Sophomore libero Naia Alefaio-Foifua led the Northwest Conference defensively last weekend, earning the conference's Defensive Athlete of the Week honor thanks to an average of 4.71 digs per set and eight total service aces.

The sophomore earns her third NWC weekly honor of her career and her first of her sophomore campaign. A pillar in the Linfield volleyball (4-5, 1-1 NWC) rotation, Alefaio-Foifua ranks second among all NWC volleyball student-athletes with 4.82 digs per set and 0.57 aces per set this season.

Her 23 digs and four aces in Friday night's four-set win over Whitworth led the Wildcats to their first win over the Pirates in nearly four seasons, and just their first in less than five sets since 2017. She also added 10 digs and another four aces in Saturday's match at Whitman, helping bring her digs-per-set average to 4.71 over seven sets, and her aces-per-set to 1.14 for the two matches.

The Seattle,Washington, native aims to lead the Wildcats once again this week, taking on the George Fox Bruins in Newberg on Friday evening before making their home conference debut on Saturday against Lewis & Clark at 6 p.m. 

To follow Linfield Wildcats coverage all season long, visit golinfieldwildcats.com. Please consider following Linfield Athletics on Facebook, and @LinfieldSports on Instagram and X.com.