FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HAGSTROM NAMED NESCAC VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

LEWISTON, Maine Ð Bates College junior setter Kate Hagstrom of Portola, Calif., has been named New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) player of the week for Sept. 19.

Hagstrom has earned All-Tournament honors in Bates' first two events this season. She was named to the All-Tournament team at the Gordon Invitational Sept. 10-11, leading the Bobcats to a 2-2 record and a tie for second place with two other teams. The highlight of the Gordon Invitational was the Bobcats' five-game victory over MIT, an NCAA Division III tournament participant last season, after dropping the first two games of the match.

Last weekend, Hagstrom and the Bobcats sucessfully defended their home court, winning the Bates Round Robin tournament. Bates swept opponents from Gordon, Colby and Division II St. Michael's College, while not allowing any team more than 15 points in an entire match and allowing more than five points in a single game just once. Hagstrom was named tournament MVP with her perfomance. Including a three-game victory over the University of Maine Farmington Sept. 15, Hagstrom averaged nine assists and 1.33 kills per game over four matches last week. She had 16 kills and no errors in 21 attacks, for a .762 hitting percentage. Hagstrom also had 15 aces in the week, giving her 33 for the entire season. In 1998, when she earned All-NESCAC and All-New England honors, Hagstrom was second in the nation with 1.15 aces per game. This is the second time Hagstrom has been named NESCAC player of the week, earning the honor previously on Nov. 3, 1998.

Hagstrom is a 1997 graduate of Portola Jr./Sr. High School. She is the daughter of Jerrold and Julia Hagstrom, Jacksonville, Ore.