Guiding the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos to a 2-0 conference mark last week earned Stacey Schmidt Big West Women's Volleyball Player of the Week accolades. She is the first Gaucho to receive the honor this season.

Schmidt opened league play by posting a career-high 23 kills while hitting an explosive .526, as the Gauchos defeated Cal State Northridge in five sets. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native equaled her season-best with four service aces and was a heavy contributor to the Gauchos' fifth-set rally that clinched the victory.

The next evening at UC Irvine, Schmidt followed up her career-best performance with a 12-kill effort. The Gauchos went on to defeat UC Irvine, 3-1, to improve to 2-0 in Big West play.

Schmidt, who led UCSB in kills in both of Santa Barbaras wins, averaged 3.89 kills pet set and hit .441.

Others nominated: Catie Smith (Cal Poly), Caitlin Ledoux (Long Beach State), Allison Whitson (UC Davis), Svenja Engelhardt (Pacific)