Name: McKay Tarbox

Position: Libero / Defensive Specialist

Year: Senior

Height: 5-foot-6

Hometown: Kaysville, Utah

High School: Davis HS

WSU volleyball libero McKay Tarbox is this week’s Signpost Student-Athlete of the Week after recording 52 digs over three matches, making her the ninth Wildcat in team history with 1,000 career digs.

“I think defensively we all did a good job, the whole team. I think that’s become one of our strengths,” Tarbox said. “I hope that kind of has to do with me, because I take pride in my play. Also, I got a lot of good people in practice that are pushing me, helping to make me better. So it all goes back to the team.”

After recording only seven digs on Tuesday against Utah Valley, Tarbox recorded back-to-back 20-dig games on Thursday and Friday, making 21 digs against Northern Arizona and 24 against Southern Utah.

Tarbox is the first Wildcat to join the 1,000 career dig club since 2009, when Caitlyn Anderson and Chelsea Bair both recorded their 1,000th career dig. Anderson is the current all-time career leader with 1,578 career digs, while Bair is second with 1,279 digs.

“It’s kind of cool,” Tarbox said. ”But again, I think it has a lot to do with the team and the people I play with.”

After Friday night’s loss, Tarbox is sitting at 1,012 career digs, just 23 digs shy of passing Melissa Leonard for eighth all-time. Last year, Tarbox set the single-season digs record with 515 digs. If she is able to finish this season with at least 500 digs, she could move up to third all-time in career digs.

Tarbox and the Wildcats (6-16, 2-6 conference) will be on the road for their next five games, beginning on Thursday night when they travel to take on the Idaho Vandals (10-10, 6-2 conference). Their next home game will be Nov. 6, when they host Sacramento State (5-17, 0-7 conference).

“I think we need to get back in the rhythm of winning,” Tarbox said. “We had a couple good matches we won about a week ago, and I think as soon as we get back in that rhythm, we can win some games away from home, and then come back home and do it here too.”