Barton Volleyball's Kaneko becomes five-time KJCCC Defensive Player of the Week #GoBarton

Mina Kaneko of the 10th-ranked Barton Community College volleyball team has been selected as the Week Eight KJCCC Division I Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week.

Kaneko's steady back-row presence anchored Barton's defense last week through a pair of conference victories, helping the Cougars extend their win streak with a sweep of Seward County followed by a four-set win over Dodge City.

Now a five-time defensive award winner, Kaneko averaged 5.14 digs per set across seven sets, finishing with 36 total digs while adding nine assists and two service aces. The sophomore libero opened the stretch with 21 digs, four assists, and an ace in the sweep of Seward County, then followed with 15 digs, five assists, and another ace in Saturday's four-set victory over Dodge City.

Kaneko previously earned distinction in Weeks 1, 2, 4, and 6, which included adding the NJCAA's national award, marking the tenth overall conference or national weekly honor for the program this season. She joins Stasa Stamenkovic's two selections (Weeks 4 and 7), setter Ori Briger (Week 2), and middle blockers Aubrey Olander and Indigo Pruitt (Week 3).

Fresh off last night's sweep of Butler Community College, which is receiving votes in the national poll, the Cougars extended their current run to six consecutive victories, improving to 10–1 in conference play and 23–5 overall.

In the win over Butler, Kaneko once again led the backline with 10 digs, moving within one of Hanna Miller's 494 digs (2020) for 10th most in a single season and 64 shy of Mylena Testoni's 1,014 (2020–21) for sixth on Barton's all-time career digs list.

Following a week away from competition, Barton returns to its home hardcourt next Wednesday, welcoming Pratt Community College for a 6:30 p.m. first serve.