NEC Player of the Week
Brittany Best, Sacred Heart
So., OH, Norco, CA/Norco
Best garners a NEC Player of the Week nod after being selected to the Sacred Heart Invitational All-Tournament team for a consistent effort in the Pioneers’ three-match weekend. She finished the tournament with 30 kills, 30 digs, six total blocks, a pair of assists and four service aces. She hit .250 for the tournament and had four kills and nine digs as the Pioneers blitzed Holy Cross 3-0 in the opening match. The sophomore had her best match of the Invitational on Saturday morning finishing with a double-double (15 kills, 13 digs) as SHU got past Missouri-Kansas City. In the finale, a 3-0 win over Iona, Best had 11 more kills, hit .312 in the match and also collected eight more digs.
NEC Rookie of the Week
Lauren Wingard, Saint Francis (PA)
Fr., MB, York, PA/Dallastown Area
Wingard earns NEC Rookie of the Week after leading the Red Flash in hitting percentage at .342 and recording a team- and career-high 12 kills in the match against Duquesne. The 6-foot-1 middle blocker tied senior teammate Shirley Miller for all-tournament team but was chosen for the spot in a coaches' tiebreaker. So far this season the York native ranks second on the team in blocks with 14 and kills with 54.
Around The League:
Making History: The Pioneer's of Sacred Heart University have started their season with a 5-1 record that marks the best start ever for the women's volleyball program. Their 25-6 win over Holy Cross in the second set of the 3-0 Pioneer victory was the largest margin of victory in a set in school history. In CCSU's loss to NJIT Kaitlin Petrella (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) led the defense again with a match-high 28 digs putting her over the 1,000 dig mark for her career (1,023). Petrella is only the fourth player in Blue Devil history to eclipse that mark and is only 192 shy of the all-time record. In the Standings: SHU junior Courtney Kidd-Kadlubek (Santa Barbara, CA/Santa Barbara) is averaging nearly 12 assists per set this season and already has 236 helpers. She is third on SHU's all-time list in that category with 2,191. CCSU junior libero Kaitlin Petrella (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) came into the season ranked fifth in the CCSU annals for career digs with 960. After the first match of the 2009 season she moved up to fourth. CCSU's Jamie Baumert (Elkhorn, NE/Elkhorn) totaled nine blocks in the match (four solo, five assisted)against Manhattan which marks an NEC single match high so far this season. Preseason Pick: A poll of the league's head coaches chose Long Island and Robert Morris to share the top spot. Long Island received five first-place nods while Robert Morris garnered three. The final first place vote went to Saint Francis (PA) who placed fifth. The Blackbirds are back in 2009 looking to defend their '08 crown, which was their fifth in a row. After going five years of their own as champions from 1999-2003, the Colonials seek to start a new streak of their own. Tournament Time: The 2009 NEC Women's Volleyball Championship will be held on November 22 & 22 at the home of the high seed. The top four teams in the regular season will advance to the single elimination tournament. The winner of the NEC Championship will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Team-by-Team Notes:
Bryant (1-5, 0-0 NEC)
The Bulldogs earned their first win of the 2009 season with a 3-2 victory over Providence College Saturday despite going 1-2 in the weekend's Volley in the Valley (Marist) Tournament. Sophomore Maria Scocca (Melrose, MA/Arlington Catholic) led the Bulldogs, being named to the all-tournament team for her 47-kill, 15-block performance in a trio of games. Scocca set a new career high with 29 kills Saturday morning against PC. Sophomore Jazmin Stoner (Durango, CO/Durango) also had a strong tournament collecting 28 kills and chipping in 32 digs on the weekend. Senior Adriana Fuertes (Miramar, Puerto Rico/Academia del Perpetuo Socorro) collected 63 assists in three matches while senior Julie Geonnotti (Eden Prairie, MN/ Benilde-St. Margaret's) registered 44 assists to go with 17 kills and 10 total blocks. Junior Robyn Gardner (Longwood, FL/Lake Brantley) paced the Bulldogs defensively with 46 digs. BU takes on Holy Cross tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. and then travel to Brown in another 7:00 p.m. match on Thursday, Sept. 10.
