Teams: Volleyball: Press Releases

Tuesday, September 26, 2005

O'REILLY NAMED NESCAC'S VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

MEDFORD – This fall, freshman setter Kaitlin O'Reilly (Manhattan Beach, CA/Marymount) of the Tufts University Volleyball team earned the heavy responsibility of directing the offense for a Jumbo team that was the conference runner-up and ranked second in New England last year. She's been more than fit for the job thus far, and is this week's New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Player of the Week.

During a 4-1 week for Tufts, O'Reilly averaged 11.37 assists and added 11 kills, four aces and 39 digs (2.05 per game) in 19 games overall. She was named to the MIT Invitational All-Tournament Team after leading the Jumbos to the Gold Bracket title (fifth place) and a 3-1 showing at the 14-team tournament. She had 41 assists, four kills and 10 digs in a three-game victory over Williams to win the Gold Bracket. Against Muhlenberg on Friday, O'Reilly had 53 assists in four games.

"Kaitlin came in facing the pressure of quarterbacking an offense with conference championship aspirations," said Coach Cora Thompson. "She has risen to the challenge and is really starting to lead this team with confidence. During the MIT tournament, she lost her freshmen timidity and really grabbed a hold of the offense, speeding it up, reversing the flow and playing some of the best defense she has played all year."

Three weeks into the 2005 season, O'Reilly is second in NESCAC with 11.66 assists per game. The Tufts offense is fourth in the league with a .230 hitting percentage. She was also named to the All-Tournament team at the Williams Invitational to open the season.

Tufts is 10-2 overall and 1-1 in the league. They host the Tufts Invitational this coming weekend. Presented the "Tough as Nails" Award as a player at Marymount High School in Los Angeles, O'Reilly's continued success as the team's young leader on offense will be important to the same for the Jumbo team. She is a Pre-med student at Tufts.

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