Aug. 26, 2009

2009 Volleyball Webguide

Center Valley, Pa. -- American was selected as the favorite to win its ninth straight Patriot League title, receiving 96 points and 12 first-place votes in the 2009 preseason poll, it was announced Wednesday.

The Eagles ran away with the No. 1 spot in the poll that is voted on by Patriot League volleyball head coaches and sports information contacts. Colgate edged out Army for No. 2, earning 79 points and three first-place votes and Army had 78 points and one first-place vote.

Bucknell was fourth with 65 points and Navy was fifth with 49. Lehigh (34), Lafayette (31) and Holy Cross (16) round out the preseason poll.

Led by 21st-year head coach Barry Goldberg, American enters the 2009 season having lost just three League games since joining eight seasons ago. The Eagles are 109-3 in the Patriot League and have reached 22 or more wins overall in each of the last 12 seasons. Two more wins will give Goldberg his 500th career win. The reigning League Rookie of the Year, Rebecca Heath, returns to help American reach this milestone and more. One of four returning starters, Heath had 318 kills and 182 digs as an outside hitter. Senior Claire Recht and junior Cassandra Ricketts each had more than 200 kills and were among the team's best in blocks. Recht posted a team-high 107 blocks. Either Katie Ganny or Krysta Cicala, both freshmen, will step into the starting role in place of the 2009 Setter of the Year, Christina Nash. American also graduated the League's Player of the Year, Rubena Sukaj, and Defensive Player of the Year, Ivana Cebakova.

Coming off a third-place finish in the League at 9-5, fifth-year head coach Ryan Baker's Colgate squad will look to make a return trip to the League's tournament final. The Raiders will be without graduate Katrina Zawojski, who led the team with 395 kills. However, Colgate returns junior First-Team All-League pick Casey Ritt, who had 239 kills, and junior Logan Keala, sophomore Kaylee Dougherty and senior Kelsea Loveless who each had more than 140 kills. All four will be set up once again by senior setter Meghan Fanta, who had 902 assists last season. She also had 184 digs. Colgate finished the season 15-14, knocking off Army in the semifinals, but fell short of the school's fifth League Tournament title in a 3-1 loss to American in the final.

Army finished with the eighth best record in Division I last season, going 26-4 overall and 13-1 in the League. Led by third-year coach Alma Kovaci (50-9, 25-3 Patriot League), Army returns three starters, but loses its top four offensive players from last season, all of whom tallied more than 200 kills. Senior outside hitter Rachel Dunn is the only returning player with more than 100 kills (126). Maureen Bannon, the 2006 and 2007 Setter of the Year, returns for Army after leading the League in assists with 960 (10.79 per set). She ranks fourth in Army history with 3,033 assists. She also had a team-high 46 service aces.

Bucknell has qualified for the League Tournament 17 times in 19 tries and 20th-year coach Cindy Opalski will look to continue that success with her experienced 2009 squad. The Bison, who went 13-18 overall and 8-6 in the League last season, return all three of their top offensive starters from last season. Junior outside hitter Kaitlin Segal led Bucknell with 338 kills, 256 digs and 40 service aces. Junior Heidi Kamp had 240 kills and sophomore Kyleigh McAhren had 215. They also led the team in blocks with 77 and 58, respectively. Senior setter Allison Gittings, who had 166 assists, will step in to fill the void left by Shannon Pitsch and her team-high 766 assists. Sophomore libero Emily Sawanobori will return to the court after recording 223 digs as a freshman.

Navy had qualified for the League Tournament three of four years before last season's 5-9 campaign (17-13 overall) that placed the Midshipmen in a tie for fifth. Behind 14th-year head coach Mike Schwob, Navy returns three senior starters and a sophomore libero who will look to lead the Midshipmen back to the playoffs. Krista Eschleman had 191 kills and 86 blocks, while Aubrey Manes and Abbie Merkl had 160 and 153 kills, respectively. Merkl tied for the team-high with 44 service aces. Holly Berger, at libero, led Navy with 324 digs.

Lehigh head coach Jenny Maurer enters her third year looking to improve upon last season's 8-20 overall and 3-11 League record. The Mountain Hawks return the majority of their starting lineup from 2008, including four sophomores. Angelika Kopacz led the team with 305 kills as a freshman last season. She also had 184 digs and 26 blocks. Senior Mo McReynolds was second on the team with 222 kills and first in service aces with 34. Sophomore setter Jessica Kudirka (528 assists) and sophomore libero Emma Melendez (294 digs) also return for Lehigh after strong freshmen campaigns. Sophomore Rebecca Slegers was strong in front of the net last season, leading Lehigh with 67 blocks. She also had 114 kills.

Experience could be the difference for the Lafayette Leopards, who have missed the playoffs the last two seasons. Eighth-year head coach Terri Dadio Campbell will send five 2008 starters back onto the court in 2009. Junior Kayly Elmer (302 kills) and Katrina Racibarskas (250) will lead the way offensively. Racibarskas also was big defensively, posting 65 blocks. Senior Cara Mulholland (227 kills) and sophomore Alana Taylor (173 kills and 53 blocks) also return for the Leopards. Senior libero Kari Horn returns after notching a team-high 3.46 digs per set (374 overall), which was third in the League. Senior setter Ashton Rossi, who had 231 assists, will take over for Megan Carter (762 assists).

Second-year head coach Marritt Cafarchia will field five experienced starters from last season's Holy Cross team that went 0-14 in the League and 1-25 overall. Junior setter Chelsey O'Donnell leads the Crusaders' returnees with 594 assists, 182 digs and 22 services aces last season. She was sixth in the League in assists per set with 6.99. Senior Samantha Surface posted a team-best 209 kills last season. Junior Rebecca DeSanti and sophomore Kathleen Colpoys, both starters from last season, return for the Crusaders. Junior libero Angela Chisholm led the team in digs with 241 and 3.21 per set, ranked fifth in the League.

The 2009 season begins Friday with tournament contests for American, Bucknell, Colgate, Lehigh and Navy. League play will open with a full slate of matches on Sept. 25.

2009 Patriot League Volleyball Preseason Poll