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Eastern Kentucky's volleyball team will begin its 2008 campaign on Friday at the University of South Florida Invitational. EKU will face Northeastern at 5 p.m. On Saturday Eastern will play South Florida at 1 p.m. and Grambling at 5 p.m.
The Colonels hit a bump in the road last season. Injuries cost the team a chance at a top four finish in the Ohio Valley Conference for the fifth straight season. A program that has captured a pair of conference championships over the last four seasons will look to reclaim a spot at the top in 2008 with a roster featuring five returning starters and eight newcomers.
“Our 2008 campaign is going to be very different from anything we’ve had thus far,” said EKU Head Coach Lori Duncan, now in her 11th season leading the Colonels. “We’re bringing in eight new people and I believe all eight will make a contribution on the court.”
Two senior starters return in middle blockers Amanda Wilson and Bridget Mustard. Wilson led the team in kills (382), kills per game (3.71), total blocks (83) and points (438) in 2007. She finished eighth in the OVC in kills per game and seventh in points per game (4.25). Mustard tallied 250 kills, 66 blocks and a team-best 34 aces.
While most coaches would consider team chemistry a potential issue when adding eight new players, Duncan feels pretty good about the prospects of all the players coming together quickly. That is due in part to the fact that many of the newcomers and several of the returning players already have connections to each other. Four of the eight newcomers, along with current Colonel setter Kate Hendle all played on the same club team. Two of those four also attended the same high school with Hendle.
In addition to producing four incoming players and a current member of the EKU volleyball team, the Sky High Volleyball Club also produced former Colonels Brittney Nobilio (NCAA, OVC and EKU record holder) and Kelly Jennings (OVC and EKU record holder).
“Even though we have eight new people coming in, most of them have some type of connection to someone already in the program or each other,” said Duncan. “They’ve already built chemistry. They have tremendous respect for each other in advance, and I think that will play a pivotal role in how quickly we can put this together. The components to be a very good team are here, certainly a much better team than we’ve been in the last year and a half.”
Once again, Duncan will lead her team against a tough non-conference schedule leading up to a 20-game home-and-home conference schedule. Eight opponents on the 2008 slate won 20 or more matches in 2007 and seven captured their conference title. Eastern will face the likes of Kentucky, Ohio, Pittsburgh, South Florida and Indiana in the first three weeks of the season.
DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS
The biggest shoes to fill are those of departed senior Brittany Nobilio. The libero was a three-time OVC Defensive Player of the Year and set numerous NCAA, OVC and EKU records. Sophomore Abby O’Connor will be called upon to fill the void left by Nobilio.
O’Connor spent her freshman campaign playing alongside Nobilio in the back row. She has first-hand knowledge of what it takes to be the top defensive player in the conference. O’Connor played in all of the team’s 103 games and finished second behind Nobilio with 228 digs.
“As a team we’ll be a better defensively in 2008, we’ll pass/serve better than we have,” said Duncan. “The only drawback is that the defensive specialist/libero is a role that one of the most decorated players in the history of our program has just graduated from. I’m excited about Abby taking over as the libero. She had an excellent spring and her improvement really stands out. I don’t envy what she has to do in replacing Brittany, but with the experience she gained last year on the court and the improvement she made in the spring she’s going to be a fantastic libero for us.”
The overall depth of the position has been enhanced as well with the addition of junior Nicole Mulhall, a member of the 2006 and 2007 NJCAA national champions; Jill Henneman, a member of the undefeated Illinois 3A state champions and Wagner College transfer Kelsey Rose.
“We have more people than we’ve had in a long time that will really help the defensive end of the game for us,” said Duncan. “They’ll help us dig more balls and pass/serve a lot better.”
SETTERS
The one area where Duncan will not have much depth is at setter. Hendle is the only true setter on the roster. The sophomore benefited by the opportunity to play in 86 games as a true freshman in 2007. She led the team with 872 assists and ranked among the top 10 in the conference with an average of 10.14 assists per game. She contributed four 50-assists performances.
Hendle didn’t have the chance to learn on the court beside an upperclassman as a freshman like O’Connor did, but she did have former Colonel, and OVC record holder for career assists, Kelly Jennings on the bench as an assistant coach.
“Kate has really benefited from a full year cycle of training,” Duncan said. “Kate will be the quarterback of this group and her progress will have a lot to say about how we’ll do this year. Her maturity and technical improvement will bode well for her.”
MIDDLE BLOCKERS
It would be fair to say that the Colonels will be much improved at the middle blocker position. After having played in only 20 matches her first two seasons combined, Wilson, an all-conference talent, returns after a break-out junior season in which she started all 30 matches. After producing stellar numbers as a junior with less than a full season of experience, Wilson figures to be even better in 2008.
Junior transfer Autumn Harms and Mustard will give Eastern a set of secondary weapons. When teams try to avoid Wilson, they’ll have to play to 6-foot-1 Harms, a two-time junior college national champion that had 444 kills, a .360 hitting percentage and 151 blocks as a sophomore.
“Amanda had an impressive season last year and I suspect she’ll get better and better” said Duncan. “During the championship years (2004 and 2005) we had five kids that could crack a ball. When you have that many kids that are capable of pounding a ball at any moment it becomes difficult for opponents to camp out and focus on one player. That will not happen this year as it did last year, we’re getting back to that position.”
OUTSIDE HITTERS
Duncan will need immediate help on the outside. Two outside hitters return from 2007, but sophomore Amanda Fago may miss the season due to an injury and Chelsea Lee played in only 11 matches as a freshman. Newcomers Ashley Horak and Lindsey Loescher will be needed from the very beginning.
Horak, a 6-foot-2 freshman, had 270 kills and 76 blocks as a senior at Bowling Green High School. Loescher, a junior, earned first team NJCAA All-American honors after helping McHenry County College to a 40-9 record and an 11th place finish at the national tournament. She averaged over five kills per game and posted a .415 hitting percentage.
“Loescher has tremendous experience and can do a lot of different things for us,” Duncan said. “Horak’s potential is limitless. She does so many things very well and her size will be key.”
RIGHT SIDE
Mustard will see time at middle blocker and right side. She’ll be joined by junior transfer 6-foot-2 Jessica Meads. With 189 kills and 128 blocks, Meads helped Kishwaukee College capture the junior college championship last season.
Freshman Hannah Groudle will add depth with the ability to be used as a middle blocker, outside hitter or right side.
“Last year we were very thin on the right side after a couple of injuries and even toward the end of the season we were not 100 percent healthy,” Duncan said. “With the depth that we have, if we get a kid banged up, it won’t be the end of the world for us.”
