The Big Sky Conference Player of the Week award is a weekly honor given to the player showing the best performance and skill.

So far this season, the Hornets have obtained five Player of the Week awards in only six weeks of play. Seniors Lindsay Haupt and Missie Stidham have each received the award.

Stidham has been honored three times this season despite it being her first season as a Hornet. Haupt has received the award twice this season to go along with her two wins in both the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

The process of picking a player of the week is rather simple. Autumn Wehr of the Big Sky Conference said it doesn’t take much to pick a winner.

“Basically I get the nominations every Sunday. We look at the individual and team stats for the week and we base it off that. There are five people in the office who look over the numbers and the nominations and we decide a winner from there,” Wehr said.

Haupt and Stidham both have been consistently playing well, making both Haupt and Stidham excellent Player of the Week candidates.

Stidham, a first-year Hornet, has consistently played well week after week.

“I think (the award) is a nice accomplishment. When I heard that I got it, I really feel like I just want to keep playing better,” Stidham said.

Coach Debby Colberg also recognizes the players’ skill and leadership.

“I think that they are two of the better players in the Big Sky and it’s nice that we have them both on our team,” she said.

These awards are also an indication of the character of the players who are recruited to Sacramento State each season.

“We seem to be able to recruit nice players here. They do a good job and I feel like we have players that work really hard. I think it’s really a reflection on their dedication and work ethic,” Colberg said.

Both Haupt and Stidham proved they deserve the award based not only on individual stats, but on the performance of the team as well.

The Hornets are currently 15-3 with a 4-0 record in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets have won nine of the last 10 matches with seven of those wins being three-game sweeps.

Colberg believes the awards are not only a reflection of the ability of the players themselves, but the team as a whole.

“Obviously, to get these types of awards you have to have your teammates there to support you, but it is sort of a nice byproduct of a good performance,” she said.

Stidham credits her individual success to the ability of the team to work together as a whole.

“The reason I’m doing so well and getting the Player of the Week is because of the team. I really put a lot of that on my setter. Rose (Burke) has helped me a lot this year,” she said.

Haupt agrees with Stidham that it is the team that really creates the player.

“It is easy to have that type of success when you have a consistent and competitive team. Those awards that we get are really credited back to the team,” she said.

Haupt also said she believes the success of the players is not only due to the team, but to Colberg’s hard work as well.

“I think it’s Debby Colberg, the way she coaches, and the perfection she demands from us in practice. She demands that we play the same way in practice that we will in a game. She wants the same hard work and the same focus and I think that makes it easy to transition that into a game,” Haupt said.

Colberg said she realizes with each Player of the Week award, the spotlight is put on the player, but the team benefits as well.

“I think the nice thing is that it brings recognition to the program, more than necessarily just them,” she said.

Contact Alicia de la Garza at [email protected]