Villanova’s homecoming weekend featured many athletes who shone brightly. In the volleyball team’s 3-2 victory over Notre Dame, the Wildcats’ Dana Tartazky was the key figure. The senior posted a double-double with 21 kills and 14 digs, earning her The Villanovan’s Star of the Week.

Tartazky’s kills helped carry the ‘Cats to victory. She had six kills in the first set, which helped give the team an early lead. In the fifth and final set of the match, after an ace from Notre Dame, Villanova called a timeout. Holding the lead, they came out of that timeout, and Tartazky sealed the match with a deadly kill.

The Wildcats’ beat the Irish for the second consecutive year and the second time in the team’s 18 meetings.

Tartazky has performed well all season and has improved throughout her Villanova career here. As a senior, she provides much-needed leadership for the young squad.

Much of the scoring load was placed on Tartazky shoulder’s going into the ’08 season, after All-Conference selections Alona Cherkez and Kacy Sellers graduated from the team. Cherkez and Sellers were both atop of the Big East rankings in kills. Their departure left a void that Tartazky has had a smooth transition into.

Tartazky came to Villanova in 2005 from Haifa, Israel. She has always played at a stellar level. In 2000, she was a member of the Israeli High School Championship team that placed eighth at the World High School Championships in Portugal. In 2001 and 2005, she won a gold medal at the Maccabi Games as part of the Israeli national team. Tartazky comes from an athletic family; her brother Eyal plays professional soccer in Israel.

She appeared in 18 matches and played in 43 games in 2005. She has produced 82 kills and 110 digs for an average of 1.91 kills and 2.56 digs per game, respectively.

In her sophomore campaign, she played in 27 matches and 94 games despite injury problems throughout the season. She was second on the team in aces and third in digs. Her 188 kills for the year placed her fourth on the team.

In 2007, she posted 292 kills, averaging 2.65 per contest and ranking third on the team. She also ranked third on the squad for digs, contributing 2.29 digs per game and 252 overall. She collected double-digit kills in 16 of the matches while recording nine double-doubles during the season.

The Wildcats are 12-11 (3-4 Big East), but its win over Notre Dame, one of the top teams in the Big East, makes the Wildcats a team to watch out for in the conference.

With this senior leading the way, conference teams need to worry about the Wildcats as serious contenders in the Big East.