On the court, she’s been picking up block after block and
hammering down kill after kill.
Off the court, she’s just picked up her third Pac-10
Volleyball Player of the Week honor this season.
Watching senior middle blocker Nana Meriwether dominate the
front row against her opponents, it’s no wonder the middle
blocker has been selected as the conference’s best player for
two weeks in a row.
Meriwether is first in the conference with a .483 hitting
average, 43 points higher than Stanford’s Foluke Akinradewo,
and first in blocks per game with 1.88, which is .43 blocks higher
than her closest rival. But last week she outdid herself, averaging
an attack percentage of .583 and picking up 2.43 blocks per game
against the Arizona schools.
“It’s a huge honor, but I never plan these
things,” Meriwether said. “What I’m looking for
mostly is just getting the win with my team. Getting the award is
just a by-product.”
Leading the team in kills and blocks is just one of the ways in
which Meriwether is a guiding hand for her teammates.
“She really just picks us up when we’re down anytime
in the game if we’re having a hard time,” senior
outside hitter Katie Carter said. “She really connects us as
a team.”
Only seven other women’s volleyball players in Pac-10
history have made the achievement Meriwether has accomplished this
season, according to the official Pac-10 Web site. The last player
to pick up three Pac-10 Player of the Week honors in one season was
Stanford’s Ogonna Nnamani, who, in the 2004 season, went on
to win the national championship as well as to be named American
Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Year in
2004.
UCLA’s standout player Meriwether may be headed on a
similar path.
“I certainly think she’s one of the best (players in
the country) ““ no question in my mind,” UCLA coach Andy
Banachowski said. “I think she will certainly be in line for
some postseason honors. We’ll see what happens
there.”
With the way the Bruins have been performing this season, they
have been able to garner the individual attention that has gone to
Pac-10 powerhouses USC and Stanford in the past few seasons. From
the 2002 to the 2005 seasons, four different Bruins ““
including Meriwether and sophomore setter Nellie Spicer last season
““ were named Pac-10 Players of the Week, while this season,
Meriwether and fellow senior Carter’s awards combined matched
that count.
“It’s great that these players are getting honors,
and I think its recognition of the progress that they’ve made
here through the years in the program and the hard work that they
put in,” Banachowski said. “It definitely is an
indication that the level of our players has risen.”
“If we weren’t winning we obviously wouldn’t
get those honors,” Carter said. “It just says a lot for
how we play for each other.”
RANKINGS: For the second week in a row, UCLA
has held firmly onto the No. 5 spot in the nation, according to the
AVCA Coaches Poll announced Monday. Upcoming opponent Stanford has
been voted No. 2 for two weeks straight as well.
INJURY UPDATE: Senior opposite Colby Lyman, who
sat out last weekend’s matches due to a recent medical
flare-up, is practicing, and Banachowski is hopeful that she will
be available for the Bay Area matches this week.
Sophomore outside hitter Ali Daley, who injured her thumb in a
blocking drill in practice early last week, is playing through the
pain but is still able to perform up to par.