Louisiana’s Lesley Mirarchi and Lindsay Brown were named Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, as announced by the conference office on Monday.

The award marks the second consecutive honor for Brown, the first UL student-athlete to accomplish the feat since Clarice Laires in 2002. The award is the first for Mirarchi in her career.

Mirarchi, a junior middle blocker on the squad, hit .365 for the weekend, collecting a total of 38 kills, nine total blocks, eight digs and two assists in Louisiana’s first 2-0 start in the Sun Belt since 2001.  

A native of Plano, Texas, Mirarchi notched a team-best 20 kills against Troy, tallying 16 of those in the final two sets. On Sunday, Mirarchi had a team-best 18 kills as she led the team with 4.75 kills per set this weekend. Her nine total blocks also led the squad as UL secured its’ first 10 win season since 2002.

With 30 digs on Friday evening against Troy, Brown established the all-time career digs mark in the rally era for the Cajuns. The senior passed Erika Castro’s mark of 1,589 digs, which was set in 2007. On Sunday, she tallied a team-high 26 digs in the win against South Alabama.

Brown, a native of Yorba Linda, Calif., had a team-best 56 digs on the weekend, averaging 7.00 digs per set. Her weekend total moved her career mark to 1,617 digs. In nine of 16 matches played this season, Brown has recorded 26 or more digs. On the season, the libero is averaging 5.70 digs per set, which ranks 16^th nationally. 

Louisiana (10-6, 2-0 Sun Belt) will host in-state foe McNeese State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening at Earl K. Long. The Ragin’ Cajuns will then hit the road for conference action at North Texas and Denver.  

— Ragin’ Cajuns —