After averaging 1.43 blocks per game to help the #6 University of Florida volleyball team to a pair of wins on the weekend, senior middle blocker Kisya Killingsworth was named Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday by the league office.

Killingsworth’s 1.43 blocks per game average led a Florida blocking effort that posted a clip of 3.36 on the week as the Gators (9-0, 2-0 SEC) won consecutive matches over Georgia and Auburn to open the conference season. Her work also anchored a defense that limited its two opponents to a combined hitting percentage of just .092.

In Friday win over Georgia, which came into the match leading the SEC in hitting percentage, Killingsworth tied her career high with seven block assists to spark a defensive effort that allowed the Bulldogs to hit just .127 on the night. Killingsworth and UF also held Georgia’s Maria Taylor, the league leader in kills per game coming into the contest, to just 2.50 kills per game on -.065 hitting.

While Killingsworth was a force on the defensive end during the opening weekend of SEC play, her offensive attack was also a factor in the Gators’ succes. She recorded double-figure kill totals in both matches to run her streak of such outings to four, and her dozen kills against Auburn on Sunday were a match high.

On the season, Killingsworth ranks second in the SEC in hitting percentage with a .420 rating, while averaging 2.52 kills per game. Her 34 total blocks lead the Gators, and her average of 1.17 blocks per game is second on the team.