COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – MSU Denver's Avaline Lai has been named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Offensive Player of the Week in volleyball.
 
Lai dominated in back-to-back sweeps of Chadron State, hitting a stunning .550 while recording 24 kills (4.0 per set), with just two errors in 40 attacks.
 
She had 10 kills on .563 hitting with one block in Thursday's win, then had 14 kills on .542 hitting with three blocks in Friday's victory.
 
Lai has moved up to fifth in the RMAC in hitting percentage both overall (.341) and in league play (.344), and over her last nine matches she is averaging 3.6 kills per set on .363 hitting.
 
This weekend, she led an MSU Denver offense that hit .394 on Thursday (the team's best performance since 2013) with only six attack errors (the team's fewest since 2009). On Friday, the Roadrunners hit .383 with only 10 attack errors. MSU Denver hadn't hit .383 or better in consecutive matches since at least 2001.
 
Lai joins Alyssa Kelling (twice named defensive player of the week) in receiving player of the week designations from the RMAC this season.
 
Lai is the first MSU Denver player to earn RMAC Offensive Player of the Week since Taylor Duryea on Sept. 3, 2018.
 
MSU Denver plays host to a first-round match in RMAC Tournament on Tuesday night at 7 against Black Hills State.