Leffers nets Player of the Year honors
Special to The Observer
After setting conference records for blocks and hitting percentage, senior captain Mary Leffers 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 on the all-Big East first team, while junior Christi Girton and sophomore Kristy Kreher were named to the all-conference second team.
Leffers, a middle blocker, set Big East records for most blocks and highest hitting percentage 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 kill career 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 in 1995 winner Jenny Birkner and two-time winner Jaimie Lee, who won in 1996 and 1997.
Joining Leffers on the all-conference first team was Boylan, who ranks fourth in the Big East in assists per game in both conference and overall 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 3,000th 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 and digs per game and has recorded five double-doubles in her last seven matches.
A Big East all-rookie team selection in 1998, Kreher is third in conference hitting percentage 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 mark against Connecticut.
All Sports Stories for Friday, November 19, 1999
