Volleyball player Kristin Austin named state player of the week

Volleyball player Kristin Austin named state player of the week

Irvine Valley women's volleyball player Kristin Austin was named a state player of the week earlier this week by the California Community College Women's Volleyball Coaches Association for her great start to the season so far.

She was named the top Southern California Player with Haley Del Rio of Solano taking Northern California honors.

She has helped Irvine Valley, which is ranked second in the state to a 10-0 record overall and a 3-0 mark in the Orange Empire Conference. IVC has swept seven of 10 opponents on the year.

The sophomore middle blocker leads the state in hitting percentage at .442. Austin averages 2.59 kills and 0.62 blocks per set on the year.

She has three matches with at least 10 kills on the year, including a career-high 19 in Irvine Valley's four-set win over Long Beach City on Sept. 11. She hit .533 in that contest.

Austin recorded 16 kills without an error in 26 attempts (.615 hitting percentage) in Irvine Valley's four-set win over Fullerton on Sept. 20 and she had 13 kills with one error in 25 attempts (.480 hitting percentage) in the Lasers' sweep at Santa Ana on Sept. 25.

Austin is a two-year starter for the Lasers and helped IVC reach the CCCAA State Championships in both indoor and beach volleyball during the 2018-19 school year.

IVC's indoor team finished with a record of 21-2 overall. She was named second team all-conference a year ago after averaging 1.83 kills and 0.68 blocks per set and finishing with a hitting percentage of .443.