Dec. 6, 2000
Three University of Notre Dame volleyball players were selected as all-regional performers by the American Volleyball Coaches Association this week. Seniors Denise Boylan (Lisle, Ill.) and Christi Girton (Muncie, Ind.), along with junior Kristy Kreher (Birmingham, Mich.) earned first team northeast all-regional honors after one of the most successful volleyball seasons in recent Notre Dame history.
The Irish finished 26-7 in 2000, won the BIG EAST regular season and Championship titles (while compiling an 11-0 conference record) before being eliminated in the 2000 NCAA tournament by 16th-ranked Ohio State.
Boylan, who earned her fourth all-regional selection, helped the Irish post a .288 team hitting percentage in 2000 – which is the best in Notre Dame volleyball history. She finished the season with 1,396 assists (13.82 per game – the best in school history) and is first on the career charts in assists per game as well, averaging 12.37. The Irish co-captain also earned the BIG EAST Player of the Year, BIG EAST Setter of the Year, and BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player awards in 2000.
Girton led the Irish in kills with 448 (4.35 per game) in 2000 and earned first-team all-BIG EAST honors. A dominating hitter throughout her career with the Irish, Girton finished the 2000 season with 12-straight 10-plus kill matches and set a career-high with 31 kills at Connecticut (10-29-00). This is Girton’s third all-regional honor.
Rounding out the Irish honorees was Kreher. The Irish opposite posted a .362 hitting percentage in 2000, raising her career hitting percentage to .321 – a mark that tops the Notre Dame career lists. Kreher posted six 20-plus kill matches this season, three of which came against ranked teams (23 vs. #15 BYU, 21 vs. #16 Michigan State, 32 vs. #22 Loyola Marymount). Her 32 kills against Loyola Marymount set a school record for kills in a four-game match. She was also a first-team all-BIG EAST selection and was first on the team in digs (269) and blocks (88).