Pride's Wills Tabbed Volleyball Preseason POTY
Tim McDonnell
Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll
RICHMOND, Va. (August 21, 2014) – Hofstra senior outside hitter Kelsie Wills has been selected as the 2014 CAA preseason volleyball Player of the Year, according to a vote by the league’s head coaches.
Wills, who was named to the All-CAA first team each of the past two seasons, enters her final year with the Pride ranking fourth on the program’s all-time kills list and needs just 219 more kills to move into first place. A native of Matamata, New Zealand, Wills paced Hofstra and the CAA last season in kills with 501 and kills per set (4.32). She also led the league with 4.87 points per set (564.5 points overall) and was named CAA Co-Offensive Player of the Week five times in 2013.
Alongside Wills on the preseason All-CAA volleyball squad is a pair of Northeastern Huskies – sophomore setter Jamie Bredahl and senior libero Natalia Skiba. James Madison senior middle blocker Lizzy Briones and fellow Duke Janey Goodman, a sophomore right side hitter, also made the team with College of Charleston right side hitter Sloane White and UNCW junior middle blocker Meredith Peacock rounding out the group.
Skiba is one of the most experienced players in the conference, having already won CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year honors twice previously in her career. The senior took home the impressive nod as a true freshman in 2011 and then again last fall as a junior. Skiba’s 2013 season included All-CAA second team recognition after she led the CAA in digs (683) and digs per set (5.60) – good for No. 10 overall in Division I.
Bredahl is coming off a terrific freshman campaign in 2013 in which she played in all of NU’s 122 sets and helped the Huskies reach the CAA tournament title match. The Parker, Colo., native ranked second on her team with 277 kills and 623 assists and finished fourth among NCAA D-I freshmen with 17 double-doubles. For her efforts, Bredahl was named 2013 CAA Rookie of the Year.
Briones and Goodman are expected to help fuel a JMU squad which returns all of its starters from one year ago. Briones is one of the top blockers in the CAA, entering her senior season with 345 total blocks after a monster junior year where she notched 154 blocks (1.39 per set). An All-CAA second team and All-Rookie selection last season, Goodman is poised for another solid year for the Dukes. She led her team with 327 kills and 2.95 kills per set average as a freshman last fall.
White helped lead a dangerous CofC offensive attack last year with a stellar .309 hitting percentage. She was a first team All-CAA performer in 2013 – placing third on the league champion Cougars in kills (281) -- and also earned AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention distinction.
As a sophomore in 2013, Peacock ranked first in the CAA and fourth in Division I in blocks per set (1.58) and wrapped up the year with 156 blocks over 29 matches.
The 2014 CAA volleyball season starts on Friday, August 29
th, with all nine of the league’s teams in action. The 2014 preseason CAA volleyball poll was released earlier this week and can be found via the link at the top of the page.
2014 Preseason All-CAA Volleyball Team
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown
Jamie Bredahl, Northeastern S So. Parker, Colo.
Lizzy Briones, James Madison MB Sr. Siloam Springs, Ark.
Janey Goodman, James Madison RS So. Powhatan, Va.
Meredith Peacock, UNCW MH Jr. Charlotte, N.C.
Natalia Skiba, Northeastern L Sr. Westmont, Ill.
Sloane White, College of Charleston RS Sr. Indianapolis, Ind.
Kelsie Wills, Hofstra OH Sr. Matamata, New Zealand
2014 PRESESAON CAA VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kelsie Wills, Hofstra
Honorable Mention:
Katie Hillman, OH, Delaware;
Cara Howley, MB/RS, College of Charleston;
Saitaua Iosia, OH, Towson;
Nicole Lott, OH, UNCW;
Kallie McKown, S, College of Charleston