|
Women's Volleyball Sets Sights On Seventh-Straight Conference Championship
Fresh off a 2009 season in which it posted a 26-10 overall record en route to a sixth-consecutive conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance, the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s volleyball team enters the 2010 campaign with its sights set on an all too familiar goal: an Empire 8 title and NCAA Tournament berth.
“Our expectations are the same every year. We want to compete for the conference title and compete for the regional championship – with the goal of getting to the national quarterfinals,” said head coach J.J. O’Connell – the 2009 Empire 8 Coach of the Year. “I don’t think those expectations change for us anymore. We’re keeping our program at that level and that’s where we want to stay.”
Nine returnees will look to build upon last season’s success, including a pair of American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) honorable mention All-Americans in senior Sarah Byrne (Manlius, N.Y.) and sophomore Maggie Kowalska (Edison, N.J.).
Byrne, the conference’s Player of the Year, returns after a stellar junior season in which she led the Empire 8 in kills per set (3.75), while setting a single-season program record for kills (472) and points (527). Kowalska, last season’s Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, will look to continue to improve in her second full season on the Hudson after capping off a rookie campaign in which she posted 93 block assists and 111 total blocks – which rank second on the program’s single-season record book.
Also returning to the fold this season are seniors Sara Budar (Honolulu, Hawaii), an 2009 Empire 8 honorable mention selection, Julia Reilly (Oradell, N.J.), Maggie Majcher (Rahway, N.J.), and Brittany Conroy (Loudonville, N.Y.), juniors Kate Janes (Warwick, N.J.) and Amethyst Holder (Parsippany, N.J.), and sophomore Michelle Plotzker (Fairport, N.Y.).
Budar, who currently sits second all-time in the program’s career assists chart, finished the season ranked second in the Empire 8 in assists per set (9.35), while dishing out 1,290 assists on the year – good for second on Stevens’ single-season charts. Reilly returns to help solidify the Ducks’ defense after collecting 551 digs a year ago, ranking fourth in both the Empire 8 and the school’s single-season list.
“I think our experience and depth are a couple of our strengths. We’re bringing back some very talented attackers in Sarah Byrne and Maggie Kowalska,” said O’Connell. “Also, Maggie Majcher is coming back and Amythest Holder is ready to contribute and we have some great depth behind them in Kate Janes and Michelle Plotzker as well so we definitely have some offensive weapons in place.”
Hoping to compliment the core group of Duck veterans are six talented newcomers in Ashley Castillo (Cresskill, N.J.), Mary Caulson (Floral Park, N.Y.), Chrissy Dickinson (Issaquah, Wash.), Mikayla Floyd (Chester, N.H.), Hannah Gasper (Bourne, Mass.), and Sam Gates (Wilmington, N.C.).
“We’re going to have a good group of freshmen coming in that we expect to contribute. We’re expecting great things from Chrissy Dickinson right off the bat, our 6’2 middle from Washington,” O’Connell said. “We’re also bringing in two freshmen setters, Sam Gates and Ashley Castillo, and we’ll certainly be expecting them to contribute. We also expect good things from Mary Caulson, Mikayla Floyd, and Hannah Gasper.”
Stepping in to fill some of the leadership void left by former captain Laura Johnson (Middletown, N.Y.) are the Ducks’ senior class, which will hope to blend the team’s mix of youth, experience, and talent. As a team, Stevens finished last season ranked first in the league in points (11.93) kills and assists (11.07) per set and third in digs per set (15.87) and hitting percentage.
“We expect Julia Reilly to take on a lot of those leadership responsibilities. Sarah Byrne contributed a lot last year as a leader as well. Brittany Conroy and Sara Budar – running the offense – we’ll expect a lot of those seniors to step up, along with Amythest Holder who’ll need to step up as a leader both this year and in the future,” said O’Connell. “We’re pretty versatile and have players that can play multiple positions. Our student-athletes can contribute all over the place and we certainly have some great depth so I think our flexibility will be one of our strengths again this year.”
Stevens opens a challenging 2010 schedule, which includes seven programs that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season, on September 1 against Fairleigh Dickinson University – Florham and Hunter College. The Ducks will then compete in the Haverford Tournament on September 4-5 against Carnegie Mellon University and host Haverford College.
The Ducks open their home schedule against Ramapo College on September 8, in what will serve as the team’s annual Duck Country event, before hosting the 2010 Ducks Classic on September 17- 18. Stevens begins Empire 8 play in Rochester, N.Y. on September 25-26 against Elmira College, St. John Fisher College, Hartwick College, and Rochester Institute of Technology, before playing host to the 2010 Ducks Invitational Tournament on October 1-2.
Last season, Stevens rebounded from an uncharacteristic 4-5 start, winning 22 of its next 26 matches en route to a 26-10 overall mark and a sixth-consecutive league crown and NCAA Tournament berth. The Ducks, who finished 10-0 against conference opponents, extended their conference win-streak to 63 matches – which dates back to 2004 when the squad competed in the Skyline Conference – a trend they hope to continue this year.
“It’s just a matter of putting away some of those tough teams we played last season. Of those five losses, we took two of those teams to five games, and four of those teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament, O’Connell said. “ I thought we were in good position to beat a couple of those teams and I think this year, it’s just a matter of putting some of those good teams away when we have the opportunity to, but first and foremost our priority is putting teams away in conference and if we play well I think we can do that. We’re in a good conference and you don’t want to take anything for granted there, but I think we have the talent to do it.”
|
