Last Week’s Stats: 4.17 points per set, 3.33 kills per set, 2.83 digs per set, 1.67 blocks per set
Samardzija continues to raise the bar, earning her league-best seventh NEC/Molten Rookie of the Week honor of the season while helping the Knights punch their ticket to the NEC Tournament for the fifth-consecutive year. The Novi Sad, Serbia native powered FDU to back-to-back 3-0 wins over New Haven — the squad’s fourth NEC sweep of the season — after she averaged 4.17 points, 3.33 kills, 2.83 digs and 1.67 blocks per set. She opened the weekend with 11 kills, six digs and a season-best eight rejections before adding nine kills and 11 digs in Saturday’s series clincher. A force on both sides of the net who has made her presence felt for the Knights, who locked up the second seed in the postseason, Samardzija ranks among the NEC’s top 10 in conference play in four categories: points (3.69 per set; fifth), kills (2.95 per set; seventh), digs (2.50 per set; ninth) and service aces (0.43 per set; 10th).