UMBC's Jennifer Davis (Ontario, Canada/Sir Allen MacNab) has been named America East Player of the Week for the second week of the 2003 season. Also receiving weekly distinctions are Albany's Ashley DeNeal (Muncie, Ind./Delta), who took home her second straight Rookie of the Week award, and Brianne Paulson (Eugene, Ore./Churchill) of Hartford, who received Setter of the Week honors.
Davis, a UMBC senior middle hitter, earned All-Tournament honors at the UMBC Retriever Volleyball Invitational. Davis started off the weekend by hitting .400 with 11 kills on 25 attacks and had three aces and five block assists against Providence. She next hit .385 against Georgia State with 10 kills and 0 errors on 26 attacks and once again had five assisted blocks. In the final game of the tournament, Davis continued her hot hitting streak with 10 kills for a .348 hitting percentage. For the tournament Davis hit .378 with 31 kills and on the season she is hitting a team best .335 while averaging 2.66 kills per game, with 17 serving aces and 28 total blocks.
An outside hitter from Albany, DeNeal has recorded a double-double in five of her last six matches and has six on the season. She set a career-high with 18 kills against UNC Asheville and recorded a career-best 26 digs versus Virginia Commonwealth. Over the weekend, she had 38 kills, six service aces and 49 digs. DeNeal has notched double-digit digs in eight straight matches and leads the team with 128. She also leads the team in kills with 103, for an average of 2.86 per game.
Paulson, a University of Hartford sophomore setter, posted 194 assists (48.5 per match) and 31 digs (7.75 per match) over four matches at the Seton Hall Spikefest over the weekend. She posted double-doubles against Iona (52 assists, 10 digs) and Cornell (46 assists, 14 digs) and also tallied a career-high 62 assists against LaSalle. Paulson leads the Hawks in assists (320) and assists per game (11.43).