Kayla Lund wins 4th ACC Freshman of the Week Award

Pitt volleyball’s Kayla Lund is having an incredible season and, barring something crazy, it should end with her winning the ACC Freshman of the Year Award.

Lund again won the ACC Freshman of the Week award on Monday. If you’ve lost count by now, that’s the fourth time she’s won it this season. Fellow Pitt freshman Chinaza Ndee has won it twice.

For some perspective on why Lund should be the runaway winner, look at last season. That year, Julia Scoles won the ACC Freshman of the Year Award and she had won the weekly honors only twice. Lund has absolutely dominated the rest of the freshmen in the conference this season.

Lund didn’t exactly come out of nowhere. She made at least one Top 50 Recruit list and Fisher expected her to contribute right away, calling her one of the nation’s top outside hitters. She’s not only contributing but starting. Lund has been so good, in fact, that she took the starting spot from senior Mariah Bell, who was All-ACC Second Team last year. How often does a true freshman replace an All-Conference senior?

Despite all of the expectations, it’s still incredible to see that she’s made the transition to the college game so quickly. On many of Pitt’s broadcasts this season, even when Pitt is away and playing in front of announcers unfamiliar with her, they often comment that she doesn’t look like a freshman.

Lund shouldn’t only win the ACC Freshman of the Year award but she could even threaten to make one of the two All-ACC teams as well. That might be out of reach as Lund doesn’t rank in the top ten of the key statistics tracked by the league on their website. But last year’s winner, Scoles, managed to get onto the Second Team and, as stated, won the weekly freshman award only twice.

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