ST. LOUIS – For the fourth time this season, and 14th time in her career, Illinois State's Courtney Pence has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday.
"Courtney (Pence) was tremendous for us this weekend," head coach Leah Johnson said. "Watching her break the MVC career digs record this weekend was special, but we know that there is a lot of volleyball left to be played and more milestones for her to reach."
Pence continued to pace the Redbird defense this weekend in Illinois State's pair of wins at Loyola Chicago and Valparaiso, helping hold Redbird opponents to a combined .118 hitting percentage. With her fourth dig against the Ramblers on Friday night, Pence surpassed UNI's Ellie Blankenship's (2007-10) career digs mark in the Valley record book, making the senior libero the MVC's all-time career digs leader. She finished with 12 against the Ramblers, before tallying 31 against the Crusaders on Saturday night, to average 6.14 digs per set for the weekend. Pence's guidance in the back row against Loyola Chicago helped the Redbirds hold the Ramblers to below .100 hitting (.097). Her 31 digs against Valparaiso marked the fifth time this season that the Springfield, Illinois, native has notched over 30 digs in a four-set match.
After her 43-dig performance on the weekend, Pence now ranks sixth all-time in NCAA career dig history. She needs just 57 digs to jump into fourth all-time, passing Valparaiso's Taylor Root (2009-12). If she can accomplish this feat, she will become the highest-ranking player who played her entire career in the 25-point era.
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