Ampudia Earns Big 12 Player of the Week
10/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 26, 2009
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- After earning Big 12 Rookie of the Week three times already this season, volleyball junior Paola Ampudia (Cali, Colombia) continued her accolade-filled season by adding a Big 12 Player of the Week laurel to her résumé. Ampudia is the first Big 12 Player of the Week for Mizzou since Weiwen Wang (Nanjing, China) took home the award back on Oct. 8, 2007, making this the Tigers' first Big 12 Player of the Week in more than two years. Ampudia is also the only Tiger ever to take home four Big 12 Weekly honors in the same season.
With the honor, Ampudia becomes the first player in Big 12 history to take home Big 12 Player of the Week and Big 12 Rookie of the Week in the same season.
Last week, Ampudia had a career match against Kansas on Saturday. The Tiger junior broke a 20-year-old school-record with 35 kills - passing Yvette Buhlig who tallied 34 back in 1989 - and also tied the school-record for total attacks in a match (78). The 35 kills are the most by any player in the Big 12 this season and tie the all-time Big 12 four-set record. Ampudia is one of only two Tigers to hit the 30-kill plateau during the rally scoring era and one of only two Tigers to post a 30-kill effort in a four-set match. Ampudia added 16 kills in the Tigers' loss at No. 2 Texas, giving her 51 on the week on .274 hitting, averaging 7.29 kills per set.
Over her last six matches, Ampudia has been one of the top players in the nation, averaging 5.32 kills per set while totaling 117 total kills on .253 hitting. Her 117 kills in that span are 74 more than the next-closest Tiger while her .253 clip ranks second on the team in that span. Ampudia also leads Mizzou with 19 total blocks in the last six matches and is third with 47 digs. Ampudia has also posted the first three double-doubles of her career in the mast four matches.
Ampudia now ranks third in the Big 12 with kills per set (4.22) and points per set (4.71) during league play and ranks seventh overall with 3.37 kills per set and fifth with 4.04 points per set overall. Ampudia did not rank in the top 10 in any of those statistical categories six matches ago.
Ampudia and the Tigers return to action this Wednesday as the look to `Bust the House' against Kansas State at 6:30 p.m. For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com.
