Nov. 21, 2007

Tulsa, Okla. - In addition all of her Conference USA accolades, senior Julia Silva picked up another honor this week after being selected as The Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU.com) National Player of the Week for Nov. 12 through Nov. 18.

A 5-11 setter from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the senior guided the No. 4 seeded Golden Hurricane to three Conference USA tournament victories -- include a pair of 3-2 upsets -- and their first-ever NCAA tournament berth in claiming the league title.

The Conference USA Setter of the Year, Silva opened the tournament with five kills, 10 digs and two blocks to go with 39 assists in a sweep of Memphis. That was followed up with a triple-double in upsetting No. 1 seed Marshall, as the senior tossed out 62 assists to go with 16 digs, 12 kills and five blocks.

Finally, in the championship, Silva led Tulsa to the 3-2 win over defending champ UAB, picking up 57 assists, six kills and 17 digs. On the week she averaged 12.15 assists, 3.31 digs and 1.77 kills per game. She also had five aces and nine blocks.

Silva recorded her 31st double-double of the year in the title match, and went on to earn tournament MVP honors. This season Silva has also broken her own single-season assists record at Tulsa with 1,427, as well as the career record with 4,180.