WHITE LAKE, Mich. (Aug. 31, 2026) – All three RRAC Volleyball Players of the Week are repeat winners from last week: LSU Shreveport’s Farah Helmy as Setter of the Week; Texas A&M Texarkana’s Lauren Herz as Defender of the Week; and Our Lady of the Lake’s (Texas) Alissa Gregory-Obiedo as Attacker of the Week. This is the second round of weekly awards for Aug. 24-30.
RRAC VOLLEYBALL SETTER OF THE WEEK – FARAH HELMY, LSU SHREVEPORT
LSUS senior setter Farah Helmy guided her team to 3-of-4 wins last week. In the Pilots’ 3-2 loss to Campbellsville (Ky.), she added 47 assists, two aces, 10 digs, and five blocks. Helmy led the team’s 3-2 win over Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) by tallying 35 assists, four aces, and 14 digs. The Pilots blanked Union Commonwealth (Ky.) and Kentucky Christian, and Helmy totaled 35 assists, two aces, and seven digs.
Helmy is a native of Cairo, Egypt, and a transfer from Oral Roberts University (Okla.).
This early in the season, she has already accumulated 194 assists to lead the conference. The Pilots are 4-3 overall.
Additional RRAC Volleyball Setter of the Week nominees: Emma Cother from Louisiana Christian, Ashlet Figueroa from Southwest (N.M.), Arianna Moreno from OLLU, Ashley Rhame from A&M-Texarkana
RRAC VOLLEYBALL DEFENDER OF THE WEEK – LAUREN HERZ, TEXAS A&M-TEXARKANA
A&M-Texarkana senior libero Lauren Herz played in all four of the Eagles’ matches last weekend, anchoring the back row as libero. She tallied 70 digs (4.38 per set) and had a .934 reception percentage. Herz also recorded four service aces and 18 assists. The Eagles, despite going 0-4 on the weekend, challenged top competitors as two of their losses came from nationally recognized teams, including NAIA No. 7 McPherson College (Kan.).
Hertz is in her second season with the Eagles. She is a native of Mapleton, Ill. Hertz is third this early in the season in digs with 117 and is second in digs/set at 4.88.
The Eagles are 1-6 overall.
Additional RRAC Volleyball Defender of the Week nominees: Nicole Bir from OLLU, Vivien Brouillette from LCU, Graciela Collazo from USW, Zamariya Lyons from LSUS
RRAC VOLLEYBALL ATTACKER OF THE WEEK – ALISSA GREGORY-OBIEDO, OUR LADY OF THE LAKE
OLLU junior outside hitter Alissa Gregory-Obiedo guided the Saints to two wins and two losses. In their 3-0 victory over Texas Wesleyan and 3-2 win over Evangel (No.), she tallied 25 kills, three blocks, and 23 digs. Total for the week for Gregory-Obiedo is 46 kills, a .146 hitting percentage, five aces, 50 digs, and six blocks.
Gregory-Obiedo leads the conference in kills with 129 and in service aces with 13. She is a San Antonio native and graduated from Harlan High School.
The Saints are 4-8 overall.
Additional RRAC Attacker of the Week nominees: Holly Rowe from LCU, Zamariya Lyons from LSUS, Aylani Washington from USW, Lesley Sanchez from TAMUT
RRAC Notebook
Setter of the Week nominees
- LCU senior setter Emma Cother tallied 76 assists and 39 digs last week in her team’s 3-1 loss to Dillard (La.), 3-0 loss to Southern University of New Orleans, and 3-0 loss to Loyola (La.), and victory over Dillard (La.), 3-2.
- USW freshman setter Ashlet Figueroa had 41 assists and six aces in her team’s victories over Texas College, 3-2, 3-0.
- OLLU senior setter Arianna Moreno logged 78 assists, six aces, and 23 digs in her team’s 3-0 loss to McPherson (Kan.), 3-0 victory over Texas Wesleyan, 3-2 win over Evangel (Mo.), and 3-2 loss to Nelson (Texas).
- A&M Texarkana sophomore setter Ashley Rhame played in all four matches for the Eagles and tallied 69 assists (avg. 4.3 a set), recorded 35 digs, and had two service aces. The Eagles, despite going 0-4 on the weekend, challenged top competitors as two of their losses came from nationally recognized teams, including No. 7 McPherson (Kan.).
Defender of the Week nominees
- LCU freshman outside hitter Vivien Broullette contributed 12 blocks in her team’s three losses and two wins.
- USW junior Graciela Collazo guided her team to two victories over Texas College. She logged three assists and 18 digs.
- LSUS junior middle blocker Zamariya Lyons led her team to a 3-2 victory over Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), a 3-0 win over Union Commonwealth (Ky.), and a 3-0 victory over Kentucky Christian. The Pilots fell to Campbellsville, 3-2.
- OLLU junior middle blocker Nicole Bir totaled 14 blocks last week.
Attacker of the Week nominees
- LCU outside hitter Holly Rowe added 11 blocks last week.
- LSUS’ Lyons recorded 34 kills for a hitting percentage of .351 and 12 total blocks last week.
- USW freshman Aylani Washington made a difference each time she went into the game. This was her first collegiate match ever.
- TAMUT freshman Lesly Sanchez played in three of the Eagles’ four matches this weekend. She recorded 22 kills with a hitting percentage of .093. Sanchez was most impressive from beyond the service line as she recorded six aces.
2026 RRAC VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY SELECTIONS:
| DATE | SETTER OF THE WEEK | DEFENDER OF THE WEEK | ATTACKER OF THE WEEK |
| Aug. 17-23 | Farah Helmy (LSUS) | Lauren Herz (TAMUT) | Alissa Gregory-Obiedo (OLLU) |
| Aug. 24-30 | Farah Helmy (LSUS) | Lauren Herz (TAMUT) | Alissa Gregory-Obiedo (OLLU) |
THIS WEEK IN THE RRAC:
| DATE | GAME |
| Friday, Sept. 4, 9 a.m. | LCU at Dillard (La.) |
| 11:30 a.m. | LSUS vs. Mobile (Ala.) |
| 2 p.m. | LCU at Xavier (La.) |
| 4:30 p.m. | LSUS at Dillard (LA.) |
| 6 p.m. | A&M Texarkana at OLLU* |
| Saturday, Sept. 5, 9 a.m. | LCU at LSUS* |
| 12 p.m. | A&M Texarkana at OLLU* |
| 2 p.m. | LSUS at Xavier (La.) |
| 4:30 p.m. | LCU vs. Mobile (Ala.) |
| * Conference | |
Article written by Red River Athletic Conference.