FRISCO, Texas  —  East Texas A&M's Ariana Brown and Jade Washington along with UTRGV's Lana Rnjak have earned this week's Southland Volleyball Player of the Week awards, the conference office announced Monday. Brown and Washington receive honors for the second straight week while Rnjak is a first-time honoree

Offensive Player of the Week: Ariana Brown, East Texas A&M – Sr. – OH – Houston, Texas (Conroe High School)
Brown guided the Lions to a 3-0 weekend at the Lou Carnesecca Invitational in New York, winning all three matches in four sets each. She was named the tournament MVP and named to the all-tournament team, accumulating 37 kills, seven service aces and 42 digs across three matches. Those numbers along with the contributions of Washington have East Texas A&M off to its best start since 2013. 
Honorable mention: Vanessa Eregie, UIW

Defensive Player of the Week: Jade Washington, East Texas A&M – So. – L – Waco, Texas (Midway High School)
Washington accumulated a total of eight set assists, 59 digs, one kill, 3 service aces, and 4 points over the week. She was named to the all-tournament team at the Lou Carnesecca Invitational along with her teammate Brown. 
Honorable mention: Julianna Bryant, UTRGV

Setter of the Week: Lana Rnjak, UTRGV – Fr. – S – Pancevo, Serbia
Rnjak dished out 9.37 assists/set with a total of 75 assists in two matches as UTRGV went 1-1 at the Southwest Showdown. This showcase included a win over Texas State, UTRGV's first since 2002, and a competitive 3-2 loss to UTEP. Rnjak tallied 36 assists with three kills, two digs and two blocks in the sweep of Texas State. She had 39 assists with four kills, five digs and one block against UTEP.
Honorable mention: Haley Mullaney, East Texas A&M

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