#5 Ellen Heintzman Volleyball Roster

Expect to challenge for playing time and a starting position in 2006 … was an Irish regular and occasional starter at outside hitter in each of her first two years … has now played in 42 matches with 25 starts in 102 games as an outside hitter/front row player in her two years … began the year as a starter but an injury sidelined her for 15 games in the middle of the year … numbers continue to improve in each of her first two years … has become more efficient, steady, and adept at using her shots more effectively … strong all-around player who thrives on high competition … possesses a great arm and can hit a lot of different shots … solid attacker also boasts good ball-control, passing, and defensive skills … showed great improvement during the spring … converted middle is capable of playing anywhere on the front line, but is particularly strong on the left side … five-time All-American for the Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy (KIVA) also was twice a first-team all-Kentucky selection in prep action for Sacred Heart Academy, helping it to its first-ever state championship … over the last two seasons has become the first Sacred Heart Academy graduate ever to earn Notre Dame monograms in any sport.

AS A SOPHOMORE (2005): Irish regular and sometime starter at outside hitter for second consecutive season … played in 23 matches (starting 17 of them) and 57 games at OH, posting 147 kills (2.58) on .179 hitting … began season as Irish starter, but knee injury kept her out of the Shamrock Invitational and she would not return to the starting lineup until Oct. 15 at DePaul, which began string of 15 straight starts … improved her numbers in every statistical category since her rookie season: kills (85 in 2004 and 147 in [apos]05), hitting percentage (.129 to .179), digs (22 to 42), blocks (15 to 41), points (96 to 174), reception errors (3 to 2), service percentage (.741 to .875), aces (2 to 3), and assists (2 to 5) … had six kills, her only three service aces of the season (with no errors), a season-high nine digs, and two blocks in opener against Michigan … posted 10 kills and season-high five blocks at Illinois State … had nine kills on career-best .467 hitting against South Florida … followed that up with seven kills on .412 hitting vs. Georgetown … had nine kills against her hometown team, #7 Louisville, in regular-season meeting … registered season-high 13 kills (sharing team honors) and three blocks for season-high 15 points against Cincinnati … had nine kills on .467 hitting vs. Saint Louis … posted 10 kills and took season-high 12 serves without making an error at Pittsburgh … had nine kills, six digs, and four blocks for 11.5 points in BIG EAST quarterfinals against Villanova … posted eight kills and matched career high with five blocks in semis vs. Cincinnati … came off the bench vs. Rice and posted six kills on 12 errorless swings (.500) … slammed career-high 22 kills for career-best 23.5 points against Tennessee … did not make an error in her first 49 service receptions of the season.

AS A FRESHMAN (2004): Contributor at various times for Irish in 2004, mostly at outside hitter … started eight matches in that spot and played in 19 contests (45 games) … had 85 kills for an average of 1.89 per game … saw time at both opposite and libero in first week before starting at outside hitter for five matches (9/10-9/19) … returned to starting lineup in replacing injured Lauren Kelbley three times in November … top performance of season came against Michigan State in Gamecock Invitational, as she finished with 15 kills on .444 hitting percentage for 16.5 points … also had nine kills, season-high six digs, and season-best five blocks for 12 points against Northern Iowa … as a starter (30 games), averaged 2.53 kills on .152 hitting to go with 17 digs (0.57), 12 blocks (0.40), and 2.83 points … in first career start, had 10 kills on .231 hitting for 11.5 points in Notre Dame[apos]s five-game win over Fresno State … notched 11 kills in final of Gamecock Invitational against South Carolina … made collegiate debut in season opener vs. Loyola Chicago, slamming four kills on six errorless swings in two games … also was in on a pair of digs vs. the Ramblers … saw spot action in second match against #2 Nebraska … was Irish libero for first two games of match against Valparaiso, registering four digs … returned to starting role vs. Boston College, finishing with 11 kills and 12 points … notched seven kills in start against West Virginia … posted 2.14 kills per game on .367 hitting against teams that were either nationally-ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA poll at the time of the match … averaged 2.67 kills on .262 hitting in helping Notre Dame to a 6-0 record in neutral-site matches … had 3.00 kills per game on .444 hitting against Big Ten teams.

PREP AND PERSONAL: Five-time AAU All-American and two-time first-team all-state honoree … listed 54th in PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces rankings, including first among players from Kentucky … dominant outside hitter for Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, which won its first-ever state championship in 2003 and was ranked as high as #2 in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com … named MVP of the state tournament after Valkyries knocked off eight-time defending state champion Assumption High School and future teammate Christina Kaelin en route to the crown … moved from middle blocker to the left side midway through prep career … served as team captain as a senior … three-time all-district and all-region selection … tabbed team MVP in [apos]03 … earned AAU All-America mention five straight years (1999-2003) for the Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy club team, which won AAU national tournaments in 1999 and `03 … named the AAU tournament MVP in [apos]03 … earned mention on junior national tournament All-America team in [apos]01, as KIVA was junior national open champions … also was a standout tennis player for the Valkyries, reaching the state doubles tournament twice (quarterfinals in [apos]01, third round in [apos]03) … four-year letterwinner in both volleyball and tennis … named tennis team[apos]s most valuable freshman … ranked second in the state of Kentucky among 12-and-under girls[apos] tennis players in 1999 … member of German Club and National Honor Society … 1956 Heisman Trophy winner Paul Hornung, defensive back and eventual NFL player Tony Driver (`01), tennis All-American Max Brown (`58), and volleyball player Andrea Armento (`93) are among other Louisville natives to be athletes for Notre Dame … full name is Ellen Marie Heintzman … second-oldest of four children … daughter of Jennie and David Heintzman … last name is pronounced HIGHNTZ-min … born Sept. 2, 1986, in Louisville … tabbed a BIG EAST Conference Academic All-Star in 2004-05 … enrolled in the College of Engineering as a civil engineering major.

CAREER HIGHS
Kills: 22 vs. Tennessee, 11-26-05
Digs: 9 vs. Michigan, 8-27-05
Total Blocks: 5 vs. 3 times (MR: vs. Cincinnati (BIG EAST) 11-19-05)
Solo Blocks: 1, 9 times (MR: vs. Cincinnati, (BIG EAST), 11-19-05)
Block Assists: 4 vs. (MR: vs. Cincinnati (BIG EAST), 11-19-05
Points: 23.5 vs. Tennesssee, 11-26-05
Assists: 1, 7 times (MR: vs. Rice, 11-25-05)
Aces: 3 vs. Michigan, 8-27-05
Attempts: 61 vs. Tennessee, 11-26-05
Hitting %:
3G – .500 (6-0-12) vs. Rice, 11-25-05)
4G – .444 (15-3-27) vs. Michigan State, 9-17-04
5G – .231 (10-4-26) vs. Fresno State, 9-10-04