2009 CAA VOLLEYBALL FINAL REPORT
NCAA NOTES: George Mason traveled to Ames, Iowa for the first round of the NCAA Championship, and fell 3-0 to seventh-seeded Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum. Sophomores Kelsey Bohman and Noelle Fanella led the way for the Patriots with each contributing seven kills, while freshman Koala Matsuoka had 14 digs and senior Laura Turner posted a game-high six total blocks.
MASON AT THE NCAA: Mason earned its eighth NCAA Tournament berth after becoming the first team to rally from a 2-0 deficit to win the Colonial Athletic Association Championship. The Patriots defeated the top-seeded VCU Rams on their home court, claiming the CAA title for the eighth time in program history. The Patriots are making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2003, when they fell in three sets to No. 14-seed Colorado State on Dec. 5. That match was contested at the University of Maryland in College Park.
CAA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP THRILLERS: George Mason captured the 2009 CAA Volleyball title in fine fashion as they rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat top-seeded VCU, 3-2, in the championship match. The Patriots, a three-seed in the CAA championship, advanced to the final match with a 3-2 decision over second-seeded Delaware in the semifinals. VCU earned a spot in the championship match with a 3-0 sweep over fourth-seeded William & Mary in the semifinals.
NCAA STATISTIC SUMMARY REPORTS: The NCAA releases the national statistics summary rankings on Monday's. Check NCAA.com to see where the CAA teams and players rank statistically among the national leaders.
AVCA DIVISION I POSTSEASON HONORS: Four CAA players were honored by the AVCA for their strong play in 2009. George Mason's Kelsey Bohman and Holly Goode were joined by VCU's Michala Kvapilova and William & Mary's Lindsey Pflunger on the 2009 AVCA Division I Honorable Mention All-America team.
TRIPLE-DOUBLE SPECIAL: A year ago, Georgia State's Ashley Jones completed the season with a conference-high six triple-doubles. The CAA currently leads the nation among Division I conferences with 18 triple-doubles notched among four players. The conference is led by Northeastern's Jessica Tkachuk (7) and Jones (6). Joining Tkachuk is Florida's Kelly Murphy as the nation's leaders with eight. The league posted eight triple-doubles between just two student-athletes in 2008.
CAA POSTSEASON HONORS: George Mason junior middle blocker/opposite hitter Holly Goode was selected the 2009 CAA Volleyball Player of the Year in the voting by the league's head coaches. Other top individual awards went to Delaware's Jess Chason as the CAA Setter of the Year, William & Mary's Lindsey Pflugner as the CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year and VCU's Michala Kvapilova as the CAA Rookie of the Year. George Mason's Pat Kendrick was honored with the CAA Coach of the Year award. The honors were presented Sunday evening before the semifinals of the CAA Volleyball Championship in Richmond, Va., on the campus of VCU. (complete list on next page)
CAA WELCOMES THREE NEW HEAD COACHES: Georgia State welcomed Tami Ores as she replaced Mike Webster, James Madison introduced Lauren Sauer as she replaced Disa Garner and Bruce Atkinson was announced as the Towson Tigers' head coach replacing Paul Konsir. Ores was formerly the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Maryland. In addition to two seasons at Maryland, Ores served as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for a highly-successful program at the University of Dayton, which earned four NCAA Tournament berths in her five years there. Sauer comes to JMU following three years as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Kentucky. Prior to her time at Kentucky, Sauer competed professionally for one year in Almeria, Spain. That followed a stellar four-year collegiate career at Georgia Tech, with the Yellow Jackets reaching the NCAA Championships all four years during her career. Atkinson comes to Towson after a three-year stint as the head coach of the University of Hawaii at Hilo. After guiding the Vulcans to a 23-5 record in his first season (2007), Atkinson was named the PacWest Coach of the Year.
FLASH BACK TO CAA PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL PICKS: Defending CAA volleyball champion Delaware had been picked to win the title once again in 2009 based on the votes from the league's 10 volleyball head coaches. The Blue Hens received 70 points, including four first-place votes, earning them the top spot in the preseason poll. Second place went to VCU and William & Mary tied for second with three first-place votes and 69 total points. Northeastern was fourth in the poll, followed by Hofstra and James Madison. George Mason and Towson tied for seventh-place, followed by Georgia State and UNC Wilmington.
