Senior libero Bella Rosenthall has been named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week after leading Auburn to another two wins last week. She becomes the first Tiger to be awarded this honor since Jesse Earl won the award in Sept. 2017.
Rosenthall’s defensive efforts helped Auburn claim its fifth consecutive sweep to start the season after beating North Alabama 3-0. The Tigers also rode her strong defense by defeating Santa Clara in a 3-2 thriller. The Tigers are now 6-0 which marks the program's best start since 2012.
Against North Alabama, Rosenthall was able to tally 25 digs. This was the first time a Tiger had recorded 20 or more digs since Rosenthall set her career high of 26 digs in Oct. 2019 against Georgia.
Just a few days later against Santa Clara, Rosenthall added another 20 digs to her weekly tally as she refused to cool down. Rosenthall also poured in eight assists against the Broncos. Those assists proved to be crucial as it took all five sets to put away Santa Clara.
Rosenthall currently sits at 5.45 digs per set which is good for first in the SEC and 13th in the country.
This marks back-to-back weeks where a Tiger has been recognized as an SEC Player of the Week after Rebekah Rath was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week last week.
Auburn hosts its final nonconference tournament of the season on Friday and Saturday before jumping into the SEC season. The Tigers face Florida A&M at 12:30 p.m. CT on Friday then return to the court later that day to take on Nicholls State at 8 p.m. CT.
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Jacob is a sophomore from Leeds, Alabama. This is his second year with The Auburn Plainsman.Â
Twitter: @JacobWaters_