Central Connecticut (1-2, 0-0 NEC)
Central Connecticut State University opened up the 2009 season with a 1-2 mark while hosting the CCSU Blue Devil Invitational. The Blue Devils started the weekend with a tightly contested 3-2 loss to Manhattan on Friday. Central fell to 0-2 after getting swept by NJIT in the first of two matches on Saturday. CCSU got into the win column for the first time in 2009 when they defeated Hartford 3-0 in the final match of the home tournament. Against Manhattan CCSU was led by senior captain Jamie Baumert (Elkhorn, NE/Elkhorn) with 16 kills while sophomore Sara DeLacey (Spring Lake Park, MN/Spring Lake Park) and freshman Blaike King (Carson City, NV/Carson City) added 15 in the defeat. Junior libero Kaitlin Petrella (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) came into the season ranked fifth in the CCSU annals for career digs with 960. After the first match of the 2009 season she moved up to fourth. Petrella recorded a match best 24 digs against the Jaspers and out dug former Blue Devil Jackie Fernandez's 983 digs by one. The duo of junior captain Amanda Bayer (Allen, TX/Allen) and sophomore Danielle Gasser (New Milford, CT/New Milford) at the setter position combined for 47 assists on the day with Bayer leading the way with 30. Baumert totaled nine blocks in the match (four solo, five assisted) which marks a NEC single match high so far this season. In CCSU's loss to NJIT Petrella led the defense again with a match high 28 digs putting her over 1,000 dig mark for her career. Petrella is only the fourth player in Central history to eclipse that mark. The junior would tally another 11 in the Hartford victory and finish the weekend with 63 digs. She moved her career total up to 1,023 and is just 192 digs shy of the all-time record in Central Connecticut history. In the NJIT loss, CCSU was led by King's eight kills, Bayer¡¯s 17 assists and Baumert's three blocks. In the sweep of Hartford, the Blue Devils got team highs of nine kills from freshmanEmily Cochran (Adel, IA/Adel-DeSoto-Minburn), 12 digs from Gasser, 26 assist from Bayer and four blocks from both DeLacey and junior Tori Vaughan (Salinas, CA/Salinas). CCSU will next play at the Fordham Rose Hill Classic on September 11 and 12.
Fairleigh Dickinson (3-5, 0-0 NEC)
FDU competed in four matches this week going 1-3. The Knights fell at NJIT 3-1.Meaghan Wheeler (Chatsworth, CA/Chaminade College Prep) led the Knights with 15 kills and 21 digs. Against Delaware State, FDU fell in a close match, 3-2, led again by Wheeler's 20 kills. Kelsey Semler (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) had 27 digs and Ali Philbrik (Lanham, MD/Elizabeth Seton)added 14 kills and 11 digs. Sarah Willey dished out 41 assists. The squad bounced back for a win against St. Peter's led by Wheeler's 24 kills and 20 digs, while Violeta Slabakova (Shelby Township, MI/Utica) added 17 kills and Willey chipped in 43 assists and 18 digs. Amanda Alayon (West Haverstraw, NY/North Rockland) added 15 digs. The Knights finished the weekend dropping a 3-0 match at Lafayette later that day. Manhattan will welcome the Knights on Thursday, Sept. 9 at 7:00 p.m. before FDU competes in the Binghamton Tournament against Cornell on Friday, and Binghamton and Towson on Saturday.
Long Island (0-6, 0-0 NEC)
Long Island continued its early season struggles dropping four matches this week all by 3-0 margins. The Blackbirds hosted their first match of the season on Sept. 1 falling to Villanova. Long Island spent the weekend in Storrs, CT at the UConn Toyota Classic finding similar luck. On Sept.4, Long Island suffered a loss to the host Huskies. In the first of two Sept. 5 matches, Texas Christian dealt the six-time defending Northeast Conference champions a defeat. In the nightcap, the Blackbirds fell to New Hampshire. Sophomore Ashley Rice (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) was named to the all-tournament team. For the week, seniorSvetlana Simic (Klek, Serbia/Commercial School) led Long Island with 3.42 kills per set and 3.50 digs per set. Simic tallied a team-high five aces, followed by Rice's four. At 0-6, Long Island is off to its worst start since 2005, when it also lost the first six matches. LIU hopes to find their first win of the season tomorrow night at Seton Hall. They will continue moving forward against Colgate, Siena and Georgia when they host the Courtyard by Marriot Classic this weekend.
Quinnipiac (0-3, 0-0 NEC)
The Bobcats opened the 2009 season with three losses at the St. John's Classic. In a 3-0 loss to Fordham, sophomore outside hitter Kelby Carey (Surfside, CA/Los Alamitos) compiled a career-high 14 kills. Sophomore setter Kayla Lawler (Richmond, IN/Centerville) contributed 29 assists while freshman liberoLogan Riker (Bowling Green, OH/Bowling Green) added 16 digs. In a 3-0 loss to St. John's, freshman outside hitter Chelsey Pachoud (Riverview, FL)achieved team highs in kills (8) and digs (13). Riker added 10 digs against the Red Storm. Pachoud again led the Bobcats with 11 digs in a 3-0 loss to Boston College. Carey contributed a team-high 11 kills against the Eagles. Riker was named to the all-Tournament Team, finishing with 34 digs on the weekend. The Bobcats return to action Tuesday when they travel to Hanover, NH, to take on Dartmouth. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Leede Arena.
