RELATED CLICKS:
Taylor Smith bio | Smith's previous POTW | Big Sky standings

OGDEN, Utah -- Northern Colorado's Taylor Smith and Portland State's Whitney Phillips have earned Big Sky Co-Player of the Week honors for matches played the week of Nov. 2-9, the league office announced Monday.

This is the second POTW honor this season for Smith, who earned one previously for her work at the North Texas Mean Green Volleyball Classic during the season's first week.

Smith had 15 kills and just one error in 33 swings last week to hit .424 for Northern Colorado in home victories against Montana and Montana State. She also had seven blocks and a dig.

With the wins, the Bears moved into a tie for first with Phillips' Portland State squad in the Big Sky Conference standings but, technically speaking, took sole possession of the pole position as they have more overall wins than the Vikings and a head-to-head victory against them, too.

The two teams will face off this Saturday night in Portland, in what has to be considered the biggest volleyball match of the Big Sky Conference season.

Smith averaged 2.14 kills and 1.00 blocks per game in the wins against the Griz and the Bobcats last week, which were both above her season averages of 2.07 kills and 0.87 blocks per game.

She hit .429 (7-1-14) on Thursday against Montana and .421 (8-0-19) on Saturday against Montana State.

Phillips led the Vikings to a 3-0 win over Eastern Washington on Friday to help Portland State in that first-place tie with the Bears.

The junior outside hitter averaged 8.33 kills per set in the victory after notching 25 putaways in three sets. Her 25 kills was the most in a three-set match by any player in the Big Sky in 2009-10. It was the seventh time this season Phillips has eclipsed 20-kills. She also added nine digs and hit .477 percent with just four errors on 44 swings.

Others Nominated:
Emily Waldron, Idaho State; Brittney Brown, Montana; Meghan Albiston, Montana State; Kelli Dallmann, Northern Arizona; Chelsea Bair, Weber State