Volleyball’s Iosia Named B1G Defensive Player of the Week

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State volleyball senior libero Nalani Iosia was named Defensive Player of the Week by the Big Ten Conference on Tuesday afternoon. It marks the first time a Spartan has taken home the honor since libero Jamye Cox on Sept. 3, 2019.
 
Iosia earns the weekly designation after leading the Spartans to a 3-0 finish at the inaugural Kathy DeBoer Invitational presented by Auto-Owners Insurance, where she earned MVP honors and was named to the All-Tournament team. It’s the second tournament MVP honor of Iosia’s career at Michigan State after she was named MVP at the 2022 Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational.
 
Iosia led all players at the KDI with 47 digs on 5.22 digs per set. She finished Saturday’s match against Belmont with a season-high 22 digs, which including 12 digs in the first set.
 
Iosia’s honor is the 18th of its kind in program history since the weekly award began in 2005. With the win, Iosia joins a long list of program greats that include Vanessa King, Nicole Colaluca, Jenilee Rathje, Lauren O’Reilly, Jessica Hohl, Allyson Karaba, Alexis Mathews, Kori Moster, Abby Monson, Megan Tompkins, Alyssa Garvelink, Autumn Bailey and Cox.
 

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B1G Defensive Player of the Week, Nalani Iosia

Congrats to Nalani Iosia on earning our first B1G Defensive Player of the Week honor since 2019! 💪

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— Michigan State Volleyball (@MSU_Volleyball) September 5, 2023