FRISCO, Texas  —  Northwestern State's Olivia Nzioki and Emmarie McFarland along with A&M-Corpus Christi's Ava Hight have earned this week's Southland Volleyball Player of the Week awards, the conference office announced Monday. All three student-athletes are first-time honorees for a weekly award.  

Offensive Player of the Week: Olivia Nzioki, Northwestern State – Fr. – MB – Shawnee, Kan. (Mill Valley High School)
Nzioki had 50 kills this week in three matches — all wins for the Demons. She tallied 14 kills against both Jackson State and ULM before her most significant output of 22 against Grambling where she finished with .696 hit percentage. She totaled a .498 hit percentage with just 12 errors on 83 attacks to go with 50 kills across all three matches. 
Honorable mention: Ally Saleh, A&M-Corpus Christi

Defensive Player of the Week: Emmarie McFarland, Northwestern State – So. – UTL – Alvin, Texas (Glenda Dawson High School)
McFarland had four games with 18 or more digs this week in a 4-0 stretch for Northwestern State. She had 87 digs in those four matches averaging 21.7 digs a match. Her efforts toward those victories have helped the Demons already exceed last season's win total by four games. 
Honorable mention: Sophia Tocmo, McNeese

Setter of the Week: Ava Hight, A&M-Corpus Christi – So. – S – Liberty Hill, Texas (Liberty Hill High School)
Hight had another strong weekend filling in as the Islanders' primary setter, being named to the Tarleton Invitational All-Tournament Team after excelling in matches against Denver, Sam Houston and the host Texans. Hight posted 106 assists, 16 kills and 18 digs while posting a hitting percentage of .361 across the three matches. 
Honorable mention: Jade Longlad, Northwestern State

2026 Southland Volleyball Players of the Week

Date	Offensive	Defensive	Setter
Aug. 31	Ariana Brown, East Texas A&M	Jade Washington, East Texas A&M	Isabella Padilla Nicholls
Sept. 7	Ariana Brown, East Texas A&M	Jade Washington, East Texas A&M	Lana Rjnak, UTRGV
Sept. 14	Olivia Nzioki, Northwestern State	Emmarie McFarland, Northwestern State	Ava Hight, A&M-Corpus Christi