Anna Dixon and Kennedy Martin were tabbed as honorees after the first weekend of play
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After leading Florida to a perfect 2-0 record this past weekend, two Gators earned SEC Weekly honors as the conference announced Monday afternoon.
Freshman right side Kennedy Martin was named SEC Overall Player of the Week and SEC Offensive Player of the Week, while Anna Dixon earned SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
This is the first SEC weekly honor for both Martin and Dixon in the Orange & Blue.
Over the course of the two matches, Martin averaged 5.00 kills per set, 1.44 digs per set, 1.22 blocks per set, 0.22 aces per set, 5.83 points per set and a .379 clip.
Against the then-No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions, Martin posted 18 kills in her collegiate debut. That went along with 11 digs to give her her first career double-double. The freshman also posted five blocks in the win en route to 20.5 points.
Martin was one half of the freshman duo (Kira Hutson – 14 kills) that was the first pair to record 30+ kills in a collegiate debut in program history.
Against South Florida, the Fort Mill, S.C. native went off for 27 kills and a .449 clip to ensure the five-set victory. She became just the second Florida player to record at least 27 kills in their rookie season. The right side also recorded six blocks, two digs and two aces to round out her performance.
The combined 45 kills between the first two matches are the most for a Florida freshman during the opening weekend in program history.
Martin currently leads the conference in both kills per set and points per set, while sitting 12th and 11th nationally in those respective categories.
Dixon was tabbed as Co-Defensive Player of the Week after a stellar performance in her first match as a middle blocker. She averaged 2.00 kills per set, 1.78 blocks per set, 1.33 digs per set, 0.56 aces per set, 3.44 points per set and a .438 clip.
In the match against the Nittany Lions, Dixon registered 10 kills with a .444 clip to pair with two blocks, five digs and two aces.
Against South Florida, the Louisburg, Kan. native was a force at the net, recording a career-best 14.0 blocks. Her previous career-best was 6.0, set while she was an outside hitter at Missouri.
Those 14 blocks tied the program record for most blocks in a match in the rally-scoring era (Rhamat Alhassan, 2015 at James Madison).
Dixon also recorded eight kills with only two errors on 14 swings against the Bulls, while leading the team in service aces with three. She was also present in the backcourt, tallying seven digs in the win.
The graduate transfer sits first in the conference and 19th in the nation in blocks per set, while also sitting seventh in the league in hitting percentage.
The Gators are back in action Tuesday night as they take on No. 2 Stanford at 9 p.m. EST in Palo Alto, Calif. The match is set to air on the Pac-12 Network and can also be heard on the airways of ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM/850 AM.
Player of the Week: Kennedy Martin, Florida
Offensive Player of the Week: Kennedy Martin, Florida
Co-Defensive Player of the Week: Anna Dixon, Florida and Lauren Myrick, Mississippi State
Setter of the Week: Hannah Hogue, Arkansas
Freshman of the Week: Jurnee Robinson, LSU
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