Oct. 4, 2010

IRVING, Texas - For the second time this year, sophomore outside hitter Altrese Hawkins was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week, the league office announced this afternoon. Hawkins averaged 5.12 kills per set and led the Tigers to C-USA victories over Marshall and East Carolina over the weekend.

"First off congratulations to Altrese for picking up her second player of the week recognition," said Memphis head coach April Jauregui. "She was truly unstoppable offensively this weekend. It was nice to see her and the team bounce back and play strong after two tough matches versus Tulsa. We had very solid performances all around. This conference is tough and shows how well you need to perform to be recognized as the best player that week. So it is not only an indicator of Altrese's performance, but the collective effort of the team."

Hawkins, who was tabbed the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week for the week of September 13, landed a C-USA best 41 kills. The sophomore outside hitter was Memphis' most efficient hitter, logging a .443 attack percentage. Hawkins committed just six errors on 79 swings. The Schaumburg, Ill., native led the Tigers with 42.5 points (5.31 pts/s). Hawkins, who reached the 20-kill plateau in each of Memphis' two matches played a vital role in the 3-1 victories over Marshall and East Carolina. She downed 20 kills and hit .378 in a win over the Thundering Herd and had a match-best 21-kill outing and a scorching .519 average at ECU.

The Tiger's sophomore is the first Tiger volleyball player to earn mulitple C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honrs since Shelby Burton did so in 2006.

Hawkins and the Tigers will return to the court this weekend with a pair of matches at SMU. Memphis will take on the Mustangs at Noon, on Sat., Oct. 9, followed by a 2 p.m. contest on Sun., Oct. 10.