MELBOURNE, Fla. – Two members of the Florida Southern College volleyball team received accolades from the Sunshine State Conference on Monday, as Tierra Porter was crowned the Defensive Player of the Week and Cassidy Markel was named the Setter of the Week.

Porter and Markel led the Moccasins to a pair of four-set wins over Saint Leo and Eckerd to start the 2021 SSC schedule. It's the first time FSC has won back-to-back conference matches to kick-off conference play since 2017.

At the net, Porter helped the Mocs form a brick wall. The senior middle blocker produced a team-leading 15 blocks, which included four solo rejections and 11 block assists. On Friday at Saint Leo, Porter registered season highs in solo blocks (3) and total blocks (8). Inside Jenkins Field House on Saturday, the Alabama native added a season-best six block assists in addition to one solo block. Thanks to Porter's performance, Southern combined for a 24 blocks in eight sets played over the weekend.

Florida Southern's setter, Markel, guided the hitters to their most productive weekend of the young 2021 campaign. While the team hit a season-best .289 on the road against the Lions, Markel combined for 98 assists across both matches with an average of 12.2 per set. The sophomore from Smyrna, Delaware, handed out a season-high 50 assists at Saint Leo and fell just two shy of that mark with 48 more against the Tritons. Markel added 11 digs against Eckerd for her third double-double of the fall.

Off to a strong start through the first two matches of the SSC slate, the Mocs are set to host a pair of league opponents this weekend. On Friday, September 24, Florida Southern will take on Florida Tech at 7:00 p.m., and on Saturday, September 25, the Mocs will face Barry at 4:00 p.m.