CAA PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE PICKS: Stephanie Berry, junior libero from Delaware, was selected the CAA Preseason Player of the Year. Joining Barry on the preseason All-CAA volleyball team are teammate Katie Dennehy, Northeastern's Britney Brown, VCU's Ivana Rich, William & Mary's Erin Skipper and George Mason's Rebecca Walter.
DELAWARE (21-8, 12-2 CAA)Delaware shared the regular season champion title with a 12-2 record. Delaware's 12 wins in conference action tied the most by a team in the program history. The Blue Hens earned the second-seed in the CAA Championship, but fell to third-seeded George Mason, 3-2, in the first semifinal match on Nov. 23. Jess Chason received the league's top setting award and also earned first-team All-Conference honors. Stephanie Barry joined Chason on the first-team squad, while Kim Stewart garnered second-team nods. Katie Dennehy also was a third-team selection, and Alissa Alker earned a spot on the conference's All-Rookie team. Chason finished the season leading the league with 10.20 assists per set. LaLonde made a team-best 103 total blocks. The Blue Hens were led by Dennehy's 352 and Stewart's 326 kills. Barry headlined UD with 580 digs this season.
GEORGE MASON (23-9, 10-4 CAA)George Mason secured the three-seed in the CAA Championship and played back-to-back five set matches to earn the 2009 CAA Volleyball Championship title with wins over No. 2 Delaware and No. 1 VCU. With the title, the Patriots received the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will now face seven-seed and host Iowa State in the opening round. The Patriots were the first team in CAA history to rally back from a 2-0 deficit in the final match of the CAA Championship to take the title. Pat Kendrick, CAA Coach of the Year, guided her team to their first CAA title since 2003 and its eighth NCAA Tournament berth. The Patriots fell to No. 7 Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 3-0. Junior middle blocker/opposite hitter Holly Goode joined Kendrick with CAA top honors as Goode was selected as the CAA Player of the Year by the vote of the league's head coaches. Along with sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bohman, Goode was named to the All-CAA First Team, while junior setter Fernanda Bartels earned All-CAA Second Team plaudits. Freshman libero Koala Matsuoka was selected to the CAA All-Rookie Team. Goode's performance at the tournament earned her the Most Outstanding Performer award of the tournament. She was joined on the CAA All-Tournament squad by teammates Bohman and Bartels. Goode finished the season with a team best 3.17 kills per game and hit .282. Bohman led the team in blocks with 168 total stops, while Matsuoka recorded 3.47 digs per outing and Bartles dished out 9.70 assists per game.
GEORGIA STATE (16-14, 3-11 CAA)The Panthers finished the season with a 16-14 overall record, a 13 game improvement in the win column. Georgia State opened the new season 13-3, including a win streak as long as seven matches. The Panthers were led by Ashley Jones who posted six triple-doubles on the season and led the team with 370 kills. She also added a team's second-best 330 assists. Chelsea Perry fished out a team-high 669 assists and Audrey Cantrell led the team with 531 digs. Vineece Verdun made a Panther-high 88 total blocks and added a team's second-best 258 kills.
HOFSTRA (13-19, 7-7 CAA)Hofstra completed the season 13-19 overall and .500 in conference play. Monica Knight led the way for the Pride as she smashed 472 kills and added 393 digs. Anissa Whitney (251), Marina Karkovia (229) and Taylor Moore (218) also contributed with strong numbers in kills. Whitney led the team with 107 total blocks. Chrissey Cruz handed out 1027 assists (9.09 a/s), while Kylee Maneja recorded a team-best 459 digs.
JAMES MADISON (11-19, 4-10 CAA)The Dukes wrapped up the 2009 season with a 11-19 overall record. James Madison relied heavily on its youth of the team, as Danielle Erb led the Dukes with 315 kills, 24 service aces, and added 242 digs. Natalie Abel averaged 3.25 digs per outing with 299 for the season, while Megan Wichmann dished out 716 assists for the Dukes and Lauren Fanelli posted 358. Lindsay Callahan (266), Kelly Turner (265), Holly Wall (202) also contributed in kills for JMU this season. Four Duke players recorded 65 or more blocks, led by Turner's 69.
