Junior Blythe Rients was one of five Minnestoa high school volleyball players nominated for “Player of the Week” by Minnesota Volleyball Hub for the week of Sept. 25-Oct. 1. She was announced the winner on Oct. 6, accruing 50% of the 731 votes cast.

“This [award] doesn’t have anything to do with state rankings or legitimate awards, but it was still an honor and I really appreciated it,” Rients said.

Rients was a qualified candidate for this honor with 303 kills this season, 261 at the time of her nomination. Rients’ sportsmanship has contributed to the recent success of Girls Varsity Volleyball, notably their win over Minnehaha Academy on Oct. 5 during their annual Dig Pink Rally for breast cancer research.

“It was really cool seeing our school [name] up on this state wide website for the first time. Our team is getting some recognition for our wins and it feels great that our hard work is getting an outcome,” Rients said.

Looking forward, Rients has high goals for the rest of the season.

“I really hope to go far in sections this year with the team, and compete to try to go to state. I will do whatever possible to do my job and help the team,” she said.