Blancher, McKinney earn SSAC weekly volleyball honors

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Southern States Athletic Conference announced its weekly volleyball awards on Monday, and two Loyola Wolf Pack student-athletes were honored following a pair of conference road wins. Caroline McKinney was named the SSAC Attacker of the Week, while Lola Blancher earned Defender of the Week honors for the second time this season. 

The Wolf Pack picked up two important SSAC victories over the weekend, knocking off Mobile in five sets on Friday before sweeping William Carey on Saturday. Loyola, which was picked first in the SSAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, defeated the teams picked second and third, respectively, while improving to 9-7 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

McKinney led the Wolf Pack in kills in both matches, totaling 23 kills while hitting .345 across eight sets. In the comeback win against Mobile on Friday, she led the team with 14 kills while hitting .268 for the match. She followed that up with nine kills in 17 attempts in Saturday's three-set win, finishing with a season-best hitting percentage of .529 after logging no attacking errors. 

This was the first SSAC weekly honor for McKinney, a freshman from Fort Smith, Arkansas. It's also the Wolf Pack's first Attacker of the Week award this season. 

Blancher continued her strong first season as Loyola's libero, totaling 42 digs in eight sets for a 5.25-digs-per-set average during the two wins. She also recorded six assists over the weekend. The New Orleans native had a match-high 24 digs and three assists in Friday's victory over Mobile before adding another match-high 18 digs and three assists against William Carey. She has now recorded at least 18 digs in seven consecutive matches.

Monday's honor is Blancher's second SSAC Defender of the Week award this season after also receiving the recognition on Sept. 7. The sophomore leads the conference with 298 total digs and ranks second in the SSAC with a 4.73-digs-per-set average.

Loyola enters the week tied for first place in the SSAC standings with Blue Mountain Christian and Tennessee Southern, and the Wolf Pack will host both teams in The Den this weekend. Loyola takes on Blue Mountain Christian at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, before hosting Tennessee Southern at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26.
 

This season's SSAC Volleyball Player of the Week honorees

Attacker of the Week
Week 1: Marley Manning, Point
Week 2: Medney Garraux, Life
Week 3: Kaylin Johnson, Mobile
Week 4: Jakaya Smith, Faulkner
Week 5: Kennedy Campbell, Xavier
Week 6: Caroline McKinney, Loyola
 

Setter of the Week
Week 1: Emily Martin, William Carey
Week 2: Emily Martin, William Carey
Week 3: Maurin Reyes, William Carey
Week 4: Kamrynn Williams, Xavier
Week 5: Olivia Kelly, Faulkner
Week 6: Emma McPherson, Mobile
 

Defender of the Week
Week 1: Eva Blatchford, Mobile
Week 2: Abbi Williams, Blue Mountain
Week 3: Amree Patterson, Tennessee Southern
Week 4: Lola Blancher, Loyola
Week 5: Evelyn Araujo, William Carey
Week 6: Lola Blancher, Loyola

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