Two College of the Rockies Avalanche volleyball players were selected as the PACWEST’s ‘Volleyball Athletes of the Week’ on Tuesday.
Second-year middle blocker Kennedy Koop of Niverville, Manitoba was named the women’s athlete of the week after two strong performances against Douglas College over the weekend. Kennedy played in all five sets in Friday’s home opener and had 11 kills, a block, an ace and five digs. Then in the rematch on Saturday the third year middle was a consistent threat and recorded 10 kills, three aces and two digs.
The Avs split the games, winning in the fifth set on Friday and losing in the fifth on Saturday.
The men’s athlete of the week was Julio Lins, a second-year outside hitter from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil . Lins had an amazing weekend leading his team to back to back victories against Douglas College. On Friday Julio had 12 kills (24% hitting efficiency), a block and his serving was at 90%. On Saturday Julio continued to dominate with 17 kills (65% hitting efficiency), a pair of blocks and serving at 92% including two aces.
Koop and Lins will look to continue to lead their team’s to success as they head into another pair of home games this weekend against the Capilano Blues. After a slow start, both teams have the opportunity to bring their records to .500 if they can sweep the weekend contests.
Besides the individual honours, the entire women’s team was given acclaim by being placed in the national CCAA/ACSC rankings. The Avs were placed at number 15, one of four PACWEST teams to make the top 15 in Canada list.
