Northwestern State completed a perfect four-match home stand with four impressive team victories this past week. One of the many stellar individual performances was recognized on Monday as Reaghan Thompson was named Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
The conference’s top defensive middle came up big in the clutch and helped Northwestern State to four wins in four matches on the week.
Thompson averaged better than a block per set for the fourth time in four weeks this season, collecting 18 total across the four matches, with her signature performance of the week coming in the 3-2 win over defending SLC champion Southeastern.
The Kemah, Texas, native had her hand in on six of NSU’s 12 blocks in the final two sets against the Lions, finishing with seven total for the night, helping tie a team record for most in single match in the last 15 years with 17. It was the sixth match this year in which she had five or more blocks. She averaged 4.5 blocks per match on the week.
Thompson had five or more blocks in a match two times this past week, against Grambling (6) and Southeastern (7), as part of her career-best tying streak of five straight matches with five or more blocks.
Thompson sits alone atop the conference blocking leader board with 58 total blocks and a 1.45 per set average. She has seven more blocks this year through 12 matches than she did in her freshman season where she ended with the second most single-season blocks (148) in program history.
This week she also became the fastest player in program history to reach 200 career blocks, doing so in just 42 career matches. She reached the mark in 21 fewer matches than NSU all-time block leader Glynna Johnson.
The Demons have won five straight matches after the 4-0 home stand that closed the non-conference portion of the schedule. NSU travels to New Orleans for its first road SLC match of the season before returning home on Saturday to host Nicholls at 1 p.m.