Photo courtesy Colorado State athletics.

Mekana Barnes, a junior middle blocker from Colorado State, has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week. She earned the award in helping the Rams to wins last week over then-No. 13 Ohio State and Pacific, while also setting back-to-back personal career marks in hitting percentage in both matches. In Colorado State's upset sweep of the then nationally ranked Buckeyes, Barnes had a .526 hitting percentage on 12 kills in 19 attempts with only two errors. She added three aces, one dig and eight total blocks in the win. In the Rams’ next match against Pacific, Barnes scored a .609 hitting percentage on 16 kills in 23 attempts with only two errors. She added two digs and six total blocks in the 3-0 win. For the week, Barnes averaged 3.0 kills, a .667 hitting percentage and 2.33 blocks per game. Barnes is the fourth player from Colorado State to earn Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week honors, and the first since Melissa Courtney on Nov. 22, 2004. Colorado State is coached by Tom Hilbert.