Colorado State's Barnes and Utah's Toone Named Mountain West Conference Co-Volleyball Players of the Week

Oct. 13, 2008

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Colorado State middle blocker Mekana Barnes and Utah middle blocker Emillie Toone have been named Mountain West Conference Co-Volleyball Players of the Week.

Barnes, a 6-0 senior from Highlands Ranch, Colo., led the 13th-ranked and league-leading Rams to a 3-0 record last week, including conference wins over TCU and New Mexico. In a non-conference match at Northern Colorado, Barnes notched 16 kills in 25 attempts (.520 hitting percentage), eight blocks, four digs, one assist and one ace in CSU's four-set win. In a four-set win over conference foe TCU, she had 13 kills, seven blocks and three digs. Barnes had only two hitting errors for a .458 efficiency vs. the Horned Frogs. In Colorado State's five-set victory vs. New Mexico, she tallied a season-high 19 kills, six blocks and three digs. For the week, Barnes averaged 3.69 kills, 1.62 blocks, 0.77 digs and 4.69 points per set with a .417 hitting percentage (48-13-84).

Toone, an American Fork, Utah, product, led Utah to a 2-0 record in conference play last week as the Utes took sole possession of second-place in the league standings. In two matches, she averaged 2.71 kills, 2.14 blocks and 3.93 points per set. Against UNLV, the 6-7 senior registered eight kills in 14 attempts and committed just two errors for a .429 percentage. She also had a match-high tying six blocks vs. the Rebels. In the Utes' four-set win over San Diego State, Toone collected 11 kills and nine blocks. She converted her 11 kills in 17 attempts for a .471 efficiency.