Three Panthers Earn All-Big East Volleyball Honors
11/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Three Panthers Earn All-Big East Volleyball Honors
11/22/2002
PITTSBURGH ?
Norris (Fostoria, Ohio/Hopewell-Loudon) was second in the conference in assists with 12.71 per game. She also finished eighth in service aces with a total of 38 in 104 games, a 0.37 average. Norris earned two Big East Player of the Week honors on Sept. 9 and Nov. 11, broke the Panthers? all-time assists mark on Nov. 3 against Seton Hall, and leaves Pittsburgh ranked in the top 10 in two other statistical categories.
She had a total of 1,322 assists in 2002, giving her a total of 4,727 for her four-year career at Pittsburgh as the starting setter. It is the third time in her career that Norris earned All-Big East honors. She was named to the All-Rookie Team in 1999 and to the Second Team in 2000.
For Miller (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law), a middle hitter, the path to Second Team honors was a grueling one. After making a solid contribution as a freshman in 2000, Miller played in only four matches in 2001 before tearing her right ACL. She finished second in the conference in hitting percentage in her first full season as a starter, hitting .400 with 360 kills in 692 attempts. Her .400 hitting percentage is the Panthers? best individual performance since 1988.
She also led the team in solo blocks (27) and total blocks (98) and was named the Big East Player of the Week in consecutive weeks on Sept. 23 and Sept. 30.
Hatlestad (Roseville, Minn./Roseville Area) earned her third consecutive all-Big East honor after being named to the All-Rookie Team in 2000 and to the First Team as a sophomore in 2001. Hatlestad led the Panthers in kills (387) and attempts (1,012) and was fourth in digs with 235 this season. She was named the Big East Conference?s Preseason Player of the Year prior to the start of the 2002 season.
Pittsburgh finished in a tie for fourth place in the Big East with a 9-4 mark but didn?t qualify for the tournament because of a regular-season loss to Connecticut. The Panthers had 20 victories (20-9) for the second time in head coach Chris Beerman?s three seasons.