Cruse Aea was selected as the Heart of America Men's Volleyball Defender of the Week on Monday, March 9. This marks the first honor of his career.

Over two games, the graduate libero posted 4.71 digs per set. Aea dug out 12 attacks against Mount Mercy University on March 6, then tallied 21 digs in a 3-1 win over Clarke University on March 7.

Aea combined for only three total reception errors over both matches (0.43 RE/S), with three against Mount Mercy and zero against Clarke. He did not record any ball-handling errors.

He was recently named the Raising Cane's February Athlete of the Month on March 4 for his stellar defensive performance.

The Spartans are back in action this week with three conference matches. They travel to No. 5 Missouri Valley College on Tuesday, March 10, for a 7 p.m. game time.  Then, they host Kansas Wesleyan University on Friday, March 13, at 7 p.m. and Ottawa University (Kan.) on Saturday, March 14, at 1 p.m.