BATON ROUGE — LSU middle blocker Ivana Kuzmic was named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Tigers in blocks per game last week.
The junior transfer from Split, Croatia, led the team with 2.00 blocks per game as LSU went 3-0 for the weekend, defeating three teams that posted 20-win seasons last year, including Miami and SMU.
Against the Hurricanes, Kuzmic recorded her first double-double of the season with 10 blocks, including four block solos, and 12 kills. It marked just the fourth time in three seasons a Tigers has recorded double-figure block numbers.
Two matches later, she came one block shy of repeating the feat, recording nine total blocks against SMU. Additionally, she led the team with 18 kills against the Mustangs.
For the season, she leads the team in block solos with 18, block assists with 59, and blocks per game at 1.74. As of last week, she ranked 27th nationally in blocks per game. In addition, Kuzmic is tied for first on the team with 3.24 kills per game and is swinging at a team-best .333 clip.
This is the first SEC Defensive Player of the Week honor for LSU this season and the second since the award was instated last year.