Washington volleyball player Christal Morrison was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for October 8-14. The senior from Puyallup, Wash., is no stranger to this award; this is the fifth time in her career that she has received it.

Last week, Morrison played a big hand in the Huskies matches against California and Stanford. While the Huskies suffered their first loss of the season to a then-No.10 Cal, Morrison tallied a team-high: 21 kills, eight digs and a hitting percentage of .370 on the night. The following night, she helped her team rally back from the loss and take down Stanford, which was undefeated and ranked No. 2.

Against the Cardinal, Morrison added 19 kills and 13 digs to lead the Huskies to a 3-2 win in Palo Alto. Morrison returned home with a total of 40 kills, 21 digs and 43.5 points per game against the northern California teams.

Entering her senior season, Morrison is one of the most decorated players in Washington volleyball history. As a freshman, she was named Pac-10 All-Conference First Team and Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore, when the Huskies won the National Championship, Morrison was named NCAA Most Outstanding Player and was named Sports Star of the Year by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Last year, she was named first team All-American by the AVCA, and was awarded Pac-10 Player of the Week three times. This year, Morrison has already established herself as a natural leader of the team and has played an important role in many of this season’s wins.

This is not the first time a Husky has been named Pac-10 Player of the Week this season. Morrison’s teammate, senior Stevie Mussie, also received the honor for the week of September 17-23.

[Reach Rebecca Rogers at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.]