Kenline earns second OVC Defensive Player of the Week honor
Senior Katie Kenline earned OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season after posting 49 digs in two matches against Tennessee State and Austin Peay.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Senior Katie Kenline has put together an impressive 2009 season in which earned several all-tournament team honors and rewritten both the Tennessee Tech and Ohio Valley Conference record books.
On Monday, the libero added her second OVC Defensive Player of the Week honor to that list.
Kenline, a marketing major, led all players in digs in both of the Golden Eagle matches last weekend. She had 19 digs in three sets (6.33 digs/set) against Tennessee State and 30 digs in four sets (7.50 digs/set) against Austin Peay. Kenline extended her streak with 10-or-more digs to 23 matches, and she did not commit a reception error in 52 attempts.
"This honor is well deserved," said John Blair, Golden Eagle head coach. "Every week she has distinguished herself as being one of the best defensive players in the conference, but this week, her numbers stood out a little more."
Kenline and the Golden Eagles split its two matches last weekend, winning on Dig Pink night against Tennessee State before dropping a close, four-set match against Austin Peay on Saturday.
Earlier this season, Kenline received OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors when she totaled 71 digs at the Appalachian State Invitational to lead all players and earn all-tournament team honors. Kenline recorded a season-high 32 digs in TTU's win against William & Mary and also put up 20 digs against Appalachian State and 19 versus North Florida.
The Golden Eagles also played pre-conference tournaments at Tennessee and Louisville this season, and Kenline earned all-tournament team honors at both as well.
Now a nine-time OVC Defensive Player of the Week honoree, Kenline became the first Golden Eagle to surpass 2,000 career digs earlier this season and is now just 67 saves away from becoming the all-time OVC leader in digs. Kenline has amassed 2,388 digs so far in her career at Tech.
This season, Kenline leads the team with 503 digs and a 5.03 digs per set average. She has posted double-digit digs in 24 of TTU's 25 matches this season.
The Tennessee Tech volleyball team returns to action this weekend in its final two matches of the regular season. The Golden Eagles travel to Morehead State on Friday evening before taking on Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.
