PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland senior outside hitter Ariel Usher is the U.S. Bank UP Student-Athlete of the Week after tallying her 1,000th career kill over the weekend. Usher, who recorded 34 kills over three matches last week, becomes the first volleyball player to receive the honor in its inaugural season.  
 
Entering the week on the cusp of the milestone, Usher nearly reached the plateau at home when she posted 16 kills against Gonzaga. The effort left her just three kills short of becoming the tenth player in program history to reach the mark, which she easily picked up with 11 kills against then-no.16 San Diego.
  
Usher and the Pilots return to the Chiles Center for their first back-to-back home matches in over a month, taking on Santa Clara on Thursday at 7 p.m. and then San Francisco Saturday at 1 p.m. Saturday’s match against the Dons will also be the Pilots’ annual Dig Pink match as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Past Winners
• Amanda Frisbie (Sept. 17, 2012)
• Kaila Cameli (Sept. 24, 2012)