Christina Kaelin Class: Senior Hometown: Louisville, KY High School: Assumption Height: 5-10 Position: Outside Hitter Birthdate: 03/26/1988

One of the top returning players in the nation and conference ... bounced back from a shoulder injury that kept her off the court for the entirety of her sophomore season to earn All-America status as a junior ... true left-side attacker that plays with a tremendous passion ... an explosive leaper ... brings a winning attitude to the team ... has great command of all her shots ... possesses the ability to take over a match with her strong arm and pinpoint accuracy ... smooth server and good defender.

AS A JUNIOR (2008): Part of the AVCA's Honorable Mention All-America team, becoming the 12th Irish volleyball player since 1993 to earn All-America status ... also earned first-team all-AVCA Northeast Region and second team all-BIG EAST honors ... Notre Dame Monogram Club MVP Award winner ... named "Best Attacker" at the Margie Himmelberg Memorial in Modica, Sicily ... fifth in the BIG EAST with 3.57 kills/set ... posted a .295 hitting pct. in conference play and led the Irish with 193 total kills ... one of two Irish players with 300+ kills (Kristen Dealy had 324) as her 367 led the team, as did her 3.25 kills/set ... hit at a .258 rate for the season ... recorded double-digit kills in 24 matches - and 13 of Notre Dame's 14 league matches - highlighted by 21 converted attacks against Pittsburgh (Oct. 12) ... secured her third 20+ kill performance of the season with 21 knocks against top-seeded St. John's in the second round of the BIG EAST Tournament, also bruising the Red Storm with a .474 average in the four-set match ... the output tied her for ninth on Notre Dame's all-time 20+ kills list, as her career total of seven evened her with Emily Loomis (2001-04) ... started the season with just two kills against IPFW (Aug. 29) but followed with four double-digit performances including a 20-kill output against Eastern Washington (Sept. 5) ... passed each of the 15 serves that came her way against Valparaiso (Aug. 31) ... posted a streak of 10 consecutive matches with double-digit kills from Sept. 19-Oct. 16 ... first career ace came at USF (Sept. 26) and the momentum continued as she delivered aces in three of the next five matches ... part of the BIG EAST Conference's honor roll on Oct. 6 and again on Oct. 13 ... had 11 kills with only one error for a .500 clip to lead an Irish team that hit .370 in an Oct. 11 contest with WVU ... the Irish received 21 kills from her during the team's next match versus Pittsburgh (Oct. 12) ... that performance put her in a four-way tie for 10th place on Notre Dame's career list for matches with 20+ kills (6) ... she averaged 4.57 kills/set over the two-match stretch ... also led the Irish in kills and hitting percentage in each of the team's two matches from Oct. 4-5 ... fired in 14 kills on a .344 average during her homecoming match at Louisville (Oct. 4) ... the Kentucky native also added one dig and one block versus the Cardinals ... she finished with a match-high 17 kills on a .467 average at Cincinnati (Oct. 5) with one ace and five digs in the four-set affair and totaled 18.0 points in the Irish loss ... 17 kills went along with a .343 clip in a five-set match with Syracuse (Nov. 1) ... ended the season with double-digit kills in eight of the final 11 matches ... totaled 68 digs, including four outings with at least five scoops ... her seven solo blocks were complimented by 28 block assists ... set a season-high with four rejections against Connecticut (Nov. 16) ... chipped in five assists ... one of eight Irish players that helped win the Collegiate Beach Volleyball Challenge at Fiesta On Siesta Key team title.

AS A SOPHOMORE (2007): Did not see action due to shoulder injury.

