Oct. 31, 2005

LANCASTER, PA - Johns Hopkins senior outside hitter Katie O'Callaghan (Babylon, NY/West Babylon) was not only named to her first All-Centennial Conference team in volleyball, but also earned the league's player of the year honors, as announced by the conference on Monday night.

Five Blue Jays were named to the year-end all-star team, most for any Centennial team. Senior middle blocker Jen Hajj (Boca Raton, FL/Pope John Paul II) and junior libero Lizzie Kay (Pacific Palisades, CA/The Cate School) were first-team selections along with O'Callaghan Both were honorable mention performers in 2004.

A pair of freshmen earned honorable mention honors, as opposite Kim Jackanich (Pacifica, CA/St. Ignatius College Prep) and setter Amanda Lewis (San Antonio, TX/St. Mary's Hall) garnered league accolades.

O'Callaghan has been one of the top offensive performers on the team and in the Centennial Conference this season, racking up 371 kills and 39 services aces. She is also the team's leader in double-doubles (kills-digs) with 15 this season. On Sept. 10 against Eastern, she became the fourth player in program history to record 1,000 career kills. O'Callaghan now has 1,272 career kills, second all-time at Hopkins.

Hajj has been the top hitter in the Centennial Conference this season, pacing the league with a .364 attack percentage. She leads the team in kills with 377, and became the fifth player in school history to register 1,000 career kills on Sept. 23 against Catholic. Hajj was the only player in the Centennial Conference to be named player of the week twice, earning the honors on Sept. 20 and Oct. 25.

Kay is among the nation's leading defensive specialists, ranking seventh in digs per game in NCAA Division III as of Oct. 16. This season, Kay became the program's career digs leader, as her career total currently stands at 1,838. With two more digs, Kay can become the first player in Hopkins volleyball history to record 700 digs in a season.

Lewis and Jackanich have made a splash in their first seasons as members of the Blue Jays. Lewis is the first player in the program's history to reach 1,300 assists, and was ranked fifth in the nation in assists per game, through Oct. 16. She earned conference player of the week on Oct. 18. Jackanich has recorded 10 double-doubles (kills-digs) on the season, second on the team. She is second on the Blue Jays with a .254 hitting percentage.

Hopkins (23-5, 9-1) is the top seed in the Centennial Conference tournament, which gets underway on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Goldfarb Gym. The Blue Jays will face Haverford in a 2:30 p.m. contest.

2005 All-Centennial Conference Volleyball Team

First Team

H-Katie O'Callaghan, Johns Hopkins, Sr.
H-Jen Hajj, Johns Hopkins, Sr.
S-Shannan Smith, Gettysburg, Sr.
H-Heidi Jutsum, Haverford, Sr.
H-Margot Phelan, Franklin & Marshall, Fr.
H-Julie Lauro, Muhlenberg, Sr.
L-Lizzie Kay, Johns Hopkins, Jr.

Second Team
H-Erica Rau, Gettysburg, Sr.
H-Susan Taylor, Franklin & Marshall, So.
L-Steph Vial, Gettysburg, Jr.
H-Erica George, Swarthmore, Sr.
S-Jackie Skibbie, Franklin & Marshall, Sr.
H-Nina Mullenhard, Haverford, Sr.
H-Krista Eiser, McDaniel, Sr.

Honorable Mention
L-Meghan Godorov, Franklin & Marshall, Sr.
H-Margie Hatch, Dickinson, Sr.
H-Jennifer Wang, Swarthmore, Fr.
S-Amanda Lewis, Johns Hopkins, Fr.
H-Kim Jackanich, Johns Hopkins, Fr.