DALLAS – Liberty’s Laney Daniell, MTSU’s Michaela Dlouhá and Marianne Garcia and WKU’s Kate Rush earned the first 2026 Conference USA Volleyball Player of the Week honors.

CUSA Offensive Player of the Week – Laney Daniell, Liberty – So. – MB – Kennesaw, Ga.
Daniell was nearly unstoppable on the attack at the Buccaneer Classic, averaging 2.83 kills per set while hitting .410 against a field that included SEC foe Auburn, the defending SoCon regular-season champion ETSU and Akron. She set a new career high in all three matches this weekend. On Friday against Auburn, Daniell scored a team-high nine kills at a .368 clip. On Saturday against Akron, she posted her first career double-digit kill match, hitting .368 with 12 kills, helping Liberty to a 3-1 win over the Zips. During Saturday's final match, she scored a career high 13 kills, hitting .478 while helping Liberty to a 3-2 win over ETSU. Her 13 kills were the most by a Liberty middle blocker in a match since 2023.
 
CUSA Defensive Player of the Week – Michaela Dlouhá, MTSU – Sr. – MB – Pardubice, Czechia
Dlouhá put together an impressive opening weekend for MTSU as the Blue Raiders went 2-1 at the Bulldog Invitational in Asheville, N.C. The senior middle blocker tallied 19 blocks on the weekend, leading CUSA. She had seven blocks and 16 kills, tying her career-high in MTSU’s thrilling five-set victory against Boise State on Friday. Dlouhá led the team in kills with 31 and in hitting percentage at a .456 mark. She also picked up seven aces on the weekend, which also led the Blue Raiders. 
 
CUSA Setter of the Week – Kate Rush, WKU – So. – Georgetown, Ky.
Rush absolutely erupted for the Hilltoppers, finishing with 81 assists, 16 kills, 18 digs, eight service aces and a .455 hitting clip in a 2-1 weekend at the SEMO Tournament. She logged 22 assists, a career-high seven kills at a .538 mark, five aces and six digs in a 3-0 win over SEMO on Friday. Against No. 25 Oregon, the sophomore setter posted 19 assists and three aces. On Saturday, she tallied a career-high 40 assists in a clean sweep of SEMO, while adding eight digs and five kills.
 
CUSA Freshman of the Week – Marianne Garcia, MTSU – L – Phoenix, Ariz.
In her debut collegiate weekend, Garcia led the Blue Raiders with 43 digs, averaging 3.58 digs per set, while adding 10 assists. The freshman libero opened the weekend with a career-high 21 digs in the Blue Raiders five-set victory over Boise State on Friday. She additionally picked up 46 receptions for a .913 reception percentage on the weekend. 
 
2026 CUSA Offensive Players of the Week
A31    Laney Daniell, Liberty

2026 CUSA Defensive Players of the Week
A31    Michaela Dlouhá, MTSU
 
2026 CUSA Setters of the Week
A31    Kate Rush, WKU  
 
2026 CUSA Freshmen of the Week
A31    Marianne Garcia, MTSU