Garlington and Tate Earn Big 12 Volleyball Weekly Awards

Nov. 10, 2008

IRVING, Texas –

Sophomore Karina Garlington and freshman Nicole Tate from Kansas have been named the Big 12 Volleyball Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week, while Ashley Engle (Texas) has been tabbed Defensive Player of the Week for matches of Nov. 3-9.

It is the first Big 12 weekly award for both Garlington and Tate and the first for the Jayhawks since Emily Brown earned the honor on Sept. 24, 2007. The pair also becomes just the eighth and ninth Jayhawks to be named a Big 12 volleyball player of the week.

Garlington, who is fourth in the conference with 3.77 kps, averaged 5.00 kills on a .354 hitting percentage in KU’s consecutive sweeps of Colorado and Texas Tech last week. She also recorded 5.75 points, 1.67 digs and 0.50 blocks per set. Against CU, Garlington posted a team-high 20 kills to tally her fifth 20-kill performance this season. The Denver, Colo., native also compiled a .372 hitting clip along with seven digs and a pair of aces. Garlington then paced the Jayhawks with 10 kills on .318 hitting versus the Red Raiders on Saturday. She also contributed three digs, two block assists and an ace. It was the sixth straight match in which Garlington has had at least one service ace.

Tate produced 10.50 assists per set while guiding her squad to a .301 hitting percentage. The St. Louis, Mo., rookie added 3.00 digs, 1.67 points and 1.33 kills per set in the Jayhawks’ victories. She recorded her ninth double-double of the season with a 40-assist, 12-dig performance with three kills and two block assists in the sweep of the Buffs. KU also notched its second-highest hitting percentage of the year (.308) in that match. Against the Red Raiders, Tate compiled 23 assists while tallying five kills on eight attempts with no errors for a .625 hitting clip. She also chipped in six digs and an ace. On the season, Tate ranks fifth among Big 12 players with 9.95 aps.

Kansas, who is 12-12 overall and 5-9 in the Big 12, is back in action this Wednesday, Nov. 12 at Oklahoma at 7 p.m.