Long Beach State's Naomi Washington shined in front of her hometown fans over the weekend to collect her first Big West Player of the Week honor.

The senior middle blocker and the 49ers women's volleyball team visited the Big Easy for the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic, where they posted a 2-1 mark. Washington opened the event with a 19-kill performance against New Orleans. En route to the 3-2 victory, she added five digs and three blocks to her total. In the loss to LSU, she belted 13 kills and tallied a .286 hitting percentage. The graduate from Warren Easton High School in New Orleans, La., set a career high with 29 kills in the win over host Tulane, which snapped the Green Waves 25-match home winning streak.

For the week, she paced the squad with 61 kills and averaged 4.36 kills per game. The 49ers finished in a three-way tie for first place at the two-day tournament.

Others nominated: Holly Franks (Cal Poly), Kari Pestolesi (UC Irvine), Chelsey Lowe (UC Santa Barbara), Mallori Gibson (Pacific)