Sept. 3, 2002
After chalking up 32 kills on .448 hitting over the weekend, Notre Dame freshman Lauren Kelbley (Bascom, Ohio) was named the BIG EAST Co-Rookie of the Week by the conference office on Monday.
Kelbley earned a spot on the Shamrock Invitational all-tournament team, as the Irish swept through the weekend with a perfect 3-0 record without dropping a game to UW-Milwaukee, Cincinnati or Cal Poly.
Kelbley began the weekend with a 12 kills and two blocks in her first collegiate match against UW-Milwaukee. She took 21 swings in the match and only had one attack error for a .524 hitting percentage. Against Cincinnati on Saturday, Kelbley posted 10 more kills on .600 hitting, taking 20 swings without committing an error. She also had four digs and two blocks against the Bearcats.
Wrapping up the tournament on Sunday, Kelbley notched eight kills, two digs and five blocks as the Irish dispatched Cal Poly in three games for the tournament title.
In other volleyball news, even a 3-0 Irish record over the weekend could not keep Notre Dame in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25. Strong performances from previously unranked Minnesota, Louisville and North Carolina pushed Notre Dame out of the top 25.
Notre Dame does lead the ‘others receiving votes’ category with 115 points, just behind Kansas State in 25th place with 168 points. Colorado, who Notre Dame will face this weekend at the Loyola Marymount Volleyball Classic in Los Angeles, Calif., also dropped out of the top 25 after having been ranked 21st in the preseason poll.