DENTON - Well, here we are again. For the fifth time this season, North Texas senior outside hitter Carnae Dillard was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday.

The Mean Green captain has now taken the award in five of the first eight weeks of the season, a feat that certainly makes her the mid-season favorite to repeat as the conference's top player.

The continued recognition could be expected for the nation's leader in kills, but its certainly no surprise to head coach Andrew Palileo, who sees the continued work that the team's leader puts in.

"What Carnae has done so far this season is a testament to her competitive preparation and desire to win," Palileo said.

As Mean Green fans have grown accustomed to, Dillard put up big numbers over the weekend. Hitting .312 during two matches, the team captain tallied a combined 44 kills against LA Tech and #22 WKU, with 30 of those kills coming in Sunday's five-set thriller against the conference frontrunner Lady Toppers. In that match, it was 11 Dillard kills in the fourth frame that sealed a Mean Green victory in the set, moving North Texas to the pivotal fifth frame before WKU came away with a narrow match victory.

Never one to be one-dimensional, Dillard also had 22 digs on the weekend and notched her 15th double-double of the season against WKU. She is now 92 kills away from becoming the program's all-time kills leader.

Dillard and the North Texas volleyball team will be back in action on Wednesday when they face Rice at 6 p.m. from the Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston.

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