Nov. 15, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kentucky senior Lauren Rapp was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, while sophomore Stephanie Klefot earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors it was announced by the league office Monday.
The duo helped guide the Blue and White to an upset of No. 15 LSU along with an impressive 3-0 sweep of Arkansas this weekend.
Rapp earns SEC Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career after claiming the same distinction once during her sophomore season. This is the first time Klefot has been tabbed Defensive Player of the Week honors after earning an SEC Freshman of the Week nod a season ago.
With UK’s chances at post-season on the line, Rapp, a senior captain, put together a pair of solid outings in leading UK to a 3-0 sweep of Arkansas and a five-set upset of No.15 LSU on Sunday. Against LSU, Rapp struck for 17 kills and added 10 digs for her 12th career double-double and fifth of the season. She nearly notched a triple-double with a career-high six assists. In addition, she added four blocks to her stat line.
In the win over Arkansas, Rapp led the team with 13 kills and a match-high five blocks. She also contributed seven digs and a pair of assists. For the week, Rapp averaged a team-high 3.75 digs per set on a team-best .388 hitting clip. She posted 1.12 blocks per frame, added an assist to the offensive numbers and defensively scooped up 2.12 digs per frame. Rapp moved into 10th all-time with 106 career aces at UK. She also moved into eighth all-time with 1,254 kills and ninth all-time with 2,996 career attempts.
Klefot led UK’s back-row defensive effort in the upset victory over No. 15 LSU. The first-year starter at the position topped her career best of 28 digs set just a week ago in a five-set loss at Alabama, with 29 against the Tigers on Sunday. UK needed every one of her 5.8 digs per set in fending off the SEC West leaders, as she led four players in the back line with 10 or more digs on the night.
With 38 digs this weekend in the two matches, Klefot now has 467 for the season which is the ninth most in a single-season in UK allure. For the weekend, Klefot endured 67 serves in her direction and she notched an impressive .955 reception percentage with just three errors committed on the weekend.
This marks the first time this season a Kentucky player has earned either awards. Freshman Whitney Billings was tabbed the SEC Freshman of the Week on Sept. 13.
In six seasons under Craig Skinner, the Wildcats have accumulated seven SEC Player of the Week honors, four SEC Defensive Player of the Week awards and 11 SEC Freshman of the Week distinctions.
Rapp and Klefot lead the Blue and White on its final regular season road trip with a match at Ole Miss on Friday, Nov. 19. First serve is set for 8 p.m. ET.
Follow along all season long with the Wildcats at UKathletics.com.
