Volleyball's Johnson Named Atlantic Sun Player of the Week

MACON, Ga. - - After helping Belmont (6-5) go a perfect 4-0 last week and leading the Bruins to a first place finish in the Kangaroo Klassic last weekend in Kansas City, Mo., senior Maggie Johnson has been named the Atlantic Sun Player of the Week, the conference office announced on Monday.

The senior from Naperville, Ill., leads the conference in kills (4.54/set) and last week turned in 68 kills (4.86/set) to help Belmont to wins over Tennessee Tech, Montana State, UMKC, and a comeback victory over UT-Martin. A week after being named to the Kansas Invitational All-Tournament Team, Johnson was named the Most Valuable Player at the Kangaroo Klassic hosted by UMKC this weekend. She averaged 5.00 kills/set in tournament play, turning in kill totals of 19, 16, and 20 in three matches, hitting .258 for the weekend. In addition to her impressive performance on offense, Johnson also turned in 54 digs (3.86/set), the second highest number on the team.

Johnson was named the Conference Preseason Player of the Year by league coaches in August and is a three time All-Conference selection. She was named to the All-Freshman Team in 2008, was a first team selection in 2009, and was named to the All-Conference Second Team last season. In 2009, Johnson turned in 1,217 attacks, and made her first mark on Belmont's record books with the third highest number of attacks in a single season. Last season, Johnson moved into sixth on the Bruins' career kills list and has since moved into fifth with 1,222 kills in her career. She's also moved into fourth in career attacks with 3,500. Johnson also broke the Curb Event Center record for attacks in a single match after turning in 68 against Sacramento State in the Belmont Invitational.

A three-time Academic All-Conference selection, Johnson is an exercise major. This is her first Player of the Week honor and the first for Belmont since Kayla Albritton won the award in November of 2010.

Johnson will look to help the Bruins continue their winning streak when they face Evansville in a 5 p.m. match in the Curb Event Center on Tuesday.