Women’s Volleyball Takes Aim At Sixth Straight Conference Crown

Fresh off its fifth straight conference championship and NCAA Tournament berth, the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s volleyball team and eighth year head coach J.J. O’Connell enter the 2009 season with high expectations and hopes of continuing their recent string of success. But gone are four starters from last season. Gone are three former AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans and gone is the program’s winningest class which had a hand in helping to turn Stevens into a perennial power after posting four consecutive 30-plus win seasons. In their place are a solid group of returnees and a talented trio of newcomers, eager to take the reins and continue their legacy.

“We just graduated some very talented seniors. We graduated four starters including our top three middles. There were three All-Americans in that group,” said O’Connell. “As far as the make-up of the team goes there’s going to be some new players out there and teams are going to look at us and not recognize us, but that doesn’t mean we’re any less talented. We have some pretty good freshmen and we’re pretty deep still. Even though our roster size is going to be a little smaller than what we’ve had, I feel like we’re really solid at every position.”

Despite the loss of one of the program’s most talented senior classes, O’Connell believes this year’s squad has a chance to be every bit as successful as their predecessors.

“The team chemistry is solid. They’re working hard. It’s a group we’re all excited about. We had a really, really productive spring and we have to give a lot of credit to our outgoing seniors for contributing during that spring and helping the young players along,” said O’Connell. “They’re all pretty positive. It’s a group that really wants to set the bar high and it’s always good to have self-motivated players on your team. This group is easily motivated and they want to be successful.”

Headlining a core group of veterans looking to fill the void left by the departing senior class, are senior outside hitter Laura Johnson (Middletown, N.Y.), junior libero Julia Reilly (Oradell, N.J.) and junior outside hitter Sarah Byrne (Manilus, N.Y.).

“It’s just a matter of figuring out who’s going to be the on-court leader,” explained O’Connell. “We graduated [Melanie] Volk, [Melissa] Rhode, and [Summer] Hamilton and we knew what we were getting from all those guys because they started for the last four years. Now we’re eager to see who the leader is going to be with this new group.”

Johnson, a team tri-captain a year ago, appeared in 36 matches, tallying 107.5 points on 89 kills with 24 blocks, while Reilly ranked fourth in the conference in digs with 3.92 digs per game (427). Reilly, who currently ranks eighth all-time on Stevens’ career charts with 985 digs, stands just 15 digs shy of the 1,000 dig plateau and could surpass Volk for second all-time (1,431) by season’s end.

“Laura’s a really smart player. She gives us great serving, great blocking, great hitting,” said O’Connell of Johnson. “She is definitely the organization of the team, while Julia [Reilly] is the intensity. She’s our starting libero and the heart and soul of the team. She wants to play at a high level all the time. She brings it on every point and that’s something that’s hard to teach and we’re certainly glad to have it.”

Byrne, a 2008 AVCA All-Region, AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and Empire 8 first-team honoree, returns after a stellar sophomore season in which she posted 432.5 points, while leading the Ducks in points per game (3.70) and ranking third in the conference in kills per game with 3.25 (380).

“She’s a major offensive threat,” said O’Connell. “She can jump out of the gym and she’s our most dynamic player.”

Helping to solidify the Ducks’ attack are junior outside hitter Maggie Majcher (Rahway, N.J.), sophomores Amethyst Holder (Parsippany, N.J.) and Kate Janes (Warwick, N.Y.), and freshman Maggie Kowalska (Edison, N.J.), all of whom figure to play an important role in a high-powered Stevens offense.

“Maggie Majcher and Maggie Kowalska, on the right side, both those young women should have a major impact,” said O’Connell. “Janes and Holder are going to be competing for time on the left and right [side] also.”

Majcher compiled 266.0 points last season with 225 assists and 59 blocks, while Janes and Holder combined for 47.0 points with 30 kills in limited action last season.

Last year Stevens ranked first in the conference in hitting percentage (.229) and kills per game (12.54), while ranking second in assists (11.18) and blocks (2.07) per game. O’Connell hopes to continue to develop the potent Ducks’ attack while placing more emphasis on the Stevens defense.

“The last few years we’ve put a lot of emphasis on our team offense, but when we struggle our defense has to be able to carry the day. We have to be tougher at the net and better behind the block and we have to be serving a little tougher. The defense and the serving are going to be things that we’re going to focus on all season but not at the expense of our team offense,” said O’Connell. Adding, “In rally scoring, if you side out that’s a major factor so we’ve spent a lot of time on side out plays and we’ve got a pretty dynamic offense right now. It’s just a matter of staying in system. Can we get the ball to the setter? Can the setter get the ball to the hitters? If we do that we’re good.”

