North Carolina State University Athletics
Salata, Hopper Earn Weekly ACC Honors
11/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2011
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Both NC State senior middle blocker Margaret Salata and freshman outside hitter Dariyan Hopper have been named to weekly honors by the ACC, the first time that the program has won both Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week awards at the same time.
Salata, a senior from Buffalo Grove, Ill., was named ACC Player of the Week after leading the Wolfpack to a pair of ACC victories over Clemson and Georgia Tech. Salata hit .458 in the two contests, matching her career high with 19 kills and setting a career high with 24 points against the Tigers and adding 12 kills and 16.5 points against the Yellow Jackets.
Hopper, a freshman from Minooka, Ill., had double-digit kill totals in both sets. She had 14 kills and three blocks against the Tigers and had her best hitting percentage in an ACC match this season with a .423 average and 12 kills against the Yellow Jackets.
Hopper has come on strong in the second half of the season. She didn't have her first double-digit kill total until the team's 19th match, when she posted 11 against Miami. She's had double-figure kills in eight of the Wolfpack's last 12 matches.
"We're very pleased to have both Marge and Dariyan recognized by the ACC for their play this weekend," second-year NC State head coach Bryan Bunn said. "It's a fitting reward after the weekend we had as a team, because their play was instrumental.
"Marge's hard work over the last two years is really paying off and I think Dariyan is starting to get an idea of the player she can become."
It's the first weekly award in Salata's career with the Wolfpack. She's third in the ACC with 144 blocks on the season and recently moved in to sixth place in school history with 389 career blocks. She's also in the ACC's top 10 in blocks, hitting percentage and kills per set.
She's the first NC State player to win Player of the Week honor since Alex Smith won it for the first week of the 2010 season.
While this is Hopper's first weekly award, it is the third time this season a Wolfpack freshman has been honored by the league. Outside hitter Nicole Glass won the award for Sept. 12 and Oct. 10.
The Wolfpack plays its final two road matches of the season this weekend, traveling to Virginia to face the Cavaliers on Friday at 7 p.m. and Virginia Tech to face the Hokies on Saturday at 6 p.m.
