Jackson, MS – Majors sophomore Ashley Zamjahn was named Southern Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week for an unprecedented third time this season.

Zamjahn's defensive play, which currently leads the conference in digs per set with 5.73 and total digs with 458, helped the Majors go unbeaten over the weekend.  Not only did the Majors win both games over the weekend, but they also won both in straight sets.  Zamjahn's defensive play has helped the Majors move up in the conference rankings as well.

"This week's Defensive player of the week award for Ashley was pretty unbelievable," said Head Volleyball Coach Jamie Fisher.  "I actually had to run the numbers from this weekend a couple of times to see that she had 9.1 digs per set, which is outstanding."

Zamjahn totaled 46 digs over the weekend's games with 27 against Centre and 19 against Sewanee.  She has continued to dominate on defense while switching to a regular spot of playing in the libero role.

"Typically in a good defensive match you'll see a player get between five and six digs per set so nine digs per set means Ashley was hitting everything," Coach Fisher said.  "She's on track to not only be one of the best defensive players at Millsaps, but also one of the best in the conference."

Zamjahn switched to the role of libero earlier this month, as her successful play and leadership has helped the Majors earn a winning record of 5-3 for the month of Oct.

"Now that she's in this libero role she's hitting her stride as a leader too," Coach Fisher said.  "Although she's only a sophomore, she's feeling more confident with her voice as a leader both on and off the court, which is great to see."

The Majors will look to use Zamjahn's leadership and defensive play later this month for the conference tournament.  Millsaps will travel to Berry, Oglethorpe, and Emory for the final games of the regular season before entering SAA tournament play.

Next up for Millsaps is a conference road game in Mount Berry, Georgia where the Majors will take on Berry Oct. 25th for a 1:00 pm (CDT) start.