Culbertson and Silva Earn C-USA Weekly Honors
11/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2011
TULSA, Okla. - A pair of Tulsa outside hitters earned Conference USA Volleyball Player of the Week honors on Monday. Sophomore Kellie Culbertson was named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week and junior Diana Silva was named C-USA Offensive Player of the Week, the league office announced.
Culbertson, a native of Long Beach, Calif., averaged 5.57 digs per set, and Silva, a native of Niteroi, Brazil, averaged 5.00 kills per set to lead Tulsa to two wins at Rice and Houston, as it claimed the Conference USA Championship over the weekend.
Culbertson totaled 39 digs and added 23 kills (3.29 k/s) to total 25.5 points (3.64 pts/s) and helped the Golden Hurricane hold its opponents to a low .152 attack percentage. Friday at Rice, Culbertson recorded a double-double with 26 digs (6.50 dig/s) and 12 kills, adding a solo block in the 3-1 win that clinched the league title. Sunday at Houston, she picked up her 11th double-double of the season with 13 digs (4.33 dig/s) and 11 kills and a block in the 3-0 sweep. She also hit .450 against the Cougars.
Silva totaled 35 kills and added 27 digs (3.86 dig/s), averaging 5.29 points per set. She also picked up her 12th and 13th double-doubles of the season over the weekend. Friday at Rice, she tallied 22 kills (5.50 k/s), and 11 digs and hit .255 in the 3-1 win that clinched the league title. Sunday at Houston, she recorded 13 kills and 16 digs in the 3-0 sweep.
This is the first career C-USA weekly award for both Culbertson and Silva.
The Golden Hurricane returns home this weekend for its final two matches of the season in the Reynolds Center. TU plays UCF at 7 p.m. on Friday and UTEP at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Hurricane seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony on Sunday.
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