Nov. 6, 2006
NOTRE DAME, IND.- Notre Dame volleyball’s (15-10, 9-3 BIG EAST) sophomore Mallorie Croal (Villa Park, Calif./Villa Park), after leading the volleyball program to a perfect 2-0 week in BIG EAST Conference play this past weekend (Nov. 3-5), has been named the conference’s player of the week this afternoon, Nov. 6.
Croal had a tremendous weekend on the court in leading Notre Dame to a 2-0 record in a crucial weekend of conference play. In both conferences matches this weekend, Croal led the team in kills. Croal started her weekend with 13 kills, six digs and four blocks in a sweep of Georgetown, while hitting a .417 (13-for-24) from the field. Croal’s 13 kills led the team for the sixth time this season. The sophomore, Croal, continued her strong weekend of action by tying for the match-high with a 15-kill performance against South Florida in a 3-0 victory over the Bulls. Croal also had a sparkling hitting percentage of .560 against USF (15-for-25), while picking up eight digs and a block.
For the week, Croal led the Fighting Irish with 28 kills (4.06 per game) and was third on the team with 14 digs (2.33 digs per game). She also had a solid hitting percentage of .490 to go along with her team-best 30.5 points.
This was the second time that Croal has been honored by the BIG EAST in her career, but the first time she has garnered a BIG EAST Player of the Week honor. As a rookie, Croal was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Sept. 5, 2005.
This award, brings Notre Dame yearly total to five times, an Irish volleyball player has been honored by the BIG EAST this season. Christina Kaelin (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) has been named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week twice (Aug. 28 and Sept. 4), while Serinity Phillips (Valley Center, Calif./Valley Center) has been named Rookie of the Week once (Oct. 9) and Adrianna Stasiuk (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) has been named BIG EAST Player of the Week once (Sept. 25)
For the season, Croal ranks third on the team in kills (213) and tied for third in points (256.5) and in blocks (56).
Croal and Notre Dame will next be in action this weekend, as the team returns home for the final regular season homestand of the season with a pair of matches. The Irish will take on Pittsburgh (20-8, 8-4 BIG EAST) at 2 p.m. on Nov. 11 then return to the court with a 2 p.m. match against West Virginia (2-27, 1-11 BIG EAST) on Nov. 12. The Nov. 12 match will be the final home regular season match for senior Danielle Herndon (Plant City, Fla./Durant)
— ND —