DALLAS – Lauren Matthews of WKU, who had 30 kills and five blocks in a two-match sweep of Old Dominion, Rice’s Anota Adekunle, who had 14 blocks in a sweep of UAB, WKU’s Nadia Dieudonne, who posted 69 assists in a sweep of ODU, and Giada Bianchi of FIU, who had 36 kills, 33 digs and 45 points in a sweep of Charlotte, earned the 10th 2021 Conference USA Volleyball Player of the Week honors, presented by Surf & Turf Golf.
 
Matthews was selected as Offensive Player of the Week, Adekunle earned Defensive Player of the Week honors, Dieudonne captured Setter of the Week and Bianchi was picked as Freshman of the Week.
 
C-USA Offensive Player of the Week – Lauren Matthews, WKU, Sr., Indianapolis, Indiana
Matthews hit .605 in a two-match sweep of Old Dominion for her third C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honor for the 2021 season. She averaged 5.0 kills/set, 1.0 digs/set, 0.83 blocks/set and 5.67 points/set as WKU secured the C-USA East Division title. The senior outside hitter from Indianapolis, Indiana helped the No. 18-ranked Hilltoppers to a collective .417 hitting percentage while holding ODU to a combined .074 mark in the series. Thursday, she had 13 kills and hit .579 to go with four blocks (two solo) in a three-set sweep. The next night, she added 17 kills and hit .625 with five digs and a solo block in another three-set sweep of the Monarchs. Matthews now owns WKU’s career solo blocks record with 119.
 
C-USA Defensive Player of the Week – Anota Adekunle, Rice, Jr., Humble, Texas
Adekunle helped lead Rice to the C-USA West Division title after a two-match sweep of UAB. She totaled 14 blocks (2.00/set) across seven sets against the Blazers for her second C-USA honor of the season (Offensive Player of the Week – September 6). Friday, the junior middle blocker from Humble, Texas had six blocks, seven kills and 10 points in a four-set victory. Saturday in a three-set sweep of the Blazers, she set a season high with eight blocks and added five kills and 9.5 points.
 
C-USA Setter of the Week – Nadia Dieudonne, WKU, 5th, Louisville, Kentucky
Dieudonne earned her sixth C-USA Setter of the Week award of the 2021 season after she played in a big part in the Hilltoppers' series sweep of Old Dominion to clinch the C-USA East Division title. The fifth-year player from Louisville, Kentucky averaged 11.50 assists/set, 1.17 kills/set, 1.17 digs/set and 0.50 blocks/set as WKU hit a combined .417 in the two matches. Thursday, she had 31 assists with 56.4% of her sets converted to kills in a three-set sweep of the Monarchs. She also added five kills, hit .833 and added two digs and two blocks in the victory. Friday, she posted 38 assists with five digs, two kills and another block in a three-set sweep of ODU. WKU had a combined 90 kills (15.00/set) in the six sets during the weekend.
 
C-USA Freshman of the Week – Giada Bianchi, FIU, Fr., Monza, Italy
Bianchi earned her second consecutive C-USA Freshman of the Week honor after she helped FIU sweep Charlotte in C-USA action. The outside hitter from Monza, Italy had 11 kills, 10 digs, three aces and 16 points Friday in the three-set sweep of the 49ers. Saturday, she posted 25 kills, 23 digs, three aces and 29 points in a five-set victory. She averaged 4.5 kills/set, 4.13 digs/set and 5.63 points/set in the series.
 
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
N1        Lauren Matthews, WKU
 
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
N1        Anota Adekunle, Rice
 
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
N1        Nadia Dieudonne, WKU
 
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
N1        Giada Bianchi, FIU