UNC WILMINGTON (13-18, 3-11 CAA)The Seahawks produced a 13-18 overall record under the direction of Head Coach Amy Bambenek in her first season with UNC Wilmington. Linsey Strucko posted a team-best 350 kills, while four others added 116 or more for the Seahawks. Kelsey Bendig dished out 683 assists and Ashlyn Morris led the team with 448 in digs and Strucko contributed 305. Kimberly Friedl made 18 solo blocks and finished the year with 103 total blocls.
NORTHEASTERN (15-12, 8-6 CAA)The Huskies finished the season with a 15-12 overall record. Northeastern was lead by four players who posted 196 or more kills, highlighted by Britney Brown's 301. Brown also added 433 assists and 196 digs. She finished the year with five triple-doubles. Jessica Tkachuk finished her career with 2,356 assists after dishing out a team-high 552 this season. Her career total sits fourth all-time in the NU recordbooks. Tkachuk completed the team with seven triple-doubles. She added 196 digs and 220 kills on the season. Leah Neubeck tallied a team-best 393 digs and will go down in the NU record books second all-time in digs with 1,758. Jillian Robinson posted 86 total blocks for the Huskies for a team high.
TOWSON (8-21, 1-13 CAA)The Tigers suffered an 8-21 overall record. Britney Loomis captured a team-best 225 kills, while Amanda Halls added 195 and finished with 233 digs. Missy Rohrbaugh recorded a team-best 413 digs. Katee Luecke led the team with 549 assists and Evan Schulz added 377. Shelynne Hoyt averaged nearly one block per set with 99 on the season. Head Coach Paul Koncir stepped down from his position at the completion of the season. The Tigers will also lose Fanning and Rohrbaugh to graduation, but return a strong core group for the 2010 season.
VCU (27-9, 12-2 CAA)The Rams clinched the top-seed of the CAA Championship and a share of the regular season title with a pair of 3-0 victories in the last weekend of the regular season against Georgia State and UNC Wilmington. Freshman Michala Kvapilova rececived CAA Rookie of the Year honors as well as voted on the All-CAA first team and All-Rookie team. She was joined by Ivana Rich, honored on the second team, and Lenka Melicharkova and Kelsie Clegg, who both earned third-team honors. VCU swept No. 4 William & Mary in the semifinal, but suffered a 3-2 loss to No. 3 George Mason in the championship match after holding a 2-0 lead. Mariel Frey and Rich were honored on the CAA All-Tournament team for their strong play at the tournament. On the year, the Rams were led by Kvapilova as she posted a team-best 373 kills, 40 service aces and added 285 digs. Low recorded a team-best 470 digs, while Melicharkova dished out 1,308 assists. Frey posted a team second-best 364 kills. Rich contributed 315 kills and 116 total blocks, while Clegg made a team-best 157 total blocks.
WILLIAM & MARY (18-11, 10-4 CAA)William & Mary received the four-seed at the CAA Championship in the final weekend of the regular season with a win over UNC Wilmington on the road. Senior libero Lindsey Pflugner received the CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year award. In addition to being chosen as the CAA's best defensive player, Pflugner was selected to the All-CAA First Team. Sophomore outside hitter Lindsay Kresch and junior outside hitter Erin Skipper earned second and third team distinction, respectively, while freshman setter Jordyn Moloney garnered All-Rookie Team accolades. The Tribe dropped a 3-0 decision to top-seeded VCU in the semifinal of the CAA Tournament. William & Mary was guided by Lauren Powell's team-high 12 kills and she earned a spot on the All-Tournament team. Pflugner posted a match-high 19 digs, while Powell added 10 to finish with a double-double. Junior setter Cassie Crumal handed out 23 assists for the Tribe. At the end of the year, Erin Skipper finished with a team-best 327 kills, while Kresch (309) and Powell (307) were also strong contributors. Cassie Crumal (605) and Jordyn Moloney (504) shared time at the setter position for the Tribe. Pflugner averaged a league-best 5.26 digs per set with 552 in 105 sets. Ginny Bray made a team-best 84 total blocks for W&M, while Katie McCarney added 74.