NEW ORLEANS (JMU Athletics) – Kennedy Louisell and Ayen Nhial of James Madison volleyball took home weekly Sun Belt honors, the league office announced on Tuesday morning.
Louisell was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season, while Nhial took home the Defensive Player of the Week honor for the first time in her career.
In a pair of wins over Georgia State, Louisell finished with 58 kills (6.44 per set), which included a school-record 37 on Saturday, while Nhial led JMU with 18 blocks (2 per set).
Louisell’s 37 kills were the most by any player in Division I Women’s Volleyball this season and broke Sheila Chittams’ previous JMU single-match record of 35 kills, which had stood since 1984. The native of Grand Rapids, Mich., leads the NCAA with 331 kills and is second nationally with an average of 5.34 kills per set.
Nhial led the Dukes with 18.0 blocks against the Panthers, which included a career-high 12 on Saturday to lead JMU to a five-set win. This season, she leads the Dukes in total blocks (76) and blocks per set (1.29), with those marks both ranking in the top three in the Sun Belt.
James Madison returns to the court Oct. 9-10 to host a pair of matches against the Marshall Thundering Herd.
— JMU Athletics —
