BIG 12 POW

[vbobsessed]

Big 12 Volleyball Co-Players of the Week - Oct. 30

Oct. 30, 2006

IRVING, Texas --Eliane Santos (Oklahoma) and Destinee Hooker (Texas) were selected Big 12 Conference Volleyball Co-Players of the Week for the matches of Oct. 23-29, the league office announced.

It marks the first time this season that two student-athletes have shared the weekly accolade. Hooker earns player of the week honors for the second straight week, while Santos receives the first of her career. Santos also becomes the first Sooner since the 1997 season to be named Big 12 Player of the Week -- Patrice Arrington (Oct. 6) and Melissa Peterson (Oct. 20) received the award that year.


Eliane Santos, Oklahoma, MB, Sr., 6-2, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/College of Southern Idaho
Santos led nationally-ranked No. 20 Oklahoma to a 2-0 record with victories over Kansas and Texas A&M. She tallied 34.5 points, 23 kills, 11 blocks and three digs in seven games.

At Kansas, Santos recorded 12 kills along with .391 hitting percentage while posting a match-high nine blocks. Santos' four solo blocks tied her career high. It was OU's first win in Lawrence since 1997.

Santos paced the Sooners with 16 points which included 11 kills (.364) and eight blocks in the sweep of the Aggies.

On the week, Santos averaged 4.93 points, 3.29 kills and 2.43 blocks in addition to a .378 hitting clip.



Destinee Hooker, Texas, OH, Fr., 6-4, San Antonio, Texas/Southwest
Hooker contributed 5.67 points. 4.83 kills, 1.67 digs and 1.17 blocks per game in two road victories for No. 8 Texas. The three-sport standout also averaged a .404 hitting percentage at Texas Tech and Colorado.

After dropping game one at Tech, Hooker helped the `Horns to win three straight for the victory. She recorded 15 kills on 32 attacks in UT's win over the Red Raiders while posting a .312 hitting clip and three solo blocks. Hooker also chipped in three digs.

At CU, Hooker committed just one hitting error -- she had 14 kills on 25 swings to compile a .520 attack mark. The freshman added four total blocks and registered a career-high seven digs.

[bearwatch]

These 2 are deserving but I thought Taylor Barnes might have a shot because of her triple-double and beating the #16th ranked team. These 2 didn't beat a ranked team but surely their numbers are deserving.

[clonesvb]

Barnes' had a great match but its nearly impossible for a player to win if they only played one match that week. One of the flawed things in the award, since there is nothing a team can do about being scheduled for a bye on that week.

[bearwatch]

Good point Clonesvb. I still think her stats are much more impressive then the 2 mentioned but they must put more emphasis on the 2 wins.

[Gelatinous Mass]

Hooker is a great player..but she isn't even the top scorer on Texas this week. Engle had more kills in both matches and on Sat. missed 1/2 of game 2 with an injury... Also Moriarty had a nice 2 game stretch for the Horns.....still, lots of good players in the Big 12

[baldyballer]

I think Barnes should have gotten it as well. These awards seem to be always given to players off the top 3 teams in the conference. I hope in the future the selection is made more on the individuals performance instead of what is written across their chest.

[BearClause]

clonesvb said:

Barnes' had a great match but its nearly impossible for a player to win if they only played one match that week. One of the flawed things in the award, since there is nothing a team can do about being scheduled for a bye on that week.

I've seen Pac-10 Player of the Week given to a player who only played once that week. It's also a bit different because two (or more) contests in a week gives another opportunity to have an off-night. I've heard of plenty of performances where you'd think that based on a single match they would be shoe-ins for POW, only to fall flat the next night.