ST. LOUIS – For the second-consecutive week Illinois State's Courtney Pence has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. This honor is the third of the season for the libero, and Valley-record 13th distinction she has earned in her career.
"It takes an entire team effort to limit opponents to low hitting percentages, but you can't ignore how much ground Courtney (Pence) covers, which makes it nearly impossible for team to avoid her," head coach Leah Johnson commented.
Pence and the Redbird defense continued to make an impact this week in Illinois State's trio of wins. The senior collected 81 total digs for a week-high 8.10 digs per set average. She dug a match-high 31 digs against Bradley on Monday to open the week, as she was a key component in Illinois State's efforts to hold the Braves to a .122 hitting percentage.
In the Redbirds' pair of sweeps against Southern Illinois and Missouri State this weekend, the libero collected 23 and 27 digs, respectively, while aiding in a team defense that held the Salukis to just .009 hitting on Friday. For the week, Illinois State's opponents hit just .108, while Pence was responsible for 36 percent of the team's total digging on the defensive side. Pence is up to an average of 5.99 digs per set this season – the fifth-best in all of NCAA Division I – while she is just 101 digs shy of breaking the MVC career digs record.
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