KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Arica Shepard (Emporia State) and Kate Hampson (Washburn) have been named MIAA Volleyball Student-Athletes of the Week for the week of Nov. 3-7 as selected by a conference SID panel. It is the sixth hitter of the week award this season for Shepard and the fourth specialist of the week honor for Hampson.

MIAA VOLLEYBALL HITTER OF THE WEEK
Arica Shepard, OH, Emporia State
Shepard averaged 4.71 kills per set while hitting .375. The senior from Rossville, Kan., averaged 5.00 digs per set along with 0.57 blocks per set as she averaged 5.00 points per set. Against No. 22 Pittsburg State, Shepard had 15 kills and tied a career high with a team-high 24 digs. She had four kills in the first set, including the first two of the set. Against Missouri Southern, Shepard had 18 kills to go along with 11 digs for her ninth straight double-double. She hit .517 for the match while adding two block assists. She had seven kills during the first set and had four kills in the second set. Shepard added seven more kills in the final set, including the final one to close out ESU’s 3-0 sweep. She has nine straight double-doubles. Shepard moved into the ESU career top five in digs. She moved into fourth place in the MIAA in career kills, passing Missouri Southern’s Stephanie Gockley. Shepard is the first player to climb that high in the all-time MIAA standings since 1997. She is already the ESU career record holder in kills, double-figure kill matches and 20+ kill matches.

MIAA VOLLEYBALL SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK
Kate Hampson, S, Washburn
Hampson averaged 13.40 assists and 3.5 digs per set during a 3-0 week for the Lady Blues. Hampson’s 134 assists on the week moved her into 3rd place on the MIAA career assist list with 5,722, just 32 shy of second place all-time. The senior from Fort Collins, Colo., recorded double-doubles in two of the three games, giving her 14 for the season and 52 for her career. Hampson had 39 assists and 10 digs in Washburn’s sweep of SBU and a 53 assist/18 dig performance in the Lady Blues’ 3-1 win over No. 22 Pittsburg State. She also hit .304 with 10 kills on the week.