GCAC Hall of Fame
 Congratulations to Kate Crnich Riggins ’93! Kate, along with 8 other individuals and a team, will be inducted into the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Hall of Fame on Sunday, March 19, 2006 at Monastero’s Ristorante & Banquets, located at 3935 W. Devon, in Chicago. The ceremony will be held in conjunction with the 31st Anniversary dinner of the formation of the Girls’ Catholic Athletic Conference. Everyone is invited to attend this event. The doors will open at 3:00 p.m. There will be a cash bar from 3:00-4:00 p.m. and dinner will be served at 4:15 p.m. Tickets are $30 per person. Please make checks payable to: Girls Catholic Athletic Conference (GCAC).
Mail payments to:
Trinity High School
c/o Rosaria Cicchetti
7574 W. Division St.
River Forest, IL 60305
Contact Rosaria Cicchetti, ticket coordinator, with questions at: rcicchetti@trinityhs.org.
While at Trinity Kate earned All-Division and All-Conference honors four times in volleyball and All-Conference once in softball. She was voted Trinity’s 1993 Outstanding Senior Athlete, selected as MVP of the volleyball team and twice earned the softball team’s Best Offensive Player Award. As a senior she helped lead the volleyball team to a 28-7 record, its fourth-straight Regional title and its first-ever Sectional Championship. Kate also led the GCAC in kills and hitting percentage in both her junior and senior seasons.
After graduating from Trinity, Kate attended the University of Nebraska. Kate’s interest and love of the game of volleyball, combined with talent and patience eventually earned her a starting spot on Nebraska’s Volleyball Team.
By 1995 she was an essential player in Nebraska’s run to the national title. She started almost every match and was a key contributor both offensively and defensively for the Corn Huskers. She had a career day against Texas in the National Championship match, recording 25 kills and 21 digs, both personal bests, as she helped Nebraska win its first NCAA National Volleyball Championship as well as earning a spot on the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. She improved throughout the season, topping her career high in kills three times in the season’s final seven matches. She had 10 kills against Oklahoma in the first round of the Big Eight Tournament and 13 kills against Penn State in the NCAA Regionals. Kate registered double figures in digs nine times, including 20 digs against then- No. 1 Stanford, 20 against Oklahoma and 21 against Texas. She was second on the team with 264 digs per game and fourth with 1.03 kills per game, hit .237 with 18 kills, had 253 digs and 49 blocks. In Big Eight games Kate averaged 1.53 kills, 2.41 digs and .53 blocks per game and had a least seven kills in 13 matches with a career-high four block assists against UCLA in the NCAA Regional final. In 1996, Kate was regarded as an excellent defensive player; she provided Husker fans with some memorable offensive moments.
During Kate’s volleyball career at Nebraska, the Corn Huskers were the 1994 and 1995 Big 8 Champions; the 1996 Big 12 Champions; the 1995 and 1996 NCAA Regional Champions; the 1995 National Volleyball Champions; and in 1996 they made it to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
Her individual accomplishments include being named to the 1995 Final Four All Tournament Team and the 1996 Big 12 All Conference Team.
After College Kate was a member of the Nebraska Tornadoes of the National Volleyball Association in 1996 and 1997. In 1997 she helped the Tornadoes win the National Volleyball Association Championship and was named to the NVA All Pro Team.
Kate is now married to Lieutenant Jack Riggings of the United States Navy. They reside in California with their 2 children, Cappy 2 ½ years old and JJ who is 4 months old. |
