Women's Volleyball | Sep 18 | Rivera Nabs Third NEC Defensive Weekly Honor BROOKLYN, N.Y. --- For the third time in four weeks, sophomore Natalia Rivera has been named the Molten/NEC Defensive Player of the Week, the conference revealed Monday afternoon. Rivera helped lead the Blackbirds to an undefeated weekend in its three Big Apple Battle matches against Marist, at Fordham, and against Columbia. The Cayey, Puerto Rico native was named Tournament MVP after posting 61 digs (5.08/set) and 17 assists (1.42/set) in the three contests. Rivera is currently tied for the conference lead in total digs (195) and is second in digs per set (5.27). The award adds to the first two Rivera earned and the Player of the Week honor junior Viktoria Fink collected to open the NEC weekly awards season. LIU will begin conference play this weekend with a pair of matches at Central Connecticut on Friday, September 22 and at Bryant on Saturday, September 23rd. Players Mentioned Bio Viktoria Fink #17 OH 5' 10" Jr. Bio Natalia Rivera #4 L 5' 4" So.