Valpo volleyball senior libero Rylee Cookerly (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) has started off right where she left off last season, as the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Libero of the Year earned MVC Defensive Player of the Week honors Wednesday for her back row play in a pair of Valpo wins last week.

Cookerly led all players in the digs department in both victories, tallying 17 digs in Valpo's sweep of Butler and 23 digs in the four-set win over Loyola. The Loyola match was especially impressive, as 10 of her 23 digs were converted into immediate kills - an extremely high percentage for a libero.

Cookerly, who averaged 5.71 digs/set and also received 33 serves without an error over the two matches, has now scored double figures in digs in 58 consecutive contests and has posted 20+ digs 50 times in her Valpo career.

For Cookerly, it is her third career MVC Defensive Player of the Week accolade, as she earned the award one time apiece during her sophomore and junior seasons.