Sept. 6, 2005
Notre Dame senior All-America middle blocker Lauren Brewster (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood H.S.) was named the CVU.com National Player of the Week on Tuesday by the Collegiate Volleyball Update. It came on the heels of the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year being named the MVP of The Inn at Saint Mary’s Shamrock Invitational and the conference player of the week after leading the Irish to five-game victories against #11 Texas and Arizona State over the weekend to claim the tournament title.
Brewster is the first Notre Dame player ever to earn the honor and the second to be tabbed national player of the week by any organization. The only two-time All-American in Irish history, OH Christy Peters, was recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) on Sept. 27, 1993, after leading 14th-ranked Notre Dame to a three-game upset of #3 Nebraska in the Golden Dome Invitational, a victory that remains the highest-ranked win ever for the Irish.
The current ND senior became just the second player – from any school – ever to be a two-time MVP of the Shamrock Invitational (following Peters, who did so in 1993 and ’94), as well as the first seven-time BIG EAST Player of the Week in Irish history.
The recognition for Brewster came as much for her prolific fifth-game play as for her overall success over the weekend. She was the top Irish performer in both game fives, combining for 10 kills on .381 hitting to go with four digs and two blocks in those decisive frames. Brewster had four of ND’s five kills – plus two blocks and two digs – to lead the Irish to a 15-10 game-five win against the Longhorns on Saturday in a match shown nationally by College Sports Television (CSTV) as part of its AVCA match-of-the-week series. She then posted six kills on just nine swings to go with a pair of digs in helping Notre Dame beat Arizona State by the same final-game tally on Sunday.
For the tournament, Brewster led all players in both kills (46, 4.60 per game) and blocks (15, 1.50 per game) and was second in hitting percentage (.310). She also had 10 digs (1.00), two assists, and a service ace for 56.5 points (5.65). Brewster was the main component in Notre Dame’s offense, as she took nearly 30% of the Irish attack attempts in the event, including a career-high 64 vs. ASU.
The Irish senior co-captain led Notre Dame to its highest-ranked victory in more than two years (since an upset of #10 Arizona on Aug. 27, 2003) on Saturday, finishing with team highs in kills (18), blocks (12), and points (25.5) to go with five digs. It marked the fourth consecutive year that the Irish have upset at top-15 squad, making this year’s senior class one of just two in program history (also the class of ’95) to accomplish that feat. On Sunday, Brewster posted a career-high 28 kills, the most by any player in the Joyce Center since Sept. 21, 2000, when Loyola Marymount’s Sarah McFarland had 45 and Kristy Kreher of Notre Dame posted 32 in a four-game Irish triumph. Brewster’s output also is tied for the second-most ever by an Irish middle blocker, behind only a 31-kill effort by Zanette Bennett against Cincinnati in 1987. Brewster had a .328 attack percentage and also registered five digs, three blocks, and an ace for 31 points.
Brewster has had 20+ kills five times in her career and has been in double figures in the category in seven straight matches and 13 of the last 14 (plus 55 times in her career). The double-double against the Longhorns was the 18th of her career, and she has had 10+ blocks on 15 occasions. She ranks among the Notre Dame career leaders in several categories: hitting percentage (2nd, .317), block average (2nd, 1.66), total blocks (3rd, 553), block assists (3rd, 473), solo blocks (6th, 80), kill average (7th, 3.22), and matches with 10+ kills (9th, 56).
The Brentwood, Tenn., native was a first-team all-BIG EAST selection in both 2003 and ’04 after earning honorable-mention accolades as a rookie (when she also was the conference’s rookie of the week once). Through the first two weeks of the regular season, she is among the top eight in the conference leaders in three categories: third in both kills (4.77 per game) and blocks (1.62) and eighth in hitting percentage (.333).
Prior to her collegiate days, Brewster led Brentwood High School to four Tennessee state championships and was the state-tournament MVP in both of her final two campaigns. She was a Fab 50 selection by Volleyball magazine, appearing #36 on its list of the top prep players in the class of 2002. She set state records for both career kills (923) and kills in a season (675 in 2000) and was twice an all-state pick. She also was a standout for the Impact Volleyball Club. Last year Brewster became the first Tennessee native – at any four-year college – ever to be named an All-American by the AVCA.
It is the second week in a row that a Notre Dame student-athlete was recognized as a national player of the week, after Irish freshman Kerri Hanks garnered the award from Soccer America a week ago.
Brewster and the Irish – who are 3-0 and jumped into the national rankings on Monday at 19th – will travel to San Antonio, Texas, this weekend for the UTSA Dome Rally in the Alamodome, which also will play host to this year’s NCAA final four. Notre Dame will play #8 Southern California on Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT), Oklahoma on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., and #6 Florida on Sunday at 11 a.m.