Sports News Southwest

Yuma, Arizona - Arizona Western College announced that AWC Volleyball player ‘Luci’ Toazzi has been named as ACCAC Division I Volleyball Player of the Week Award for her performances this past week. It’s the first time that Toazzi has won the award this season, but it’s the second time that the Brazilian phenom has earned the honor since first stepping onto the AWC campus 13 months ago.

After dropping the first two games of the season, the Lady Matadors needed someone to step things up and give the Matadors a spark. Toazzi-whose real first name is Marluci’-did just that, leading the Lady Mats to a pair of wins in three hard-fought matches this past week. Toazzi, who’s considered one of the conference’s most powerful hitters-showed plenty of her power, firing 17 kills at South Mountain Wednesday to help AWC get their first win of the season in an impressive sweep. She followed that up two nights later with a game-high 22 kills in a hard-fought five-game loss against Eastern Arizona. Undeterred by the upset, Toazzi came back strong the next afternoon against 17^th-ranked Phoenix College, slamming 21 kills in giving AWC Head Volleyball Coach Karen Sitkiewicz a four-game win over her former team Saturday. Along the way, the native of Ivoti, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil, added 4 aces (she was the league’s best in that category last season), and defensively, had 42 digs and 7 blocks.   On the season, Toazzi is easily the ACCAC leader in kills, averaging 5 per game (more than a kill per game more than anyone else), and she’s also 10^th in the ACCAC in digs at 3.68 per game.

Toazzi and the Lady Mats finish off their current three-game homestand this Wednesday when they host the Lady Thunderbirds of Mesa Community College this Wednesday night starting at 7PM at ‘The House’ on the AWC campus. Admission to the match is $5 for adults, $3 for military personnel (with valid military ID), seniors and students ages 12-17, and free for AWC students, NAU-Yuma students, Matador Athletic Association members and kids under the age of 12.

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