IRVING, Texas — No. 9 BYU women's volleyball picked up two of three weekly Big 12 awards to open its 2023 campaign, the conference announced on Tuesday morning.
Senior outside hitter Erin Livingston earned the league's first Offensive Player of the Week award while freshman middle blocker Mia Lee was named Rookie of the Week.
Hailing from Corona, California, Livingston paced the Cougars at the Ellesyn Invitational last week with 52 kills, hitting .280 across BYU's three matches. The Invitational's tournament MVP recorded a game-high 19 kills against then-No. 5 Pitt, helping the Cougars to a 3-1 victory over the Panthers on Friday afternoon. She averaged 4.33 kills per set, and also added 23 digs, four blocks, two service aces and two assists on the weekend.
This is Livingston's first-career player of the week award. Last season, she was named an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention and VolleyballMag.com All-America Honorable Mention, to the AVCA Pacific South All-Region Team and All-WCC First Team.
A Vineyard, Utah native, Lee kicked off her BYU career with nine total blocks in the Cougars' win over Pitt, a game-high and the most by a BYU freshman since 2018. The middle blocker tallied 18 blocks on the weekend, as well as 11 kills on a .310 clip. Lee also recorded two service aces and two assists during the Cougars' weekend in Montana, helping them clinch the Ellesyn Invitational championship.
BYU has another trio of matches this week, beginning with Loyola Marymount at the Smith Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. MT.