Dec. 16, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced Wednesday that Notre Dame rightside hitter Serinity Phillips was named to its All-American team. Phillips, a senior from Valley Center, Calif., earned third-team honors.
Phillips led the Irish to the BIG EAST Conference regular season title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament this season. The Irish ranked as high as No. 23 on the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll and finished with a 21-7 overall record after going 15-0 in BIG EAST regular-season play.
Phillips becomes the 13th Irish volleyball player since 1993 to earn All-America status, as the Notre Dame program has shelved 18 All-America citations over that same span. Christina Kaelin was named honorable mention All-America in 2008 while Lauren Brewster, Adrianna Stasiuk and Lauren Kelbley earned All-America status in 2005.
A first team all-AVCA Northeast Region choice, Phillips was also a first team all-BIG EAST selection. Additionally, she was named to the all-tournament teams at the Shamrock Invitational, Xavier Invitational and Notre Dame /adidas Invitational. She was the BIG EAST Player of the Week on Oct. 19 and appeared four times on the league’s weekly honor roll.
In 2009, Phillips led Notre Dame in kills/set (3.34), total blocks (99.0) and points/set (4.05).
Phillips was a steadfast go-to player for Notre Dame on the season and posted at least 16 kills in five league matches and accounted for 3.56 kills/set, 1.94 digs/set and 1.27 blocks/set against conference foes. Phillips became the 18th player in program history to record at least 1,000 career kills, totaling 1,154 through four seasons.
After a 20-kill output at Xavier, Phillips proceeded to post at least 16 kills in eight more contests throughout the season. She nearly secured a triple-double at Connecticut to begin the BIG EAST slate, finishing with 16 kills, 12 digs and a season-high nine blocks.
Phillips is set to graduate in May with a degree in Spanish from the College of Arts & Letters.
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