Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

RICHMOND, Va. – University of Delaware volleyball standout Michelle LaLonde has been honored as the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week after piecing together an incredible performance during the Blue Hens’ final conference weekend of the regular season.

During the team’s two victories over Northeastern and Hofstra, LaLonde led Delaware with 13 blocks. She also blasted 17 kills while hitting a team-best .350 in the two contests.

LaLonde started the week with one of her finest matches of the season in a 3-0 victory over the Huskies. During the contest, she tied her career-high with nine blocks, including two solo stops. That total not only equaled the most by a Blue Hen in a single match since 2007, but it also marked the most by any player in the CAA during a three-set conference bout this season.

Along with her defensive performance, LaLonde also hit .688 while posting a match-high 11 kills against Northeastern. Her hitting percentage tied the highest single-match mark of her career.

Two days later, in the team’s regular season finale against Hofstra, LaLonde had another strong match along the net. Against the Pride, she posted four of Delaware’s season-high 14 blocks. That total tied the most by the team since recording 16 against James Madison on September 29, 2007.

For the season, LaLonde ranks eighth in the conference with a 0.88 blocks-per-set average, while her 89 total blocks are the seventh most in the CAA. Her .273 hitting percentage also is the ninth best in the league.

Overall, this is the third weekly award for LaLonde in her career. As a freshman, she was named the Rookie of the Week twice in 2006.

LaLonde is also the fifth Blue Hen to earn a weekly honor from the conference this season. Stephanie Barry garnered three Defensive Player of the Week awards earlier this year, while Katie Dennehy and Jess Chason each earned a pair of Offensive Player of the Week honors. Alissa Alker was also named the top rookie once.

Along with LaLonde, the conference office honored William & Mary’s Lindsay Kresch as the Offensive Player of the Week, while Hofstra’s Kylee Maneja garnered the league’s top freshman honor.

LaLonde will lead Delaware into the CAA Tournament next week when the squad opens the postseason with a semifinal bout against George Mason on Monday at 4 p.m. The playoffs will be hosted at Virginia Commonwealth’s Alltel Pavilion.