NEW ORLEANS – Coastal Carolina junior middle blocker Anna Rita has been named Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week, according to an announcement by the league on Tuesday. It's the second time she's been selected for the weekly award this season. 

Rita helped pace Coastal to a pair of wins over Marshall to open conference play. She hit .642 (19-1-28) with 19 kills and 14 blocks in the two matches. She posted nine blocks in Friday's three-set sweep, then tallied 11 kills in Saturday's four-set triumph while hitting .615 (11-1-15) with five blocks. 
  
Rita leads the conference in total blocks (79), block assists (61), solo blocks (18), and blocks per set (1.58). She ranks fourth among all NCAA Division I players in total blocks and eighth in blocks per set.  
 
After four consecutive weekends on the road, Rita and the Chanticleers return home to the HTC Center to take on conference foe Old Dominion this weekend, Oct. 3-4. The series opener is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. with the finale set for Saturday at 2 p.m. Admission is free.