Paz Named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week
11/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 23, 2009
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After leading Michigan to a pair of wins last weekend and registering a career-high 23 kills in U-M's three-set win over No. 12 Minnesota on Saturday (Nov. 21), University of Michigan volleyball senior outside hitter Juliana Paz (Porto Alegre, Brazil/Iowa Western CC) was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week by the conference on Monday (Nov. 23).
Paz earns her first career weekly accolade after helping U-M to its second straight weekend sweep, extending the team's winning streak to five matches with wins over Michigan State (Nov. 18) and Minnesota. Paz started her week with a team-high 19 kills and a .371 attack percentage in U-M's five-set victory over MSU. Paz followed up with her best performance of the season, a career-high 23 kills in U-M's three-set sweep of the 12th-ranked Golden Gophers on Senior Night. Paz hit .450 in the match and just missed a double-double, contributing nine defensive digs.
A starter in every match since joining the team last season -- a span of 66 straight -- Paz posted 42 kills, averaging 5.62 per set while hitting at a .413 clip. Paz also added 16 digs and four blocks for 45.5 points. She currently leads the Wolverines with 439 kills this season.
Paz and the Wolverines close the regular season this weekend, beginning Friday (Nov. 27) when they travel to Ohio State before facing No. 1 Penn State at Rec Hall Saturday night (Nov. 28). Both matches begin at 7 p.m. with MGoBlue.com carrying a live radio broadcast and live stats of each match.
Contact: Matt Fancett (734) 763-4423
