San Antonio – St. Mary’s volleyball players Karlie Ortega and Allie Murray have been named Heartland Conference Players of the Week, the league announced Monday.

Ortega (So., San Antonio) was named the conference’s Hitter of the Week, while Murray (Jr., San Antonio) won the Setter of the Week award.

Both players had phenomenal performances in leading the Rattlers (12-1, 3-1 Heartland Conference) to a 2-0 week last week, as St. Mary’s topped Texas-Permian Basin and Oklahoma Panhandle State to climb to a tie for second place in the conference standings.

Ortega led the team in kills and digs last week, averaging 5.12 kills and 5.38 digs per set. She posted a career-high 22 kills in the victory over UTPB, and nearly matched the output with 19 against OPSU two days later.

Murray averaged a whopping 51 assists per match last week, in addition to recording 13 and 14 digs. Her 12.75 digs per set marked a season high for any week-long period.

This marks the first time Ortega has won the Player of the Week award, and the second this season for Murray.

In addition, the St. Mary’s team received four votes in this week’s AVCA Top 25 poll.

St. Mary’s will return to the court at 7 p.m. Wednesday, when it will play Texas A&M International in Laredo, Texas.

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