Aug. 31, 2011
ST. LOUIS - Ashley Mason, a sophomore libero on the Missouri State volleyball team, was announced by Missouri Valley Conference commissioner Doug Elgin Wednesday (Aug. 31) as the Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week.
Mason, who was honored Monday as the MVC Defensive Player of the Week, has a 3.91 cumulative grade point average in business education.
Mason led the Bears (2-1) defensively in each match last week and finished with 53 digs and a 4.82 per set average. She also tallied five assists and two aces. Mason began the season with a career-high 18 digs in a win over Oral Roberts, then had 10 digs, two assists and an ace in Saturday's sweep of SMU.
Saturday night, the Granby, Mo., native set another career-high with 25 digs at No. 16 Oklahoma, adding another ace and two more assists. She also received serves at a .981 clip in 54 tries.
The Bears return to action against UC Riverside on Friday (Sept. 2) at 7 p.m. at the USD Invitational in San Diego, Calif. MSU also plays Northeastern and No. 20 San Diego while on the west coast.
To qualify for Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week laurels, student-athletes must carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20, completed at least one academic year at a Valley institution and must be at least a sophomore in academic standing. Redshirt freshmen and first-year junior college transfers are not eligible. In addition to the academic qualifications, student-athletes will be evaluated on their athletic performance for a one-week period.
