2007 Outlook
2007 Rider University Volleyball Outlook
Something old, something new. Well, sort of. With eight letterwinners back, including five starters, the Rider University volleyball team enters the 2007 season with players that saw action in 70 percent of the games played last season. That stat says the Broncs are one of the most experienced teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The fact that five of the eight returnees are only sophomores puts a new spin on the upcoming season. Sophomore jinx? More like ‘young and experienced’ according to Head Coach Emily Ahlquist.
Ahlquist, who is entering her ninth season as head coach, sees a great benefit to having the five sophomores interact with the seven rookies that make up the class of 2011. “The sophomores just went down the road that the freshmen will travel this season,” said Ahlquist.
The possibility of youth being served (along with a volleyball or two) has Ahlquist excited about the upcoming season.
“I think we are going to surprise people,” said Ahlquist, who saw the young Broncs picked ninth in the conference pre-season coaches’ poll. “We are young by looking at our roster. Eleven of the 15 are sophomores or first-year players. However, the sophomores gained a lot of game time experience last season. They have experienced the round-robin conference schedule and will fare better from the adversity and success that were part of 2006. The sophomores will remember what it was like to walk in the gym for the first time and not know anyone, the first practices and the first games. Those experiences will allow them to help the freshmen adapt a lot quicker. I anticipate that we will be able to spend more time teaching about the game and strategies.”
Leading the eight returnees is senior outside-hitter Katrina Stehle, a two-time member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic team and a member of the 2006-07 MAAC honor roll, who is currently applying to medical school as a Biology major. “Katrina works very hard and is very smart,” said Ahlquist. “She worked hard in the weight room during the off-season and her work ethic is an example that everyone should follow.” Stehle was third on the team in points and kills as a junior and is a veteran of 292 games.
The two juniors are outside-hitters Lacey Johnson and Lindsay Brant. “Lacey will play on the outside and lend some stability to that position,” said Ahlquist. “Depending on who is in the lineup, she may have to play more than one role this season but her athletic ability gives us that flexibility.” Johnson, a member of the MAAC All-Academic team, was second on the team in kills and digs as a sophomore.
Brant is expected to see more playing time this season according to Ahlquist. “We see Lindsay playing either on the left or right side, again depending on what the team needs,” Ahlquist said. Brant, a member of the MAAC All-Academic team, enters the season having appeared in 100 games, averaging 1.0 kills and 0.9 digs per game in her career.
The sophomore class consists of five letterwinners including setter Shannon Bures, middle-hitter Alex Chapla, right-side outside-hitter Tara Hansen, middle-hitter and outside-hitter Brittany Hayes and defensive specialist Amy Jeary.
Bures appeared in 51 games, averaging 1.9 digs and was second on the team in assists and fifth in the MAAC in service aces. “Shannon will be the veteran setter,” said Ahlquist. “She comes in with the experience she gained last season and when she took over the primary setting position in the spring. She knows the offense and knows what we like to run. That experience will make us stronger at her position.”
Chapla appeared in 103 games as a rookie and was third on the team in blocks. “Alex is a great floor leader,” Ahlquist said. “She stepped up into a leadership role in the spring. How she comes back from the ACL that she tore in May will dictate how her season goes. If she doesn’t play, she’ll red-shirt this year. If that happens, she’ll play a role as another coach, another set of eyes that will help make us better. She is a great asset to the program whether she is on or off the court. Going through what she is going through will make her a better player because helping coach her teammates will reinforce her skills and give her a better understanding of the game.”
Hansen averaged 2.5 digs per game as a rookie. “Tara works very hard,” Ahlquist said. “We expect her to see more playing time. She will pick up more leadership roles on the floor and we will rely on her to be more vocal.”
Hayes appeared in all 106 games in 2006 and was second on the team in blocks. “We anticipate Brittany to have a breakout year,” said Ahlquist. “She worked hard in her off-season training and comes into the season in great shape.”
Jeary, the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week (October 2-8) also appeared in 106 games for the Broncs leading the team in digs. Jeary was second in the MAAC in conference match dig average, third overall in the MAAC in digs and eighth in the MAAC in service aces. “Amy is going to run our defense,” Ahlquist said. “We expect that our Libero will play all positions in the back row. Amy will be more vocal and we expect her to be like a quarterback, setting the defense and letting the team know where they need to be.”
Ahlquist sees having a sophomore class that saw a considerable amount of playing time as a unique advantage coming into the season.
“They are not typical sophomores,” Ahlquist said. “On most teams, the sophomore year is the transition year, the year that they are expected to see more playing time and take more of a leadership role. On our team, the sophomore class already went through that as first year players so they are that much ahead. They still have to take on more of a vocal role, but they know what they are doing on the floor and that’s going to be big for us. They will have a smaller learning curve than other sophomores around the league. They’ve been down the road already that others are going down for the first time.”
And how they go down that road will be integral to the success of the 2007 season as the Broncs start with 11 in a row away from Alumni Gym and overall will play 18 of 28 matches away from Alumni Gym.
With three of the sophomores having played over 100 games as rookies (Chapla, Hayes, Jeary), the stage is set for a smooth transition for the Class of 2011.
The first-year players include right-side setters Elyse Grassmuck and Amanda Piccolini, middle-hitter Kristy Love and outside-hitters Katelyn Thompson, Tara Nadasky, Kerianne Dudley and Michelle Tuzio.
