ROCK HILL, S.C. - For the third time in the first five weeks of the year, Julia Wheeler was named the South Atlantic Conference's Player of the Week announced by the league on Monday after leading the Eagles to a pair of sweeps over Newberry and Anderson.
The laurel is the seventh time in the Murfreesboro, Tenn. native's career she has earned a weekly honor adding to her laundry list of honors for 2022 that sits at five. She is the first player to get three weekly laurels in the same year since 2021 when Lenoir-Rhyne's Rachel Bewick had three Defensive Player of the Week honors. The last time an individual had three-plus Offensive honors came in 2019 when Queens's Casey Tarvin had four and Lenoir-Rhyne's Taylor Prall tallied three.
For the week Wheeler averaged 5.3 points per set, 4.83 digs per set, and had a .316 hitting percentage tallying 28 kills with four total errors adding a couple aces and three block assists.
In the win over Newberry on Friday, the all-region selection produced a flawless effort on the pin with 14 kills hitting .452 adding 15 digs for her team-leading 10th double-double of the year chipping in a pair of service aces.
On Saturday, she racked up an 11th double-double with 14 kills and 14 digs helping leading the Orange and Blue to a fourth straight sweep.
After the weekend, the senior ranks fourth nationally with 4.75 kills per set, fifth in points per game with 5.19 and eighth in total kills with 242. Her 27 blasts against Limestone on Sept. 10 stand as the fifth match by a Division II player in any four-set contest on the year.
As it stands, her kills per set average would demolish the current program record set in 2010 by Carly Mozgai, 4.17, the only tally above four for a season. The single-season school record for single-season kills came in 1996 by Amber Lester of 522.
The Eagles return to SAC action on Saturday with a visit to Catawba. First serve is slated to start at 2 p.m. from Goodman Gym.
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