Photo courtesy of Minnesota Duluth athletics.

Kari Wolford, a senior outside hitter for then-No. 2 Minnesota Duluth, has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division II National Player of the Week for her strong play in helping the Bulldogs capture the Colorado Premier Challenge championship, which included wins over two nationally-ranked teams. Minnesota Duluth opened the tournament with a 3-0 win over then-No. 17 Cal State L.A., in which Wolford had 15 kills, a .462 hitting percentage, one ace, five digs and five total blocks. She followed that up with a 13-kill, 19-dig performance in the Bulldogs’ 3-0 win over Regis. Augustana (S.D.) was the Bulldogs’ third opponent of the weekend, and the third 3-0 win for the team. In the match, Wolford hit .591 behind 13 kills in 22 attempts and zero errors. She also added 17 digs, three aces and two total blocks in the win. She closed out the weekend with a 16-kill, 16 dig, three-total-block performance in UMD's 3-1 win over then-#25 Southwest Minnesota State. For the weekend, Wolford averaged a .397 hitting percentage, 4.38 kills, 4.38 digs and 5.23 points per game. This honor marks the seventh time an athlete from Minnesota Duluth has received the Sports Imports/AVCA Division II National Player of the Week award, and the first since Katie Gangelhoff earned it on Sept. 11, 2006. The Bulldogs are coached by Jim Boos.