By Dionte Daniel, Assistant Sports Editor 

Blazer athletes continue to make waves within the Gulf South Conference, as players from multiple Valdosta State athletic programs picked up GSC weekly honors last week. Volleyball junior Paola Aviles was named GSC Offensive Player of the Week, and football freshman Jabari McMillan was named GSC Freshman of the Week. 

Aviles picked up her award after having a big four-match run at the VSU Fall Invitational. In those four matches, Aviles tallied 37 kills on 89 attacks and hit .292 in 13 sets. She finished the week with 41.5 kills, eight blocks and 16 digs as the Blazers went 2-2 on the week. Aviles had her biggest outing against Embry-Riddle, recording 18 kills on 36 attacks while hitting .361. She then followed that up with a .364 hitting performance against Lander, giving her back-to-back games hitting over .360. 

Aviles’ award marked the second GSC weekly honor for VSU volleyball in consecutive weeks after senior libero Eimy Negron Domenech was named GSC Defensive Player of the Week last week. Negron Domenech had 121 digs in four matches during the Flagler Invitational. She averaged 8.07 digs per set and had two games with 35 and 34 digs, respectively. 

As for McMillan, he made his presence known through some big turnover moments for the Blazers. The freshman defensive back had two interceptions in the second half of VSU’s 38-9 win against Fayetteville State. He also had three tackles as the Blazers’ defense clamped down in the second half. For his efforts, McMillan was named the conference’s Freshman of the Week. 

Statistically, McMillan has been one of the top defenders in all of Division II through three weeks of play. During the GSC award period, he ranked 11th in the nation with 1.67 passes defended per game and 14th with 0.67 interceptions per game. McMillan joins punter Lucas Edenfield as a Blazer football player to earn GSC weekly recognition this season, as Edenfield was named Special Teams Player of the Week after Week 0. 

Weekly awards are just a small way to recognize the impact that athletes have throughout a season, but the honors do highlight some of the bigger performances within the conference. For VSU, those performances have come from all over, placing the Blazers in multiple categories – offense and defense in volleyball, also with special teams and the defensive secondary in football. With conference play right around the corner and the fall season still in play, the individual accolades also show the talent that VSU athletes are putting up throughout their respective sports. 

For Aviles and McMillan, their performances not only helped their team, but also placed them among the best in the GSC.