BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Eight days after being selected SEC Defensive Player of the Week, LSU middle blocker Brittnee Cooper notched SEC Offensive Player of the Week accolades Tuesday as announced by the league office. She becomes the first player in SEC history to win the league’s specialty awards on consecutive weeks since the Defensive Player of the Week award was introduced in 2004.
“We’re thrilled that Brittnee won this award and proud of the recognition she is getting after working extremely hard during the offseason,” head coach Fran Flory said. “She is truly beginning to understand how to defend other teams’ offenses and beginning to understand how to be good technically on both sides of the net. The difference in her is not a physical but a mental change. She’s done a good job studying and preparing for matches.”
Cooper picked up All-Tournament Team honors for the second consecutive weekend as the Tigers (4-2) defeated Louisiana-Lafayette and Tulane after taking 2008 Final Four participant and No. 6 Nebraska the distance.
After averaging 2.85 kills per set and hitting .222 last weekend, Cooper returned to her 2008 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention form, connecting for 3.91 kills per set on an impressive .551 clip highlighted by a dominant 20-kill performance against No. 6 Nebraska. She joins three-time AVCA All-American Destinee Hooker of Texas as the only players to knock 20 kills and hit over .500 against the Cornhuskers since 1997.
The Houston, Texas product followed that up and powered home 13 kills to go along with eight blocks in a three-game sweep of Louisiana-Lafayette before capping the weekend with 10 kills against Tulane. For the week, Cooper recorded a kill on 62 percent of the balls she touched and committed only five errors.
LSU returns to action against Tulane, Long Beach State and New Orleans at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic hosted by Tulane this weekend. Fans can follow the action via live stats on LSUsports.net
