Oct. 13, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame volleyball squad is leaving its mark as one of the nation’s top teams. In national statistics released Wednesday, the Irish are listed as a team in two categories, while senior Mary Leffers (Tampa, Fla.) is ranked individually in those same categories.
Notre Dame appeared for the first time as a team among the nation’s leaders in hitting percentage with a .277 average (17th overall). The Irish also continued their hike up the national ladder in blocks per game, ranking ninth overall with a 3.33 mark. Two weeks ago, the Irish were 14th in blocks and last week they were 12th. Top-ranked Penn State is currently first in hitting percentage (.326), while second-ranked University of Hawai’i is first in blocks (4.04).
Individually, Leffers leads the Irish in both hitting percentage and blocks per game. The middle blocker is 14th nationally in hitting percentage with a .392 average, while she is second in blocks per game with a 1.91 mark. Leffers trails the national leader in hitting percentage, Heather Wright of the University of Florida, who is hitting .468, and the national leader in blocks, Heather Bown of Hawai’i, who boasts a 2.30 per game average.