Robinson Earns SEC Defensive Player of the Week Honors
The senior had 12 blocks in eight sets played at Alabama
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina volleyball’s Mikayla Robinson shared Defensive Player of the Week honors from the Southeastern Conference Monday afternoon. The senior totaled 12 blocks and added 21 kills over eight sets played, helping the Gamecocks win back-to-back road matches over Alabama. This is Robinson’s fifth weekly award from the SEC, setting a program record for most in a career, and she is the third different member of the team to win a weekly award so far this season.
In Friday afternoon’s four-set win, she was limited offensively but more than made up for it with a season-high eight total blocks (two solo) to limit the Alabama offense to just a .141 hitting percentage. The performance also moved her up to seventh in program history for career block assists (311) and total blocks (383). In Saturday’s rematch, her defense and offense combined for a clutch effort in the team’s five-set comeback win against the Crimson Tide. In her four sets of action, Robinson hit .364 with 13 kills and added four more blocks –including two more solo. Those solo blocks moved her into a tie for sixth in program history, most by any Gamecock since 1993. She is now just 13 blocks away from becoming the sixth woman in the program’s 48-year history to reach 400 career blocks.
Currently, Robinson sits ninth nationally for career total blocks and is second in the country for solo blocks among active players. She is also enjoying a strong year on offense, averaging a career-best 2.78 kills per set while hitting .312. The Gamecocks are 7-3 after the opening weekend of spring conference play, and return to the Carolina Volleyball Center on Feb. 4-5 for a two-game series against Mississippi State. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. first serves.
Follow @GamecockVolley on social media for updates on the team throughout the 2020-21 season.
