ROCK HILL, S.C. — Winthrop University volleyball athletes Paige Bennett and Lexi Thatcher were honored with Big South Conference Weekly Awards, with Bennett winning Player of the Week and Thatcher winning Setter of the week, the conference office announced on Tuesday afternoon.
For Bennett, this is her second-career Big South weekly honor, and the first for Thatcher.
Bennett continued her tear into the second week of the season, helping the Eagles to a 2-0 weekend and earning MVP honors at the Winthrop Invitational. She finished the week with 37 kills while hitting .346. Bennett opened the week by powering the Eagles to a sweep of ACC foe Virginia Tech, posting a match-high 15 kills on .303 hitting with seven digs. She then tied her career high against Old Dominion in a five-set match on Saturday, again leading all players with 22 kills on .378 hitting and adding 11 digs for her second double-double of the season. Her 22 kills were the high mark in the Big South last week. Bennett was also nearly flawless on serve receive, committing just one error in 34 attempts. She ranked second in the conference in kills per set at 4.63 and third in points per set at 4.88.
Thatcher resumed setter duties after leaving with an injury last week, helping the Eagles to a 2-0 weekend and earning a spot on the Winthrop Invitational All-Tournament team. She totaled 77 assists across eight sets for an average of 9.63 assists per set, with Winthrop hitting .292 as a team across the two matches. Thatcher started the week with a match-high 35 assists against ACC foe Virginia Tech, also leading the Eagles with 12 digs for a double-double. She then capped off her week with another match-high 42 assists and 18 digs for her second double-double in as many games. Thatcher led the Eagles in total digs with 30 and digs per set at 3.75, placing fifth in the conference in that category.
Story courtesy of Winthrop Athletics.
Sign up for our Sunday Spectator. Delivered to your inbox every Sunday, with all the news from the week.
Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
