By Matthew Montague
BYU middle blocker Laura Nielsen and Wyoming outside hitter Sara Maytorena shared Mountain West Conference Volleyball Player of the Week honors.
“I didn”t know until I got home and my roommate Jessie told me to go and read the white board,” Nielsen said. “I was totally shocked and still can”t believe it.”
Nielsen is a first-time award winner, while Maytorena earned her second honor this season.
“I can”t wait to call my parents and tell them,” Nielsen said. “My dad is not going to believe it.”
It has been four weeks since Nielsen has played in a real game since her broken foot, but while she was out she tried staying is game shape.
“I rode the bike, did some pool workouts, lifted with my upper body and just tried to do as much as I could,” Nielsen said. “My foot is a little sore because of the matches this weekend, but it feels a lot better now.”
A 6-1 junior from Fremont, Calif. (Irvington HS), Nielsen posted career highs for hitting percentage and kills.
With her outstanding play she led the Cougars to a pair of critical conference road wins at Colorado State and Wyoming.
Nielsen racked up a career-high 11 kills and a career-best .643 hitting percentage in a five-game nail-biter victory over the Rams.
The Cougar win broke Colorado State”s 38-match home conference win streak on their home court.
“I can”t even begin to explain what Laura did tonight,” said BYU head coach Karen Lamb after the upset against Colorado State. “She came back so huge. It was great to see.”
Nielsen came back with 11 more kills and a .444 hitting percentage in another five-game thriller at Wyoming.
For the week, Nielsen totaled 22 kills (2.44 per game) and eight blocks (.89 per game), while hitting .531.
A 6-1 sophomore from Parker, Colo. (Ponderosa HS), Maytorena helped the Cowgirls to a 1-1 record last week, including a sweep over then-No. 16 Utah, marking the first win over the Utes since 1997.
Maytorena totaled 11 kills and eight block assists vs. Utah, and posted a career-high 10 block assists along with 20 kills vs. BYU, marking her fourth double-double of the season.
For the week, Maytorena totaled 31 kills (3.88per game), 13 digs (1.62 per game) and 18 blocks (2.25 per game), while hitting .339.
