Hampton during a preseason practice. Photo by Ryan ZumMallen.

4:00pm | Long Beach State women’s volleyball freshman Haleigh Hampton was named the Co-Bog West Player of the Week today after posting impressive numbers during the 49ers’ grueling four games in Colorado this weekend.

The 6-foot-7 middle blocker was stellar in Long Beach State’s upset victory over No. 14 Colorado State on the Rams’ home floor, notching 18 kills on .517 hitting. She also had four solo blocks in that match, which the 49ers won 3-2.

The 49ers also defeated Virginia Commonwealth and Denver this weekend, but surprisingly fell to Middle Tennessee State (though it’s reasonable to blame four games in two days on that blemish). Hampton was outstanding throughout, and tallied 52 kills and 21 blocks in total.

Since bringing her talents to Long Beach, the 17-year-old Hampton has been very impressive. Her POW selection is the second this season for the 49ers after junior Caitlin Ledoux won the honor a few weeks ago. Long Beach State was selected by the conference coaches to win the Big West this year but early injuries to senior setter Ashley Lee and Jocelyn Neely put those predictions in doubt.

However, freshman Ashley Vazquez has filled in nicely for Lee when needed, while sophomore Janisa Johnson could be the team’s most improved player. Teamed with Ledoux and rising star Hampton, the 49ers have defeated two Top 25 teams and are sitting pretty at 9-3 overall as they’ll play at Loyola Marymount on Friday and open Big West Conference play against Fullerton this Saturday.