FRISCO, Texas - Nicholls State University senior libero Kalynn Egea was named Southland Conference Women's Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week the league office announced Monday afternoon.

The honor marks the first conference award of the season for Egea, who was selected to the Southern Miss Invitational All-Tournament Team on Aug. 31.  The announcement also marks the first player of the week award for the Colonels under Head Coach Tommy Harold.

"Kalynn has been a tremendous senior leader on and off the court all season," Harold said. "She worked hard over the summer and has been impressive this year. We have a young team and her leadership will be invaluable to our development as a program moving forward."
 
In the North Florida Invitational this past weekend, Egea posted a team-high 74 digs in 12 sets, battling the University of North Florida, the University of North Carolina at Ashville, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the University of Dayton.

The Peoria, Arizona (Sunrise Mountain H.S.), native is now second in digs within the conference as she has recorded 246 digs this season, averaging 5.59 digs per set. Egea averaged 6.17 digs per set during the tournament and held opponents hitting percentage to .174. Leading Nicholls to be ranked No. 11 in the nation in team digs per set, Egea ranks in the top-25 in both digs per set (5.59) and total digs (246) nationally.

Egea recorded 28 digs in a 3-1 loss to North Florida and added 18 in a 3-0 victory over UNC-Ashville. She tallied 22 digs in a back-and-forth contest with Charlotte, helping the Colonels rally to push the 49ers to a fifth set after falling behind 2-0.
 
The Colonels will play their first home contest of the season on Thursday against Stephen F. Austin in Stopher Gymnasium at 6:30 p.m. The game will be the first of a four-game home stand for Nicholls.
 
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