COLUMBIA - Sydney Deeken of the Missouri Tigers was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week in volleyball Monday.
Deeken (California High School) is an outside hitter for the Tigers who was seeing her first action of the season after missing the first three weeks with an abdominal strain.
"This is obviously really cool for me," Deeken said. "It was frustrating while I was hurt earlier this season, but to be able to contribute to the team now means a lot to me."
Deeken averaged 3.42 points and 2.83 kills per set last weekend in her first career starts as Missouri opened SEC play with 3-0 wins against Mississippi State and Tennessee at the Hearnes Center. Her 20.5 total points in the two matches were second on the team.
"Coming in as a freshman, you can just hope to get better and I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be contributing like I am," Deeken said. "My teammates help me out a lot and we have so many steady players in our lineup that make my job really easy."
Missouri will play Wednesday at Mississippi in a match televised on the SEC Network. Action is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.