AMHERST, N.Y. -- Giselle Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) and Nahirka Malpica (Caguas, P.R.) of the Daemen University women's volleyball team have earned weekly awards from the East Coast Conference for week nine of the women's volleyball season. Giraud was named Player of the Week for the first time this season and Malpica picks up her second Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Giraud, a 5-foot-11 graduate student, led the Wildcats offensively in both victories this weekend to earn her first Player of the Week honor this season. The right side totaled 27 kills to average 3.4 kills per set as Daemen took down Queens, 3-0, and Molloy, 3-2. She totaled 12 kills on 24 swings in the sweep over the top-ranked Knights on Saturday afternoon, and finished with a team-high 15 kills on 39 attacks in the five-set victory over Molloy on Sunday. Giraud hit .261 over the weekend and finished with four digs, one block and one assist.   

On the year, she leads the Wildcats with 252 kills (2.96 kills/set) on 607 attacks for a .259 hitting percentage (fifth in the ECC). She has also totaled 22 blocks and 96 digs on the year.





Malpica, a 5-foot-8 outside hitter, earns her second Defensive Player of the Week and fourth weekly award after leading the Cats in digs in their pair of victories over the weekend. The junior totaled 41 digs (5.125 digs/set) in the wins over Queens and Molloy, including scooping up a career-high 30 digs against the Lions on Sunday. Malpica, who ranks second on the team offensively in kills behind only Giraud, notched her ninth double-double of the season with 11 kills to go along with the 30 digs. She finished with 20 kills on the weekend, two aces and two blocks. 

In her breakout junior campaign, Malpica ranks second on the team in kills with 241. Her 3.01 kills per set ranks sixth in the league, and she also ranks eighth in the ECC with 3.13 digs per set, totaling 250 on the year (second on the team) while adding 20 blocks this season. 

Giraud, Malpica and the rest of the Wildcats will take their final road trip of the regular season this weekend to play at Mercy University (Saturday, Nov. 9) and St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sunday, Nov. 10) in a pair of noon games. 

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Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

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