Volleyball 2007-2008 Season Preview

The University of Charleston volleyball program begins its 15th year under the direction of head coach Bren Stevens.  With four newcomers to her already 16 deep squad, Coach Stevens expects stiff competition for playing time this season.  With so many players hungry to see action, Stevens will have the luxury of a deep bench.  “The strength of this squad will definitely be our athleticism and versatility,” says Stevens.  “With the experience and strong work ethic of sixteen returning players things should heat up and the level of competition for positions on this team will become a real challenge for all of our players.” With starting positions up for grabs, Stevens will push players hard in practice and on the court to see which players earn match time.

 Following a record of 26 wins and 8 losses in the 2006 season and along with a Co-championship Title, Coach Stevens is still far from being content.  "We need to be more competitive in our Region and when we play nationally ranked competitors,” stated Stevens.  “I am so blessed to have the opportunity to work with such a great group of athletes,” said Stevens.  “My main goal for this season is to really enjoy the daily opportunity that I have to work with my players.”  The Lady Eagles return 16 players with plenty of experience and all of these athletes worked extremely hard during the spring season to improve their individual skills.  “Everyone will have the same opportunity to prove herself for a spot.  I expect our practices to be even more competitive this season.”

Tradition is rich when it comes to reviewing The University of Charleston and its storied volleyball history.  Twenty-win seasons or for that matter 25-plus wins season are not unusual for the Lady Eagles.  From 1993-2006, the Lady Eagles boast a record of 404 wins and 139 losses for a winning percentage of .744.  Since 1995, when the University of Charleston became a member of NCAA II, the Lady Eagles have made six national appearances in the NCAA II national tournament.  With a winning tradition against both conference and region opponents, Coach Stevens has set high expectations for the 2007 season.  "Our main focus for the upcoming season is to speed up our offense and serve tough," stated Stevens.  “The best women’s teams in the country run quick offenses with a lot of option plays and jump serve.    We certainly have the talent this season to improve our offense tremendously.”  “Winning certainly begins in the gym,” said Stevens.  “My team will be well prepared for each match both mentally and physically.  If our players work together as a unit, mature into their individual roles and achieve their technical goals, the titles should follow for this team,” said Stevens.  Our team motto is "Kaiszen", which means never-ending positive improvement.  The team will work hard to honor all goals set for the 2007 season. 

At the outside hitter position there will be five very strong players that will compete for playing time.  Starters Roslyn Adams and Becca LaBrake are returning for their senior seasons.  LaBrake has been a first team all conference honoree for the past three seasons.  Adams was also a first-team all conference player for the WVIAC in 2006 and she and LaBrake are the team’s primary passers on serve receive for the squad  Amanda Wakeman is also entering her senior year and has improved tremendously and will challenge for a starting position on either the right or left side of the court.  Betsy Powell is a junior outside hitter that also possesses the ability to pass serve receive extremely well.  Then the team has freshman outside hitter Jami Turill, who has perhaps the quickest arm swing on the team.  Jami will also make things very interesting as the coaching staff tries to decide who will fill the outside hitting positions.

The middle blocker position also returns another first team all conference player, Katy Skelley.  Katy has been a first team all-conference player for three years in a row.  The team is also returning starting middle hitter, Amy Dill.  Amy was without a doubt the teams most improved player last season and we are expecting an even larger contribution from her this year.  Laura Buckalew is a sophomore middle hitter with great power and athleticism.  Look for Laura to push both Amy and Katy for playing action in the middle hitter position and you might also see her on the right side of the court.  Lynn Raducaka will also return to the middle hitter position after taking off a red-shirt season last year.  Lynn is excited about playing in her last season and should help to provide some depth to the middle hitter position for this 2007 team.

On the right side of the court helping to lead this team will be junior, Natalie Rauma.  Natalie has very strong blocking skills and she will be a key leader in helping the team to better our defensive skills.  Watch for Jenna Theden who will challenge for a starting position as a right side/setter in our upcoming season.  Lacey Rowe is a junior right side hitter that has been consistently improving and was recently moved from the left side of the court over to the right side.  Kristin Schneider is a new freshman player that will work out in the right side and defensive specialist positions.  All of these athletes add great depth to the right side hitting position, which lends itself for making our offense attack more balanced this year.

Leading the offense this season is still up for grabs.  After WVIAC “Player of the Year” Sam Meyer graduated the Lady Eagles are counting on several athletes to help fill her shoes.  Look for junior Chelsea Kinzinger to emerge as one of the starting setters for this program.  Chelsea started her freshman year along with Sam as the team opted to run a 6-2 offense.  The Lady Eagles were also fortunate enough to sign freshman setter, Kat Contrestano from Fresno, California.  Kat is extremely quick and should adapt quickly to the demands of collegiate volleyball.  Jenna Theden will also spend time in the setting position this year.  Jenna is a true leader for the squad both on and off the court.

Look for the Lady Eagles to pick up where they left off last season as the return some extremely tenacious and skilled defensive players.  Four-year starter Ashleigh Fitterer returns as one of the teams top defensive players.  Ashleigh is extremely quick and has the ability to read a multiple of different types of offenses.  Freshman player Megan Geiger will bring excitement to the libero position for the UC squad.  The UC team will return Rikki Spinks and Megan Garnes to the position of defensive specialist.  Both of these athletes have improved over the past two seasons and should push their team members for playing time. Transfer student Lyndsey Sankoff will round out the group of defensive specialists and liberos for the 2007 season.

The Lady Eagles volleyball program has developed a winning tradition and reputation synonymous with success.  Fifteen-year head coach Bren Stevens and her assistants, Kelli Gora and Amanda Ansell and twenty players are about to embark on a mission to continue to improve (“Kaiszen”) and to keep moving forward in the goal of establishing a top NCAA II competitive program.  The talent that the UC volleyball team possesses and the high standards set by the coaching staff should make for an exciting season.