Lauren Miramontes, a
senior middle blocker for UNLV, has been named this week’s Sports Imports/AVCA
Division I National Player of the Week. In a week of firsts, Miramontes led
the Rebel volleyball team to their first-ever Mountain West Conference (MWC)
Championship last week, and an automatic bid into their first NCAA Division
I Women’s Volleyball Championship. Against Wyoming in the quarterfinals,
Miramontes planted 19 kills, hitting at a .341 clip, and added five digs and
eight total blocks. In the semifinals against BYU, the Rebel senior landed
a MWC Championship and school-record 34 kills and added seven total blocks
and three digs. Miramontes then sent the Rebels to the dance with 30 kills
on .397 hitting in a five-game thriller against Utah, adding nine more
blocks and three digs. Her tournament averages for the week were 5.93 kills
per game, hitting .337, with 1.71 blocks and 0.79 digs per game. Her 83
total kills for the event is also a tournament record. Miramontes is the
first women’s volleyball player from UNLV to win the Sports Imports/AVCA
Division I National Player of the Week award. UNLV is coached by Allison
Keeley.
