National Player Of The Week For Drechsel
SEATTLE – One day after winning conference Player of the Week honors, senior Samantha Drechsel took home the first National Player of the Week of her career today, as the American Volleyball Coaches Association named her the nation's best following her dominant matches against the Oregon schools.
Drechsel (Woodinville, Wash.) is the first Husky named AVCA National Player of the Week since Krista Vansant in 2014, and just the seventh different Husky to win the award dating back to 1996.
The Woodinville, Wash. native hammered out 30 kills on a .551 attack percentage for the week, averaging 5.00 kills per set, as the Huskies swept the Beavers and the 16th-ranked Ducks to remain in a tie for first in the Pac-12 heading into the final week of the regular season.
Against Oregon, Drechsel had 15 kills and one error on 20 swings to hit .700, a career-high, and the best attack percentage in the NCAA this season (min. 20 attempts) against a top-25 opponent. She became the first Husky in the rally scoring era with 15+ kills and a .700+ attack percentage against a Pac-12 opponent.
A First Team All-American in the spring, Drechsel is now averaging 3.37 kills per set for the season and hitting a career-high .306. In conference matches, she's been even better, averaging 3.71 kills per set and hitting .334.
She is up to 1,420 kills in her Husky career, seventh in school history.
12th-ranked Washington has a quick trip on tap to Colorado, where the Huskies will face the Buffaloes on Wednesday at 12 noon Pacific time. After getting back home for Thanksgiving, the Huskies will host the 21st-ranked Cougars on Saturday, Nov. 27, in a match that could decide the Pac-12 title. The Huskies will clinch at least a share of the title if they win both matches this week.
WASHINGTON'S AVCA NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
1996 - Angela Bransom (Sept. 16)
1997 - Makare Desilets (Oct. 27)
2003 - Sanja Tomasevic (Sept. 2)
2005 - Sanja Tomasevic (Oct. 10)
2008 - Jenna Hagglund (Oct. 14)
2012 - Krista Vansant (Oct. 2)
2013 - Lianna Sybeldon (Oct. 29)
2013 - Krista Vansant (Nov. 19)
2014 - Krista Vansant (Dec. 2)
2021 - Samantha Drechsel (Nov. 23)