ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the second straight week, Julia Wheeler crushed the ball guiding Carson-Newman to a 4-1 record to earn the South Atlantic Conference's Offensive Player of the Week announced by the league on Monday.
The Murfreesboro, Tenn. native is the first player to earn back-to-back laurels from the conference since Wingate's Shannon Kasprak won the Specialist of the Week honor on March 24 and March 31, 2021. She is the first C-N player to do so since Megan Oldenburger took home the first two in the spring.
"From the start it was kind of hard getting into a groove playing six rotations and trying to the best I can be," Wheeler said. "It goes back to the way that we have been pushing each other in practice. We put that trust in our coaches and they have been pouring confidence into us because they know how much we are capable of. That's been a huge part of being able to go out and play the game."
In five affairs, Wheeler racked up 85 kills on a .216 hitting percentage with 71 digs and 12 block assists. She averaged 4.05 kills per set and 3.38 scoops per frame posting a trio of double-doubles on the year to bring her season total to 10.
With double-digit kills in 10 straight matches, the outside hitter opened the week with 15 kills on a .250 hitting percentage with four service aces as the Eagles swept league-leading Lenoir-Rhyne to secure a third straight SAC win.
After racking up 13 smashes and 19 digs in the lone loss of the week, Wheeler rebounded with 22 kills on a .296 margin with 20 digs and four block assists in the program's first road win at USC Aiken in eight tries. The redshirt-sophomore became the first Eagle since Molly Locke in the 2015 Southeast Region Championship match to post 20 kills and 20 digs in the same match. Locke had 20 and 27 respectively in the four-set win over Lenoir-Rhyne, 156 matches and 2,171 days prior.
Keeping the hot-hitting rolling, the Volunteer State native pummeled the ball to the tune of a .302 hitting clip with 21 kills and 17 digs in a four-set win at Georgia College. To wrap up the weekend, she added 14 kills in a four-set win over Augusta.
Her efforts have put the national leaders into focus as Wheeler now ranks fourth in the country with 355 kills, less than 80 shy of putting her name into the top 10 for a single-season in school history. With a 3.62 kills per set average, she is second in the league and currently sits eighth in C-N's record books for a single year.
In her first season at Mossy Creek, the Tennessee Tech transfer has six matches with at least 20 smashes being in double figures 13 times. Wheeler is averaging 4.23 kills per set and is hitting .234 during the month of October through 11 matches.
Wheeler leads the Eagles into the stretch run of the year starting with a pair of home matches this weekend starting on Thursday at 6 p.m. against Anderson. Both matches will air on the Eagle Sports Network by visiting cneagles.com/live.
- CN -
