NEW ORLEANS, La. – For the second time this season, Little Rock senior middle blocker
Veronica Marin has been named the Sun Belt Conference's Defensive Player of the Week, announced today by the league office.
Marin was a force at the nets for the Trojans in helping Little Rock secure a pair of conference victories, registering a combined 23 blocks in the wins over South Alabama and Troy at the Jack Stephens Center.
Against the Jaguars, Marin posted 13 total blocks, which is tied for the fourth-most in a single match in program history. Five of those blocks were solo blocks as well as she also added 11 kills for her second double-double of the season.
The following night against Troy, Marin once again reached double figures in blocks with 10, including six solo blocks. The Tulcea, Romania native also added 13 kills against the Alabama Trojans for her third double-double of the year, giving her 24 kills to complement her 23 blocks.
Through the first weekend of conference play, Marin leads the Sun Belt in both total blocks (92) and blocks per set (1.62), ranking second and third nationally in those respective categories. She has helped lead a resurgence among the Trojan blocking ranks as Little Rock ranks fourth nationally in both total team blocks (162) and opponent hitting percentage (.137), ranking 15th in the NCAA in blocks per set (2.79).
Marin and the rest of the Trojans sit at 10-5 on the year and 2-0 in Sun Belt Conference play, already surpassing their win total from 2017. Little Rock now begins a challenging stretch, playing seven of its next nine on the road. That challenge begins this weekend in Texas, facing Texas State facing Texas State in San Marcos Friday before heading to the DFW Metroplex to face UT Arlington Saturday.
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