ST. LOUIS – Illinois State libero Courtney Pence has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week for a record 10th time in her career, breaking the previous record of nine set by Northern Iowa's Ellie Blankenship, the league announced Monday.
Pence, a junior from Springfield, Illinois, earned the weekly honor for the fifth time this season and the second week in a row. She was previously named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week twice as a freshman in 2015 and three times as a sophomore in 2016. Blankenship earned her nine weekly awards between 2017-10.
Pence turned in a pair of sparkling performances over the weekend, helping Illinois State post a perfect 2-0 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play as the Redbirds swept matches at both Valparaiso and Loyola Chicago. Pence averaged 7.50 digs per set over the two-match road stretch, while adding seven assists and five aces, including four in the win at Loyola, which matched her career high.
Pence continues to lead The Valley in both total digs (670) and digs per set (6.32), ranking second among all NCAA Division I players in each category.
Illinois State (17-11, 10-5 MVC) is back in action this weekend in its final road match of the regular season, at Bradley, Saturday at 7 p.m. Links for live video and live stats are available at GoRedbirds.com, and fans can follow @RedbirdVB on Twitter for live updates and more.
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