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News
New-Look Lady Cougars Ready to Attack 2011 Season
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (8-19-2011) - The 2011
season promises to be full of new adventures
for the Mount Vernon Nazarene University
women's volleyball team and their Hall of
Fame coach Paul Swanson when the season gets
under way on August 19-20 at the Concordia
(Mich.) University Tournament.
The
Lady Cougars are coming off another
outstanding season as MVNU went 43-6 a year
ago for the program's 18th straight 30-win
season. The team posted a perfect 10-0 mark
to capture the American Mideast Conference
regular-season title and also won the
National Christian College Athletic
Association East Region title to earn the
program's 19th trip to the NCCAA National
Tournament.
Swanson, who enters his
28th season with the Lady Cougars and his
29th year overall and is the NAIA's all-time
victory leader with a 965-329 mark, will
need to find a way to replace several key
players from last year's squad that included
Jackie Albrecht (NAIA Second Team
All-American and AMC Player of the Year),
Caitlin Myles (AMC Libero of the Year), and
Sarah Yutzy (AMC Second Team).
"When
you look back at last year, it is still
amazing to think that we posted that
record," said Swanson, who was named the AMC
Coach of the Year. "Not that our team was
not capable of that, but we played a tough
schedule with a lot of close matches
including nine that went five sets (MVNU
went 7-2 in those matches). The team did a
great job of working together to get the
most out of its talent."
"As we go
into this new season, we have a lot of
question marks with lots of new faces on the
roster and open spots on the court to fill,"
Swanson added. "We need our returning
players to keep improving and there are
great opportunities for players to step into
starting roles if they can work hard and
play with confidence."
With no
seniors on the roster, the Lady Cougars will
look to a strong junior class to lead the
way in 2011. Setter Lauren Percival will
quarterback the team after earning AMC
Setter of the Year honors as a sophomore
when she handed out 1,823 assists to go
along with 643 digs. Freshman Hannah Rehm
will serve as her back-up and is also a
capable option if called on.
MVNU
returns more experience in the middle hitter
spot where juniors Gina Porto and Haley
Nofziger are joined by sophomores Kendra
Votaw and Kelly Mast. Porto is back after
missing the entire 2010 season while
rehabbing an injury suffered midway through
the 2009 season. When healthy, she is an
outstanding hitter and has already amassed
more than 700 kills in her career. Nofziger
started in 37 matches last year and averaged
1.55 kills as she showed marked improvement.
Votaw was named to the AMC All-Freshmen Team
and the AMC Second Team in her first
collegiate season as she averaged 2.60 kills
as an outside hitter and played in every
set. Mast also contributed off the bench and
will be counted on in a bigger role this
year.
Votaw, Nofziger, junior
transfer Erika Votaw, junior Paige Hagans,
and freshman Molly Gerber are all options at
the outside hitter position. Swanson will be
trying various lineups to see what works
best for the team in the long run and the
flexibility of these players to play in
different roles will be a key to the team's
success.
Junior Kaylee Hewitt returns
at right-side hitter after averaging 1.35
kills and 2.83 digs last year. Porto, Kendra
Votaw, and Gerber are also options at this
position depending on what combinations the
team goes with at the other hitter spots.
Playing time as the team's libero and as
defensive specialists is wide open as the
season begins. Depending on where Hewitt
plays, she could serve as the team's libero.
Sophomore Morgan Pridemore, freshman Tricia
Kupiec, and Hagans could also see time in
the back row.
"While we have question
marks going into the season, I am confident
that this team will work hard to find ways
to provide answers as the year goes along,"
said Swanson. "Everyone is working really
hard and is enthusiastic about the season
ahead."
After the opening tournament
at Concordia, the Lady Cougars will travel
to the University of Michigan-Dearborn
Tournament the second weekend of the season.
The team will also have non-conference
matches throughout the season against Lake
Erie College, Kenyon College, Otterbein
College, Malone University, and Cedarville
University.
The 2011 season will also
mark a new conference beginning for MVNU as
the Lady Cougars will move from the AMC to
the highly competitive Mid-Central College
Conference. Defending champion NAIA No. 11
Taylor (Ind.) University is the preseason
favorite as the team to beat, while No. 21
Indiana Wesleyan University, Grace (Ind.)
College (receiving votes), Spring Arbor
(Mich.) University, Bethel (Ind.) College,
Marian (Ind.) University, Goshen (Ind.)
College, the University of Saint Francis
(Ind.), and Huntington (Ind.) University
will all be competing for the title in a
league schedule that will feature both home
and away matches against each school. The
top eight teams will make the MCC Tournament
to compete for a shot at going to the NAIA
National Championship.
MVNU will also
host the NCCAA East Region Tournament on
October 28-29 with the opportunity to
advance on to the NCCAA National Tournament
for the 20th time in school history.
Lady Cougars' 2011
schedule:
http://www.mvnu.edu/sports/nazvb/news/results.asp
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