When Illinois junior outside hitter Jessica Belter found out she was named this week's Big Ten Player of the Week she felt "embarrassed".

But wait, Jessica, there's more.

Belter was also named the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week for Division I volleyball. That "brought tears to my eyes," Belter said coming off of her best individual weekend in an Illini uniform.

"This is just unbelievable," Belter said. "I couldn't have done this without this team."

Belter's team could not have won both games this past weekend against then-No. 18 Michigan State and Michigan without her, or have jumped into a four-way tie for the Big Ten lead. Belter had a career-high 16 kills against Michigan State and hit .737, the second-highest hitting percentage for an Illini this season. She also added three digs and four blocks against the Spartans. In Michigan, Belter did it all. She recorded 12 kills, 11 digs, 8 blocks (a career-high) and hit .417.

For Belter, both of these honors are things of fantasies.

"I never envisioned receiving any of these awards," Belter said. "It was never a goal. I just wanted to play."

This is the second consecutive week an Illini has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week. Last week Illinois middle blocker Lisa Argabright shared the award with Minnesota outside hitter Cassie Busse.

Belter, while overwhelmed with her awards, just wants to see the team keep winning. The Illini are on a four-match winning streak.

"These are just titles that will go onto my (player) profile and that's not what is important to me," Belter said. "Team victories are."

Illinois head coach Don Hardin gave the volleyball team Monday off, so Belter did not find out about her accomplishments in Huff Hall when practicing with the team. She found out doing homework in her apartment.

Belter's national award shows that many people realized the effort the team has put forth recently. Hardin gave the team the day off because of all the hard work the team has put in this past week.

"It's been emotionally and physically draining," Belter said. "He thought we needed to recuperate."

Belter sees the day off as a positive for the team; something they can use to build off of this week by getting their schoolwork out of the way.

"This is right in the middle of some midterms for most of the players, and it lets us catch up on schoolwork," Belter said. "Then we can be able to focus on volleyball."