Nov. 15, 2004

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Kristin Nelson, a senior on the UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team, made even more history on Monday as she became the first-ever libero to earn Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week honors.

The 5'9" native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., averaged 8.90 digs per game as the 18th-ranked Gauchos earned a pair of important Big West Conference road victories last week. With her third dig during a Saturday, Nov. 13 win at UC Irvine that extended UCSB's season-long winning streak to 11, Nelson became the school record holder in career scoops. She finished that contest with 34 digs, boosting her career total to 1,651 and putting her just 32-shy of the all-time mark by a Big West player.

The previous night, Nelson amassed 35 digs - tying the eighth-best total in a single match by a Gaucho - as Santa Barbara clinched its third straight outright conference championship with a 3-1 victory at longtime rival Long Beach State. She has taken her game to new heights recently, boasting 30 or more digs in four of UCSB's past five matches.

With 500 total scoops in 2004, Nelson needs 92 more to break Maria Reyes' single-season school record of 591, set in 1989. She has led the Gauchos in digs in all 24 matches this season, while her average of 6.33 per game leads the Big West by a considerable margin and ranked 10th nationally as of last week. In 2003, Nelson was the first libero in conference history to earn first team all-league acclaim.

Nelson is the fifth player in UCSB history to earn the prestigious National Player of the Week award. The last Gaucho to claim the honor was Roberta Gehlke on Oct. 4, 1999. Ironically, it was Gehlke who held Santa Barbara's career digs record before being eclipsed by Nelson last Saturday.

Earlier Monday, Nelson was also named Big West Player of the Week for the first time in her career. She is the second Gaucho this season to earn the league's weekly award, following sophomore outside hitter Janine Sandell's selection on Nov. 1.

The Gauchos close out Big West play this Thursday, Nov. 18 at Cal Poly before their regular season finale on Sunday, Nov. 21 at UC Davis, a non-conference affair. UCSB enters this week with a record of 21-3 overall, 15-3 in league play.