ORU's Silva Named SLC Libero Of The Year

Oral Roberts University junior Bruna Silva was named the 2012 Southland Conference Libero of the Year. Silva was one of three players honored by the league, as senior Sheina Fernandes was a 1st Team All-Southland Conference selection and junior Laura Taylor was an Honorable Mention All-Conference pick.

Silva, a native of Niteroi, Brazil, led the conference with 5.11 digs per set during the regular season, including a league-best 5.20 digs per set in conference matches. She is one of only two SLC players to average better than five digs per set this season.

The yearly award is the second in as many seasons for Silva, who was honored as Summit League Defensive Player of the Year after the 2011 season. She is the third Golden Eagle to win a conference defensive award, after Becky Dreher (2002, 2004) and Cris Alves (2006) took Mid-Continent Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Silva enters the weekend with 1,564 career digs, 3rd-most on ORU's career list.

Fernandes has stood out as ORU's top all-around threat in 2012, with a team-high 2.67 kills per set and a .337 hitting percentage, good for 4th-best in the Southland Conference. The Porto Alegre, Brazil native also ranks third in the league in blocks, at 1.24 per set.

Fernandes was an all-tournament selection at both Buffalo and Missouri State this season. Also a stellar student, the senior earned Capital One Academic All-District honors last week and is eligible for an Academic All-America selection.

Taylor leads ORU and ranks 5th in the Southland Conference with 9.95 assists per set this season. She stepped up her offensive game once SLC play rolled around, posting a .303 hitting percentage against league opponents, 6th-best in the conference.

The Broken Arrow native is also climbing up the ORU record books, as her 2,804 career assists ranks 4th in school history.

Led by their All-Conference trio, ORU went 15-14 in 2012, with an 11-7 conference record. The sixth-seeded Golden Eagles open SLC Tournament play on Friday, Nov. 16 against third-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 1:30 p.m. CT.