AS A FRESHMAN (2006): Made an immediate impact on the Irish volleyball program ... wasted no time getting to work, evident by her 24 kills against Bowling Green (Aug. 26) in her first collegiate appearance ... the 24 kills tied the school's second-best mark in a three-set match ... also tied that career-best with 24 kills against No. 13 Missouri (Sept. 1) ... twice named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week (Aug. 28 and Sept. 4) ... recognized once on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (Aug. 28) ... tallied five matches with 20+ kills on the season, which ties the sixth-best single-season mark at Notre Dame ... collected 24.5 points against Bowling Green (Aug. 28) and Missouri (Sept. 2) ... tacked on 21 kills against Valparaiso (Sept. 1) ... good for 20 kills against both Alabama (Sept. 8) and Northern Iowa (Sept. 9) in the UNI Invitational ... had two solo blocks against Duke (Sept. 16) in the Sun Devil Volleyball Classic ... had 15 kills at Villanova (Sept. 24) ... nine kills on only 12 swings against DePaul (Oct. 13) ... 13 kills and a career-best seven digs at Cincinnati (Oct. 28) ... 12 kills - all coming in the fourth and fifth sets - at Cincinnati (Nov. 17) in the first round of the BIG EAST Championship ... tossed down 14 kills against No. 24 St. John's (Nov. 18) in the second round of the BIG EAST Championship ... fired in 18 kills, 18.5 points and three block assists versus Louisville in the BIG EAST Championship match (Nov. 19) ... recorded 19 kills and 19.5 points against No. 18 Ohio (Nov. 24) in the Louisville Invitational ... led the Irish in kills 12 times throughout the season ... appeared in 90 sets and 30 matches with 12 starts ... second on the team with 318 kills ... averaged 3.53 kills/set on a .188 hitting percentage ... finished third on the team in points (336) and second in points/set (3.47).

THE KAELIN FILE: One of the highest rated recruits ever to play for Notre Dame and part of an incoming Irish class that Volleyball Magazine and PrepVolleyball.com called one of the best in the nation ... a 2005 Mizuno/Volleyball Magazine first-team All-American ... PrepVolleyball.com Player of the Year finalist ... named All-American by PrepVolleyball.com ... the Kentucky High School Coaches Association Outstanding Senior Volleyball Player in 2005 ... the prolific outside hitter was ranked as the ninth-best - and first among Kentucky natives - player among 2005 high school seniors by PrepVolleyball.com ... that list debuted in 2002, and she has since been its top-rated player to ink with Notre Dame ... captained traditional Kentucky prep power Assumption to one of its finest seasons ever in 2005, when the Rockets finished 43-0 and won 98 of 101 sets ... its only dropped sets were at the hands of out-of-state foes ... Assumption won the state title in 2005 for the third time in four seasons ... named to all-tournament team at the 2005 state championships ... named state tournament MVP, first-team all-state, and the commonwealth's Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior ... a first-team all-state selection in 2003 and tabbed to the third-team as a freshman ... her prep squad was crowned national champions by PrepVolleyball.com in 2005 ... MVP of the Durango Classic and member of the all-tournament team at the Nike Challenge ... tabbed a PrepVolleyball.com All-American and one of Volleyball Magazine's "25 Underclassmen to Watch Out For" in 2004 ... AAU All-American from 2001-06 ... four-time national MVP in club action for Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy (KIVA) ... tournament MVP during KIVA's title run in the 2005 AAU Nationals 17 Gold Division ... earned MVP honors while leading her club to the USA Junior Olympics 17 Open Gold title in 2005 ... member of the USA Youth National Training Team that competed in the 2005 FIVB U18 World Championships in Macau, China ... earned a spot on that team in 2004 but was sidelined with an injury ... helped KIVA to AAU titles in 2001 and 2003 with a second-place finish in 2004, and placed third in 2002 ... KIVA was first in the 2001 Junior Olympics, second in 2002, third in 2003 and fifth in 2004 ... 2001 AAU MVP in the 13U division ... took part in the USA Volleyball High Performance Camp and its A2 camp in 2003 ... featured in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of Sports Illustrated in its Sept. 19, 2005 issue ... former Irish player Ellen Heintzman - whose Sacred Heart Academy team handed Assumption the lone tournament loss during Kaelin's career - was a fellow Louisville native that played for KIVA ... 1956 Heisman Trophy winner Paul Hornung, defensive back and NFL player Tony Driver (2001), tennis All-American Max Brown (1958) and volleyball player Andrea Armento (1993) are also Louisville natives that wore the gold and blue ... Kaelin is the second Assumption grad to do so, joining former golfer Lauren Fuchs (2000) ... class officer as a sophomore, junior and senior ... placed third at the Kentucky Congressional Art Competition, and her artwork hangs in the Louisville office of United States Congresswoman Anne Northup ... full name is Christina Marie Kaelin .... daughter of Donna and Mark Kaelin ... last name is pronounced KAY-lynn ... born March 26, 1988, in South Bend, Ind. ... sports the same #3 jersey worn by former Irish players Malinda Goralski (1998-01), Janelle Karlan (1990-93) and Cary May (1994-97) ... member of Notre Dame's Rosenthal Leadership Academy ... enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters ... working towards a degree of fine arts in graphic design.

Kaelin's Career Statistics