Dieng, Gutierrez Claim NAIA Player of the Week Honors

(Story provided by NAIA Athletic Communications)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) took home two-thirds of the NAIA Men's Volleyball Player of the Week awards as Bluefield's Mamadou Dieng and Reinhardt's Gabriel Gutierrez collected the accolades.

Middle hitter Dieng posted nine blocks in a pair of wins for the Rams, last week, claiming weekly recognition as NAIA Men's Volleyball Defender of the Week for March 17.

Dieng was tough at the net, as Bluefield extended a five-match winning streak that includes four-straight sweeps behind Dieng's nine blocks, getting above .500 for the season at 8-7.

The junior from Conakry, Guinea began the week with four blocks in a three-set win at Rio Grande (Ohio), on March 10, and Saturday (March 14), he tacked on nine more blocks, including his only solo stop of the week, in a 3-0 win at Carolina. 

Dieng leads Bluefield with 36 blocks on the year, the ninth-best blocking total in the NAIA. The Rams will test their five-match streak Thursday night at Shenandoah.

A junior outside hitter, Gutierrez is the NAIA Men's Volleyball Attacker of the Week after helping the 14th-ranked Eagles to a pair of AAC wins last week, a sweep of Truett McConnell (Ga.) and a four-set win at Life (Ga.).

Gutierrez hit a blistering .431 on the week, including .536 with 19 kills in the second match of the week at Life. He began the week with 13 kills and a .304 hitting mark in three sets against Truett McConnell. 

He was responsible for 38.5 points on the week, adding four blocks and four service aces, and he added to the Eagles' defensive effort with seven digs across seven sets. 

Reinhardt is now 15-3 on the year, and they're back on the court at Life this weekend, taking on Webber International, Warner, and No. 6 St. Thomas - Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.