Hawaii goalkeeper Lex Mata was named the Big West Soccer Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after she recorded consecutive shutouts in the Rainbow Wahine Soccer Invitational.

It was the fifth such award in the fifth-year senior’s career, tying her for fourth-most all-time in the Big West.

Mata had eight saves spanning a 1-0 overtime win over Nevada last Thursday and a scoreless draw in double overtime against Sacramento State on Saturday at the UH Lower Campus field. She stopped six more shots in a 3-2 overtime loss to San Francisco on Aug. 26.

The Wahine were named co-champions of the three-team event with Sac State after the Hornets beat Nevada 1-0 on Monday.

UH (1-2-1) departs today for a three-game road trip through the Dakotas, starting with a Thursday game at North Dakota State (3-0-1).

U.S. sweeps Dominican Republic in volleyball

The U.S., with three players with Hawaii ties on the roster, opened the NORCECA Men’s Continental Volleyball Championship on Monday with a 25-14, 25-17, 25-14 sweep of the Dominican Republic in Winnipeg, Canada.

Team captain Micah Ma’a (Punahou) was the setter, finishing with two aces, two blocks and a kill. Former Rainbow Warriors All-America setter Joe Worsley played in all three sets as a serving sub, coming up with an ace, and current Rainbow Warriors All-American Gage Worsley was the libero in Set 3.

“We didn’t have much time to train with this particular team, so we just wanted to come out and play hard and play to our strengths,” Ma’a said. “We are a good serving team, and we served well tonight (10 aces). We got to get a lot of guys in, which we are pretty happy about. We’re going to try to get better with each match and hopefully by the end play better volleyball.”

The U.S. (1-0) plays Cuba (1-0) today. The event continues through Saturday.