COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Mountain West has named University of New Mexico volleyball player Devanne Sours as MW Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week for matches played through October 30.
Sours, a senior outside hitter from Tatum, N.M., led the Lobos as they swept their slate last week, earning wins over Fresno State last Thursday and San José State last Saturday. New Mexico has won three straight matches and four of its last five.
“I am extremely happy for Dev to receive his honor,” New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said. “She had an amazing week and really helped lead us to two great wins. She has struggled with health issues all season and it is so great to see her have a couple of breakout matches. I am really proud of her.”
Sours hit .431 on the week, posting 39 kills (4.88 per set) on 72 attempts with just eight errors. She notched 42.5 points on the week, good for 5.31 per set.
She opened the week by logging a career high-tying 22 kills in New Mexico’s come-from-behind 3-2 win over Fresno State, hitting a career high .541 in the process.
Her 22 kills and her .541 hitting percentage are the best by a Lobo this season in a single match. Her 22 kills are also the fifth-most in the MW in a five-set match this season, and are tied for the seventh-highest total by a MW player in any match this season
She contributed on the Lobos’ three final points in a set-four win vs. the Bulldogs, with a kill for UNM’s 23rd point, followed by a block assist and then the set-winning kill. She followed that by scoring the first four points for New Mexico in the decisive fifth set vs. Fresno State.
Sours followed up that performance with a 17-kill outing vs. San José State, hitting .314. Her 17 kills are tied for the fifth-highest total by a Lobo this season and the fifth-most by a MW player in any three-set match this season.
She posted six kills in set two against the Spartans, including four during the Lobos’ set-opening 8-3 run and then the winner at 25-17. She added five kills in the span of six points for during set three, turning a 15-12 UNM advantage into a 20-15 lead.
It’s the first time in her career that she posted back-to-back matches of at least 17 kills
This is Sours’ first career MW player of the week honor and and the team’s first since Skye Gullatt claimed Defensive Player of the Week honors on November 30, 2015.
The Lobos return to action Thursday as they face Wyoming at 6:30 p.m. MT. New Mexico also travels to Colorado State for a 7 p.m. MT match on Saturday.