INDIANAPOLIS - IUPUI senior libero/defensive specialist Jessica Helms has been named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week after the initial week of the season. The Muncie-native leads the league with 5.75 digs per set and helped IUPUI to a runner-up finish at the season-opening FGCU Hilton Garden Inn Invitational in Fort Myers, Fla. 

She opened the year with 16 digs in the win over Georgia Southern (Aug. 26) and followed up with a career-high 36 digs in the come-from-behind win over FIU (Aug. 27). She capped the three-game tournament with 17 digs in the 3-0 loss to FGCU (Aug. 27). 

Her 36 digs in a five-set match were the most by an IUPUI player since Oct. 29, 2011 when Shari Bernhardt had 42 against South Dakota. Her total tied for the fifth most in a five-set match in program history. 

It marks the second league award for Helms in her collegiate career as she was The Summit League's Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12, 2016.