WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State sophomore middle blocker Natalie Foster was named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Foster was a key figure in Wichita State’s impressive blocking numbers over the weekend in Omaha. The Shockers split a pair of matches against Omaha and Northern Colorado, falling in four sets to the host Mavericks before sweeping the Bears the following day. Over the course of those two matches, Foster piled up 11 total blocks, six against Omaha and five against Northern Colorado. All told, Wichita State managed 23 team blocks in just seven sets of play, better than three blocks per set. Despite playing out of the middle, Foster also added seven combined digs to her ledger.

Foster put together her best offensive showing of the season on Friday against Northern Colorado. The sophomore hit .583 on 24 swings, racking up 15 kills while committing just one attack error. Combined with her six kills on 12 attacks Thursday night, Foster finished the tournament with a cumulative .528 hitting percentage

For the season, the native of Mattawan, Michigan leads the Shockers with a .346 hitting percentage while ranking second on the squad with 20 blocks.

The Shockers return to action on Thursday in Lawrence at the Kansas Invitational. WSU will battle UNLV at 12:00 pm and host Kansas at 6:30 pm.

American Offensive Player of the Week: McKenna Melville, Gr., OH, UCF

American Defensive Player of the Week: Natalie Foster, So., MB, Wichita State

American Weekly Honor Roll: Kate Georgiades, Jr., L, Houston, Abbie Jackson, Sr., OH, Houston, Jadyn Bauss, Sr., L, SMU, Marieke van der Mark Gr., OPP, SMU, Marta Cvitkovic, Jr., OH, South Florida