Oct. 22, 2001

DALLAS - Missouri's Naaron Branson was named Big 12 Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 15-21, the Big 12 office announced Monday. Branson is the first Missouri student-athlete to receive the honor this season. Branson, a 5-11 senior outside hitter, led the Tigers in an upset of No. 20 Colorado last Wednesday. In that match, Branson recorded 22 kills on a .545 hitting percentage. She also chipped in seven digs and five block assists in the victory.

The Fort Smith, Ark., native posted her 1,000th career dig on the fifth of 19 digs in a 3-1 loss to No. 17 Texas A&M last Saturday. Branson became just the fifth player in Mizzou history to accomplish the feat. Against A&M, Branson also registered 14 kills to finish the match with a double double as well as five block assists.

Branson is on pace to become only the second player in MU volleyball history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs for her career. She needs four kills the rest of the season to accomplish the feat. The other Tiger in the 1,000 kill-1, 000 dig club is Yvette Buhlig (88-90, 92) who is the all-time leader in both categories with 1,478 kills and 1,149 digs for her career.

Overall, Branson averaged 4.50 kills per game, 3.25 digs per game, 1.12 blocks per game, 0.88 assists per game, and a .408 hitting percentage last week. Missouri, currently ranked fifth in the Big 12, will host Southern Illinois Monday. The Tigers will continue conference action when they host No. 2 Nebraska Wednesday, followed by a trip to Oklahoma Saturday to end the week