Sakanoko earns national award for inspiring performance
Louis Sakanoko said it was “50-50” an hour before Saturday’s sweep of Long Beach State whether he would even play. Not only did he see the floor, the junior outside hitter played at such a high level he was rewarded nicely on Tuesday. Sakanoko became the second Rainbow Warrior this year — and 37th in program history — to earn AVCA National Player of the Week honors after guiding the ’Bows to a ...
Louis Sakanoko said it was “50-50” an hour before Saturday’s sweep of Long Beach State whether he would even play. Not only did he see the floor, the junior outside hitter played at such a high level he was rewarded nicely on Tuesday. Sakanoko became the second Rainbow Warrior this year — and 37th in program history — to earn AVCA National Player of the Week honors after guiding the ’Bows to a rare road sweep of two matches against the Beach in the Pyramid.
A 6-foot-5 junior outside hitter and from Paris, Sakanoko averaged 3. 83 kills per set and hit . 571 with only three attack errors in 35 attempts in UH’s two victories.
He missed the final two sets of Friday’s five-set win with cramps but came back Saturday to deliver a match-high 15 kills and hit . 619 with three blocks, two digs and an ace in a sweep. Sakanoko also had only one reception error in 26 attempts.
“We took everything slow — a lot of hydration — and I finally could play,” Sakanoko said Tuesday. “That mattered a lot to me to play the second night. The first night I really couldn’t even walk.