 across seven sets and amassed 113 total kills (16.14/set) behind Graham's proficient setting. The junior from Spring, Texas totaled 90 assists (12.86/set) along with 12 digs and 3 service aces in the two victories. Friday, Graham had a 35-assist performance in a three-set sweep of the Golden Eagles, as the Owls hit a season-best .479. She followed that performance with 55 assists across four sets Saturday against Southern Miss, her fourth 50-plus assist performance of the season.
 
C-USA Freshman of the Week – Giada Bianchi, FIU, Fr., Monza, Italy
Bianchi posted a pair of double-doubles during FIU's series sweep of C-USA rival Old Dominion. The outside hitter from Monza, Italy logged 36 kills overall (4.50 kills/set) and hit .272 in the two victories over the Monarchs. Bianchi also led the Panthers with 30 digs (3.75 digs/set), seven service aces and six total blocks to go with 46.5 total points (5.82 points/set) in the two-match series. She had 18 kills, 17 digs, three aces, two blocks and 22 points in a five-set victory Friday, and she posted 18 kills, 13 digs, four aces, four blocks and 24.5 points Saturday.
 
2021 C-USA Offensive Players of the Week
A30     Lauren Matthews, WKU
S6        Anota Adekunle, Rice
S13       Fernanda Maida, UAB
S20      Rhett Robinson, North Texas
S27      Paige Briggs, WKU
O4       Fernanda Maida, UAB
O11       Lauren Matthews, WKU
O18      Rhett Robinson, North Texas
O25     Sydney Rowan, Charlotte
 
2021 C-USA Defensive Players of the Week
A30     Destiny Leon, Marshall
S6        Amani McArthur, Charlotte
S13       Henrianna Ibarra, North Texas
S20      McKenzie Johnson, Louisiana Tech
S27      Marley Banton, Middle Tennessee
O4       Olivia De Jesus, Old Dominion
O11       Essence Clerkley, Marshall
O18      Lauren Matthews, WKU
O25     Katie Isenbarger, WKU
 
2021 C-USA Setters of the Week
A30     Nadia Dieudonne, WKU
            Kristen Fritsche, UTEP
S6        Nadia Dieudonne, WKU
S13       Carly Graham, Rice
S20      Teresa Atilano, Old Dominion
S27      Nadia Dieudonne, WKU
O4       Carly Graham, Rice
O11       Nadia Dieudonne, WKU
O18      Nadia Dieudonne, WKU
O25     Carly Graham, Rice
 
2021 C-USA Freshmen of the Week
A30     Klara Zarnovicka, Florida Atlantic
S6        Ema Uskokovic, UTEP
S13       Ema Uskokovic, UTEP
S20      Myah Conway, Old Dominion
S27      Shaylee Shore, Rice
O4       Andrea Owens, North Texas
O11       Kira Smith, Old Dominion
O18      Andrea Owens, North Texas
O25     Giada Bianchi, FIU