EVANSVILLE, Ind.- Three University of Southern Indiana Volleyball players were named in this week's Ohio Valley Conference awards, following the regular season series finale sweep at Western Illinois University.
 
For the fourth time this season and her second consecutive week with an OVC award, freshman Aysa Thomas was named the Co-Setter of the Week. Junior Ashby Willis earned the Co-Offensive Player of the Week, and earning her second Freshman of the Week honor is right side hitter Carley Wright.
 
In the WIU series, Thomas tallied 84 assists, 31 digs, and six kills. For the first win, she tallied her 20^th double-double this season with 28 assists and 11 digs. Thomas then recorded a career-high 56 assists in the second win, breaking her previous personal record of 53, which she hit twice this season, most recently against the University of Arkansas Little Rock. She also added 20 digs in the five-set game, adding to the team's program record breaking 130 total digs.
 
This week's award marks the eighth award in her debut season for Thomas, earning four Setter of the Week honors and four Freshman. She ranks second in the conference for her 1,048 assists this season, and fourth for her 9.27 per set average.
 
Outside hitter Willis earns the first weekly OVC award of her career after tallying 36 kills, 37 digs, four aces, and four blocks in the sweep of the Leathernecks. In the first game, she recorded the 30^th double-double in her USI career, with 11 kills and 13 digs. In the second win, she added 24 digs to the program record 130 digs, along with a career-high 25 kills. With just five errors in the five-set win, she recorded a hitting percentage of .303, the fifth game she has finished with an efficiency above .300 this season.
 
Willis is one of three OVC players who have landed over 400 kills so far this season, heading into the conference tournament. The junior ranks third in the league with 401 kills so far, averaging 3.55 per set. She has maintained a .200 hitting percentage throughout the season.
 
The Screaming Eagles take hold of the Freshman of the Week title for the second consecutive week as Thomas hands the award off to teammate Wright. The right-side hitter added 26 kills in the wins at WIU, along with 10 digs and three blocks. She marked her best game in the five-set thriller in the second game, adding 15 kills over the five-set challenge. In the Tuesday night sweep, she led the team with 11 kills, along with a career-high seven digs.
 
These three Eagles will help lead USI into the first round of the OVC Tournament on Sunday, November 23^rd, when they take on No. 6 Tennessee Tech University at 1 p.m. at host school Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. For updates on this weekend's post-season play, fans can follow USI Athletics on Facebook, Instagram, and X for game coverage, as well as online at usiscreamingeagles.com.