Robert Morris (3-5, 0-0 NEC)
The Colonials had a tough weekend finishing 0-3 at the Nittany Lion Invitational with losses to Pitt, two-time defending national champions Penn State and Buffalo. On Tuesday, Sept. 1 the Colonials fell to Cleveland State in three. The Colonials fell to both Pitt and Penn State in three, but took the Buffalo Bulls to four. Sophomore Hannah Veith (Columbus, OH/Worthington) led the team throughout the weekend with 18 kills and 10 blocks while Corinne Moser (Meyersdale, PA/Meyersdale) led the team in digs with 21. Against Buffalo Veith and Jaye Hellmich (Costa Mesa, CA/Estancia) finished with a .444 and .429 hitting percentage, respectively. Sophomore setter Alyssa Bennett (Ramona, CA/Ramona) finished the game with four kills, 32 assists, four blocks, 12 digs and led the team in service aces with three. Hellmich led the Colonials with 11 kills and added six blocks while Veith tallied nine kills and added seven blocks. RMU will attempt a better outcome next weekend as they face Northern Iowa on Friday, and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Bowling Green on Saturday in the Best Western Falcon Plaza Invitational.
Sacred Heart (5-1, 0-0 NEC)
The Pioneers are off to a 5-1 start after taking three matches en route to winning the Sacred Heart Invitational over the weekend. SHU defeated Holy Cross, Missouri-Kansas City and Iona. The 5-1 record is the best start ever for a Pioneer women's volleyball team. Sophomores Brittany Best (Norco, CA), Maile Hetherington (Thousand Oaks, CA/Thousand Oaks) and Jessica Colberg (Long Beach, CA/Long Beach Poly) were all named to the All-Tournament team. Best had 30 kills, 30 digs, six total blocks, a pair of assists and four service aces in the tournament while Hetherington finished with 31 kills and 22 digs. Colberg continued her great defensive play, ending the tournament with 58 digs. The 25-6 win over Holy Cross in the second set of the 3-0 Pioneer victory was the largest margin of victory in a set in school history. The Pioneers hit a hefty .361 in the match and had 14 service aces. Junior Courtney Kidd-Kadlubek (Santa Barbara, CA/Santa Barbara) is averaging nearly 12 assists per set this season and already has 236 helpers. She is third on SHU's all-time list in that category with 2,191. The Pioneers will play at NJIT on Wednesday night and then play in the Fordham Invitational over the weekend with Seton Hall and Manhattan.
St. Francis (NY) (0-4, 0-0 NEC)
St. Francis (NY) dropped a straight-set match against Lafayette in their only action of the week. Junior Anisa Lila (Thessaloniki, Greece) recorded a team-high 14 kills and added 9 digs to lead the Terriers. Junior Maria Kashavelova(Sofia, Bulgaria) distributed 20 assists and senior Ana Lucena (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) added 7 kills. The Terriers led the initial game by a score of 17-16, but the visitors ran off nine straight points to close out the game. The Terriers fell behind 8-3 in game two and were never able to recover. The Leopards led 9-6 and then rattled off seven straight points to stretch the lead to 16-6. It looked as though the hosts would force another game as they led 18-14 and forced Lafayette to take a timeout. The Terriers were still in control of the game, 21-18, after Lafayette committed a hitting error. However, Lafayette went on a 5-2 run to even the score at 23-23 after a hitting error by St. Francis. The game was tied for the last time, 24-24, after a kill by Lucena. Lafayette closed out the match with back-to-back kills. SFNY look to improve their record as they travel to Bethlehem, PA and face Lehigh University tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. Saturday they will then head to Connecticut to play Hartford in a 3:00 p.m. showdown.
Saint Francis (PA) (1-5, 0-0 NEC)
SFPA competed in the James Madison Tournament over the weekend and dropped two of three matches. The Red Flash started the tournament well with a win - their first of the season - over Hampton where senior Shirley Miller (Fairless Hills, PA/Pennsbury) posted her third double-double of the season, notching a match-high in kills and digs with 13 and 14, respectively. This week's NEC Rookie of the Week Lauren Wingard (York, PA/Dallastown Area)recorded nine kills and hit an outstanding .750 percentage to complement Miller's numbers. Despite the momentum coming off their first victory in 2009, Duquesne and James Madison proved too much for SFPA. Against DU, Miller recorded 10 kills and 19 total digs for a another double-double this season. Wingard also continued her efforts in the loss notching a team-high 12 kills and hitting a .296 average. This is the team's second weekend away in a row and has yet to play a home match this season. The Red Flash will open at home Tuesday, Sept. 8 versus Delaware State.
