By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Middle blocker Rachel Thomas earned Ohio Valley Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week accolades for her efforts at the Hampton Inn Leatherneck Invitational last weekend.

An all-tournament team selection, Thomas was Tech's best offensive player on the weekend, and a huge factor in the Golden Eagles winning two of their first three matches to start the season.

Prior to this year, Thomas had never finished with more than 15 kills in a single game. The Okemos, Mich. native eclipsed that mark in both tournament wins with a career-high 20 against Fairleigh Dickinson, and 16 on Saturday vs. Western Illinois.

The junior also turned in the best hitting percentage of the players nominated for the weekly offensive award. Her three-game average of .418 was a whopping 50 points better than any of the other candidates. She also led all nominees with 14 total blocks.

Along with posting double-digit kills in every match, Thomas also recorded a career-high in points with 21.5 against Fairleigh Dickinson, and matched another with eight blocks in the Western Illinois game.

She becomes the first TTU volleyball player to win a weekly award from the OVC since current teammate Kirsten Brugere won Defensive Player of the Week on October 16, 2017.