FARMINGTON, Utah – Eastern Washington University volleyball player Catelyn Linke has been named the Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week after her efforts against Portland State this week, as announced today by the conference office (Feb. 9).
 
Linke earns the award for the first time in her career, and it is also the program's first nod since Oct. 10, 2016 by Ka'iulani Ahuna.
 
The Pasco, Wash., native helped Eastern top Portland State for the first time since 2015 on Feb. 7 in a 3-2 victory. The following day, the Eagles bested the Vikings again in five sets – marking the first back-to-back win over PSU since the 2008 season.
 
In the first match, Linke notched a season-high 23 digs along with a service ace and four assists. The total digs marked her 19^th career performance with 20-or-more digs, which is the fourth most in EWU history, and the fourth of the young season.
 
She followed up with 18 digs in EWU's second match against the Vikings, which would mark her 53^rd career match with 10 digs or more and the seventh of the year.
 
On the week, she averaged 4.10 digs per set with 41 total. She currently ranks second in the Big Sky Conference with 4.43 digs per set this season.
 
Linke has already hit several career milestones this season. The senior has 1,076 digs to rank eighth all-time in program history on the career digs list. On Jan. 27 against Northwest Nazarene, Linke notched her 1,000^th career dig and became just the ninth player in program history to reach that feat. Additionally, her career average of 3.75 digs per set currently ranks her fourth all-time.
 
Linke and the Eagles return to action this Sunday, Feb. 14 and Monday, Feb. 15 at Northern Arizona where they will look to add to their two-match win streak.