McKenna Yates Earns Second SEC Defensive Player of the Week Honor
October 28, 2024 | Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After a pair of standout performances against Arkansas and Ole Miss, McKenna Yates was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week, the Southeastern Conference announced on Monday. This marked the second time this season that the freshman from Ocala, Florida, earned the honor.
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"I'm proud of McKenna. For her to be recognized for a second time as SEC Defensive Player of the Week is quite an honor," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "She has been a spark plug for our program and I've loved watching how fierce a competitor she has been for us on the floor. We're very happy for her and the program right now."
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Yates picked up a team-best 37 digs in two matches last week and led the SEC with 5.29 digs per set. Along with her digs, she picked up 12 assists, the second-most of any Bulldog on the week.
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On Wednesday's match against Ole Miss, Yates tallied 18 digs in four sets, the second-most in a single game for her this season. She then tied her career-best of 19 digs in Sunday's three-set match against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Sunday's match marked the ninth time this season and third straight match that she had picked up double-digit digs.
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Earlier this season, Yates earned a Co-Defensive Player of the Week honor. She became the first freshman in the 50 years of the program to do such. This week's nomination was the tenth SEC Defensive Player of the Week Honor in this history of the program and the 21st player of the week honor in the Darty Dennis era. Yates is now only the second player in Bulldog history to win multiple SEC Defensive Player of the Week Honors at during their career at Mississippi State.
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Yates and the Bulldogs will be back in action on Sunday, November 3 when they travel to College Station, Texas, to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. First serve is set for 2 p.m. on SECN+.
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Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on volleyball. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching 'HailStateVB' on X, Facebook and Instagram.Â
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"I'm proud of McKenna. For her to be recognized for a second time as SEC Defensive Player of the Week is quite an honor," head coach Julie Darty Dennis said. "She has been a spark plug for our program and I've loved watching how fierce a competitor she has been for us on the floor. We're very happy for her and the program right now."
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Yates picked up a team-best 37 digs in two matches last week and led the SEC with 5.29 digs per set. Along with her digs, she picked up 12 assists, the second-most of any Bulldog on the week.
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On Wednesday's match against Ole Miss, Yates tallied 18 digs in four sets, the second-most in a single game for her this season. She then tied her career-best of 19 digs in Sunday's three-set match against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Sunday's match marked the ninth time this season and third straight match that she had picked up double-digit digs.
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Earlier this season, Yates earned a Co-Defensive Player of the Week honor. She became the first freshman in the 50 years of the program to do such. This week's nomination was the tenth SEC Defensive Player of the Week Honor in this history of the program and the 21st player of the week honor in the Darty Dennis era. Yates is now only the second player in Bulldog history to win multiple SEC Defensive Player of the Week Honors at during their career at Mississippi State.
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Yates and the Bulldogs will be back in action on Sunday, November 3 when they travel to College Station, Texas, to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. First serve is set for 2 p.m. on SECN+.
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Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on volleyball. Fans can also follow the program on social media by searching 'HailStateVB' on X, Facebook and Instagram.Â
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