Nov. 12, 2012

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Colorado State senior middle blocker Megan Plourde and Wyoming sophomore middle blocker Erin Kirby have earned Mountain West Women's Volleyball Co-Player of the Week honors for matches played from Nov. 5-11, 2012. It is the fourth Mountain West weekly honor of Plourde's career and second of the season. It is the first accolade for Kirby.

Plourde, a native of Somerset, Wisc., led the Rams to a 2-0 record last week, keeping CSU in contention for the Mountain West title. In a 3-0 victory over UNLV, Plourde hit .571 (9k-1e-14ta) with three digs and three blocks. Her first kill in the first set gave the Rams their first lead of the match, 7-6. Plourde hit .591 (15k-2e-22ta) in the 3-1 win over Fresno State with one dig and five blocks. In the third set with CSU trailing 21-16, she posted a kill and a block on consecutive points that sparked a 7-2 run that tied the score at 23. The Rams fought off two set-points before winning 27-25 to take a 2-1 lead. In the fourth and deciding set, Plourde downed six kills on six swings.

For the week, Plourde averaged 3.43 kills, 1.14 blocks and 0.57 digs per set, while hitting at a .583 clip. She averaged 4.00 points per set over seven total sets.

An Evanston, Wyo., native, Kirby was instrumental in the Cowgirls' 2-0 record last week against Fresno State (3-0) and UNLV (3-1). Against the Bulldogs, Kirby hit .700, an errorless 7-of-10, and posted six blocks. She was also perfect in her attack against the Rebels, hitting .500 (11k-0e-22ta) to go along with eight blocks. Kirby led the Cowgirls in hitting percentage in both matches.

For the week, Kirby averaged 2.57 kills and 2.00 blocks per set, with an attack percentage of .562. She averaged 3.57 points per set over seven total sets.

2012 Mountain West Women's Volleyball Players of the Week
Aug. 27 - Andrea Hannasch, Sr., MB, San Diego State
Sept. 3 - Chantale Riddle, So., MB/RS, New Mexico
Sept. 10 - Megan Plourde, Sr., MB, Colorado State
Sept. 17 - Jodi Purdy, Sr., OH, Wyoming
Sept. 24 - Tessa Lea`ea, So., MB, Nevada
Oct. 1 - Dana Cranston, Sr., OH, Colorado State
Oct. 8 - Andrea Hannasch, Sr., MB, San Diego State
Oct. 15 - Korrin Wild, Jr., OH, Fresno State
Oct. 22 - Reese Plante, Jr., MB, Wyoming
Oct. 29 - Kinsey Caldwell, Fr., S, UNLV
Nov. 5 - Summer Nash, Jr., OH, San Diego State
Nov. 12 - Megan Plourde, Sr., MB, Colorado State; Erin Kirby, So., MB, Wyoming