FAU’s Zuri Smith Named C-USA Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week

BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Oct. 28, 2019)  For the second time this season, Florida Atlantic University volleyball senior middle blocker Zuri Smith has been named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week.

Smith had a pair of dominating performances over the weekend. She had five total blocks (three solo blocks, two block assists) in the Owls’ sweep of Southern Miss on Friday. She followed that up with a career-high 10 total blocks (three solo, seven assists) in a four-set win over UAB. The 10 total blocks are the most in a four-set match in Conference USA this season.

For the weekend, she averaged 2.14 blocks per set and leads the team with 72 total blocks this season.

The Owls return to Abessinio Court at FAU Arena this weekend, hosting UTSA and North Texas on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Admission to both matches is free. Live stats and live video for both matches will be available at fausports.com. Live updates will be posted to the team’s official Twitter account, @FAUVolleyball. 

 FAUSports.com –

Florida Atlantic University Athletics:

FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student-athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) (beach volleyball, men’s swimming). The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and are a perfect 3-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 50-3 victory over Akron in the 2017 Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally. FAU cheer won a national championship in 2016. 

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.