NDP senior Katherine Carlson is the 2014-15 Gatorade Michigan Volleyball Player of the Year. Last month, she was named the state’s Miss Volleyball.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jason Belenke (312-729-3631)
NOTRE DAME PREPARATORY SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED GATORADE® MICHIGAN VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
CHICAGO (December 11, 2014) — In its 30th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Katherine Carlson of Notre Dame Preparatory School as its 2014-15 Gatorade Michigan Volleyball Player of the Year. Carlson is the second Gatorade Michigan Volleyball Player of the Year to be chosen from Notre Dame Preparatory School.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Carlson as Michigan’s best high school volleyball player. Carlson joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including USA Volleyball players Kim Glass (2001-02, Horseshoe HS, Penn.), Kim Willoughby (1998-99, 1999-00, Assumption HS, La.) and Ogonna Nnamani (1999-00, University HS, Ill).
The 5-foot-11 senior outside hitter amassed 1,042 kills, 425 digs, 114 service aces and 63 blocks while posting a kill percentage of .600 and leading the Fighting Irish (57-6) to the Class B semifinals this past season. The state’s 2014 Miss Volleyball winner, she is a 2014-15 American Volleyball Coaches Association Under Armour All-America Honorable Mention selection and a three-time First Team All-State honoree.
Carlson has maintained a 4.37 GPA in the classroom. A member of the National Honor Society, she has volunteered locally on behalf of the St. Vincent De Paul charity and as an elementary school tutor in addition to donating her time as a youth basketball, volleyball and soccer coach.
“Katherine Carlson is one of the top players we faced this year,” said Kathy Lehman, head coach at Concord High. “She can attack the ball with power, but can also find the open spot and put the ball down with finesse. She is a great defender and because of her size, she can cover a lot of court. I think the quality I liked best about her, however, is that she is a great teammate.”
Carlson has signed a National Letter of Intent to play volleyball on scholarship at Indiana’s Valparaiso University in the fall of 2015.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport. (See video for more.)
Carlson joins recent Gatorade Michigan Volleyball Players of the Year Carli Snyder (2013-14 & 2012-13, Dakota High School), Maddy Doyle (2011-12, Mercy High School), Alex Lovell (2010-11, Marian High School), Rachel Charles (2009-10, Marian), Megan Hendrickson (2008-09, Jenison) and Molly Coldren (2007-08, Notre Dame Preparatory School) among the state’s list of former award winners.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.