Nov. 18, 1999
PITTSBURGH - After setting conference records for blocks and
hitting percentage, Notre Dame senior captain Mary Leffers (Tampa, Fla.) was
named the 1999 BIG EAST Volleyball Player of the Year Thursday evening at
the conference’s annual award banquet. Leffers was joined by junior setter
Denise Boylan (Lisle, Ill.) on the all-BIG EAST first team, while junior
Christi Girton (Muncie, Ind.) and sophomore Kristy Kreher (Birmingham,
Mich.) were named to the all-conference second team.
Leffers, a middle blocker, set BIG EAST records for most blocks (67) and
highest hitting percentage (.475) in conference matches and is currently
ranked fifth nationally in blocks per game. A three-time BIG EAST Player of
the Week, Leffers recently became the 10th Notre Dame player to reach the
1,000 career kill mark and currently holds the Irish record for career
hitting percentage with a .303 mark. She joins past Notre Dame BIG EAST
Players of the Year, Jenny Birkner (1995) and two-time player of the year,
outside hitter Jaimie Lee (1997, 1996).
Joining Leffers on the all-conference first team was Boylan, who ranks
fourth in the BIG EAST in assists per game in both conference (12.21) and
overall (11.90) matches. A 1999 preseason all-BIG EAST selection, Boylan has
led the Irish to a .290 hitting percentage and a phenomenal .359 hitting
percentage in BIG EAST matches. Boylan recently recorded her 3,000-career
assist in the team’s last regular season home match against Syracuse and
ranks second in Notre Dame history in that category.
Girton was named to the all-BIG EAST second team for the second year in a
row after earning all-rookie honors in 1997. The outside hitter ranks first
on the team in kills per game (3.96) and digs per game (2.49) and has
recorded five double-doubles (kills/digs) in her last seven matches.
A BIG EAST all-rookie team selection in 1998, Kreher is third in conference
hitting percentage (.377) and fourth in overall hitting percentage with a
.301 mark. The opposite or rightside hitter has tallied six double-doubles
in 1999 and has set career highs in digs with 18 against Providence, in
blocks with seven against Michigan and in hitting percentage with a .700
(15-1-20) mark against Connecticut.
Top-seeded Notre Dame (18-6 overall, 11-0 in the BIG EAST) will face the
winner of the Rutgers-Connecticut match on Saturday, Nov. 20, at the
University of Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Field House. The Irish are in search
of their fifth straight BIG EAST tournament title and can secure their
eighth consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament with a win in the conference
championship match Sunday.
1999 BIG EAST Volleyball Awards
BIG EAST Player of the Year – Mary Leffers, Notre Dame
BIG EAST Coach of the Year – Ken Nichols, Providence
BIG EAST Rookie of the Year – Lauren Warner, Georgetown
All-BIG EAST First Team
Mary Leffers, Notre Dame
Denise Boylan, Notre Dame
Kiran Gill, Georgetown
Chanice Harris, Connecticut
Colleen Lee, Providence
Lola Opadiran, Rutgers
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Christi Girton, Notre Dame
Kristy Kreher, Notre Dame
Dana Fiume, Syracuse
Sarah Katinger, Providence
Amy Schweitzer, Georgetown
Yulia Vtyurina, Georgetown