“Elyse and Amanda are the two incoming setters,” said Ahlquist. “One of the good things is that for both their club teams, they played a ‘6-2’, meaning they set and they hit right side and that experience is going to help us be more versatile. They can play both positions with equal confidence. We are going to train them as setters right away and how they do will help determine what kind of system we will run. My guess is that we will start running a ‘5-1’ but we anticipate moving into a ‘6-2’. It’s nice to have that option.” Grassmuck was the 2006 District MVP and San Antonio Express News All Area MVP as a senior out of La Vernia High in Seguin, Texas with Piccolini winning 2006 Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors out of St. Clairsville High in St. Clairsville Ohio.
“Kristy we expect to step in right away and play in the middle,” Ahlquist said. “She is strong, agile and fast.” Love was the 2006 Section V Division III Player of the Year as a senior out of Pittsford Sutherland High in Pittsfield, New York.
“Katelyn has good blood lines,” according to Ahlquist. “Her sister is a sophomore volleyball player at Rutgers. Katelyn is the type of outside-hitter who can control the ball. She is smart, she can hit the line or hit cross court. We expect her to fight for playing time on the outside.” Katelyn earned second team All-State honors at Catalina Foothills High in Tucson, Arizona.
“Tara, Kerianne and Michelle will help us with depth,” Ahlquist said. “They can play multiple positions and come from very good club programs. They have competed at a high level and can handle multiple roles.” Tara was a three-time Mid-Hudson Athletic League first team honoree at Rondout High in Stone Ridge, New York, Kerianne was a four-year letter winner at Nanuet High in Nanuet, New York and Michelle was a two-time team MVP out of Paramus High in Paramus, New Jersey.
The Broncs travel to the Temple Invitational August 24-25 and open the home schedule against MAAC rival Manhattan September 22.
“At the Temple Invitational, playing Akron and Youngstown State is going to be a challenge,” said Ahlquist. “We will know right away what we need to work on playing in that tournament. It is nice that it is local (Philadelphia, Pa.) so we will be able to get some fans there and it is also great competition. The Quinnipiac Tournament, against Quinnipiac, Providence and UMBC is also going to be a high level of competition. Then we travel to Princeton which is traditionally a strong program. We will have a high quality of competition before we enter the MAAC schedule with the Buffalo trip in mid-September. We’ll have some good measuring sticks.”
Being well-traveled (or able to travel well) is something that Ahlquist has tried to address with the setup of the schedule.
“The retuning players will have to know how to get off the bus and play,” said Ahlquist. “We don’t have many overnight trips and time to get acclimated to our surroundings. We have to be ready to play. Our pre-MAAC schedule will get us prepared for that. We will learn in a hurry how to play in different gyms, in different lighting, and in sometimes hostile surroundings and those experiences will get us ready for the conference. You have to prepare yourself for the grind of the 18-game MAAC schedule and our pre-conference schedule does that.”
Rider opens the conference schedule with the annual Buffalo, New York trip on September 15-16, facing Canisius and Niagara. The Broncs face pre-season favorites Fairfield (September 28) and Siena (September 23) for the first time in late September. The Stags and Saints were picked one-two in the coaches’ poll and placed five of six players on the pre-season All-MAAC team.
“Fairfield is the pre-season favorite,” Ahlquist said. “Every year, everyone is fighting for position and this season will be wide open. The double round-robin makes a more deserving champion because you have to be solid all season and not get hot over a two-week period. The 18-game conference schedule also takes some of the injury factor out because you get to play everyone twice and you may have a player back that you didn’t have the first time you played a particular team. It makes for better rivalries and competition. One bad weekend won’t wipe out four months worth of work. Pretty much on any given day, anyone can beat anyone in the conference. You have to be mentally tough.”
Not to be overlooked is the performance of the volleyball team in the classroom. Since Ahlquist arrived in 1999, 29 players have been awarded All-MAAC Academic honors, including every eligible player (sophomore or higher) on the 2006 roster and the team has had the highest team semester g.p.a. four times.
“You have to be smart to play the game of volleyball,” said Ahlquist. “It is such a game of strategy and momentum. We’ve won the team academic award several times and that’s our goal every semester, be the top team on campus in academics and that’s one of our areas of focus when recruiting. You have to have strong academics before our school will even consider you and that’s across the board for all the sports. Over half of our student-athletes have over a 3.0 g.p.a. and that says a lot for each team and the philosophy of the department of athletics. The strong work ethic that our team has translates to success both on the court and in the classroom.”
In the spring of 2006, the volleyball team compiled the highest semester team g.p.a. ever recorded at Rider (3.62) with every player last season compiling a g.p.a. over 3.00.
Having a team with something old and something new may just be the combination for success as the Broncs ride into 2007.
“Having many players that can play multiple roles is going to be key for us,” Ahlquist said. “That added depth is going to help us in those tight matches. We went 1-3 in five set matches last season but the total scores were only 55-52 so every point matters and if we can swing a few of those points our way, we can win those four and five set matches. The fresher we are and the more versatile we are the better our chances will be.”
With injuries taking a toll in the spring, the interchangeable parts could get an early test with the Broncs using the combination of ‘something old, something new’.
