Nov. 9, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame senior outside hitter Christina Kaelin became the fourth Fighting Irish volleyball player to be named BIG EAST Player of the Week this season, as she received the honor from the league Monday afternoon.
Kaelin helped keep Notre Dame, who cracked the AVCA Top 25 Poll for the first time since 2006, perfect in conference play to claim at least a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship. The 24th-ranked Irish are 18-4 overall with a perfect 12-0 BIG EAST record.
An All-American selection in 2008, Kaelin shouldered much of the offensive load for Notre Dame in a pair of conference road wins at Marquette (Nov. 6) and Syracuse (Nov. 8). She registered double-digit kills in both matches with 17 versus the Golden Eagles and 13 versus the Orange. The win over Syracuse snapped a 10-match home winning streak for the Orange.
With the two victories, Notre Dame secured the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Championship set to take place Nov. 20-22 in Kaelin’s hometown of Louisville, Ky.
Kristen Dealy (Sept. 14), Jamel Nicholas (Oct. 12) and Serinity Phillips (Oct. 19) were each named BIG EAST Player of the Week earlier this season.
–ND–