Heading up the Ducks defense are a trio of middle blockers in the form of junior Myriam Petitpierre (Austin, Texas), senior new comer Brittany Fuller (East Rockaway, N.Y), and freshman transfer Michelle Plotzker (Fairport, N.Y.). Myriam, who is the only returning middle from a year ago, will look to provide upperclassman leadership throughout the season to the talented but inexperienced Fuller and Plotzker.

“She stepped right in, in the spring, and impressed us all after not playing volleyball for three years,” said O’Connell of Fuller. “We were really impressed with what she did and we expect Michelle [Plotzker] to compete for a spot in the middle after transferring in from Stony Brook.”

Rounding out the Ducks’ 2009 roster are setters Sara Budar (Honolulu, Hawaii), Trish Duford (Rochester, N.Y.) and Andrea Bucko (Union, N.J.) and junior setter/libero Brittany Conroy (Loudonville, N.Y.).

“Sara [Budar] really stepped in last season and ran our offense pretty well. She had a pretty nice spring and she’s going to be a major contributor,” said O’Connell. “Brittany Conroy did some good stuff in the spring for us. She was out with a knee injury so she was actually more like a coach, so to have a player/coach situation is certainly a strength for your team. Even though she wasn’t practicing she was in the gym with us helping out with drills and having her there was definitely a plus [for the team].”

Budar, a junior, closed out last season ranked second on the team in assists per game with 4.88 (537) and service aces with 35, while also collecting 187 digs. Bucko, Conroy and DuFord combined for 70 assists and 156 digs in limited time last season.

O’Connell believes the team’s depth and athleticism will help the squad throughout the season, while allowing the staff to prepare game plans tailored to their individual strengths.

“One of our strengths is definitely our depth. Also, we are extremely athletic. We have some multiple sport athletes on our team who would contribute in other sports,” said O’Connell. “Top to bottom this is probably one of the most athletic groups we’ve had since I’ve been here at Stevens. We may not be as tall but we’re certainly more athletic. It’s going to be an interesting group and the things we’re going to be able to do with them are going to be fun.”
 
Stevens, which received 41 votes in the AVCA Top 25 Preseason Poll and was picked to finish second in the Empire 8 by the league’s nine head coaches, opens its season with a pair of non-conference home matches against Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham and Hunter College on September 2.

The Ducks’ non-league slate, which features 10 teams that earned NCAA Tournament berths last season, kicks into high gear on September 4 and 5 with a trip to Haverford, Pa. for the Haverford College Tournament. While there, Stevens faces Widener University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Frostburg State University, and tournament host No. 24Haverford - with the latter two coming off NCAA Tournament berths.

Things don’t get any easier for the Ducks with a September 11 and 12 trip to the Colorado College Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo. where 2008 NCAA Tournament qualifiers No. 19 University of Puget Sound and No. 18 Colorado College await.

Stevens returns home for a trio of matches against SUNY Cortland and 2008 NCAA Tournament participants No. 25 Williams College and No. 23 Eastern University on September 18 and 19 before opening up Empire 8 play with matches against Hartwick College, Utica College, St. John Fisher College, and Ithaca College on September 26 and 27.

The Ducks’ enjoy a seven game non-league stretch highlighted by a matchup with SUNY New Paltz, which advanced to the Elite Eight round of last season’s NCAA Tournament, before returning to conference play on October 23 against Rochester Institute of Technology and Alfred College.

Stevens squares off with Elmira College and Empire 8 preseason No. 1 Nazareth to close out conference play on October 24 before four consecutive non-league tilts, including matches against a final pair of 2008 NCAA Tournament teams in the form of Sage Colleges and SUNY Fredonia, which ended the Ducks’ season in the second round of last year’s tournament.

Despite the grueling schedule, O’Connell ultimately believes the squad’s mix of veterans and newcomers, coupled with hard work and determination, can translate into another successful season for the Ducks.

“We just want to play as hard as we can against every opponent we face. If that takes us to certain places we’re happy with that,” said O’Connell. “We’ve obviously been a fairly successful team so we know there are certain stops along the way we’d like to hit and if we just play hard on every point we can get there. That’s where we’re going to put our focus.”