Liepa Lavickyte Named MW Defensive POTW
After leading the Lobos in blocks and recording the most block assists in a Mountain West game this season over a 2-0 week for New Mexico Volleyball, Liepa Lavickyte has been named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Monday.
It’s the second MW Defensive Player of the Week award of the season for the Lobos, who snapped a nine-match skid with a four-set win at home over Nevada on Thursday (25-27, 25-20, 25-12, 25-22) before rallying to knock off Utah State in five (18-25, 25-20, 18-25, 26-24, 15-11) two days later. It’s the first weekly honor of Lavickyte’s career.
Impressive performances from all of the #MWVB players of the week — check out the winners 🙌 pic.twitter.com/gpZw6O32EG
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) November 11, 2024
Lavickyte led the league in blocks over UNM’s 2-0 weekend with 21 block assists for a total of 2.33 blocks per set — nearly two-thirds of a block per set more than No. 2, UNM’s Jada Bouyer (1.67) and .89 more than No. 3, Utah State’s Tierney Barlow. As a team, the Lobos led the league in team blocks per set (3.44/s) and opponent hitting percentage (.147) over the weekend.
The sophomore by way of Norway set a new career-high 12 block assists in UNM’s victory over the Wolfpack on Thursday — the third-most in a single match in program history and the most since 2018.
They were also the most in a single match by a MW player in a conference match this season. Two days later against the Aggies, Lavickyte came up with nine more to help UNM complete its first 2-0 week in conference play this season. She added 10 kills on .250 hitting (10-3-28) on the week, putting away an even five in both matches to finish with 20.5 points in total (2.28/s).
UP NEXT
The Lobos (11-13, 4-10 MW) stay home for their final two matches of the season in Albuquerque, hosting Air Force tomorrow for this week’s MW Tuesday Night Block Party before taking on Boise State on Thursday for Senior Day. Both matches will be streamed via the MW Network at GoLobos.com/Watch – find all other matchday essentials and live stats links via GoLobos.com/FollowVB. Follow @UNMLoboVB on IG, X and Facebook for match coverage, promotional information, updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.