Western Carolina Invitational Web Site

LIVE STATS - EKU vs. North Carolina State
LIVE STATS - EKU vs. Western Carolina
LIVE STATS - EKU vs. Coppin State

RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky will send a veteran team out on the volleyball court this season. Eastern welcomes back six starters, including the libero, from last season’s squad. Six student-athletes are beginning their fourth season of play and a seventh has three years of experience in the program. Nine players total have at least two full seasons of play under their belt.

The Colonels will begin their 2010 campaign on Friday when they face North Carolina State (2:30 p.m.) and Western Carolina (7:30 p.m.) at the VB Rags Western Carolina Invitational in Cullowhee, N.C. Eastern will conclude the event with a match against Coppin State on Saturday morning.

The 2009 Colonels won four straight matches to cap the regular season and earn a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. Despite starting last season with 12 straight losses, EKU finished with 10 victories, which was one short of equally the total number of wins combined during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. EKU was 6-2 in its last eight regular season matches.

“We have a core group that finished the season very strong last year,” said head coach Lori Duncan. “That will continue to fuel that hunger to achieve, and they’ll be well prepared to continue that.”

The 2010 Colonels will build off that momentum. Eastern Kentucky was picked to place fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference this season in a preseason poll of league coaches and sports information contacts. Two Colonel seniors – #Abby O’Connor and Lauren Snyder# – were selected to the 2010 Preseason All-OVC team.

“Every single year we’ve built on where we are,” said Duncan. “In 2007 and 2008 we were decimated by injuries and not having enough experienced players. Now, we have a tremendous amount of upperclassman leadership this year. We’re poised to take a big stride.”


OUTSIDE HITTER
Snyder, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, will lead the offensive attack in 2010. After leading the team in kills and points and finishing sixth in the OVC with an average of 3.2 kills per set, Snyder earned second team All-OVC honors and was selected to the OVC All-Newcomer team. The Ft. Mitchell, Ky., native posted six double-doubles (kills-digs), had 10 or more kills in 19 of EKU’s 29 matches and contributed 10 or more digs 11 times. She had a career-high 30 kills to go along with a .446 attack percentage, 11 digs and three blocks against Southeast Missouri State on Oct. 2.

She’ll be joined on the outside by freshmen #Ashley Edmond and Marissa Tashenberg#, junior Amanda Fago and senior Chelsea Lee. Fago started the final 14 matches last year after missing the 2008 season with an injury Duncan believes Edmond has the potential to make an immediate impact.

“With Lauren and Ashley, you’re looking at one of the most dynamic outside duos in our conference,” Duncan said. “Those two are as good as any outside combinations we’re going to see in the conference this year. That is really important because we play in a conference where the ability to put balls away and being able to rely on the outside is very important.”


MIDDLE BLOCKERS
Duncan will utilize three upperclassmen in pursuit of a consistent threat in the middle. Those three are senior Autumn Harms, junior Hannah Groudle and sophomore Toni Michalski.

Harms tied for the team lead with 62 total blocks and led the squad with 24 solo blocks. She finished third on the team with 244 kills, and 288 points. Groudle led the team and ranked ninth in the OVC with a .269 attack percentage. She tied for the team lead with 62 total blocks.

“Our middles will determine our success,” Duncan said. “If our middles can be among the top two or three in the conference, along with our experience in the setting role and an outstanding outside combination, then we can be one of the top three teams in the conference.”


RIGHT SIDE
Candidates for the right side include Fago, Michalski and Tashenberg.

“There are a couple of different kids that can rotate through that role,” said Duncan. “Whoever that person is needs to be a solid blocker and an offensive threat as well, then that gives us more options and balance.”


SETTERS
Duncan believes one of the biggest strengths of her 2010 squad is in its senior setter Kate Hendle. Hendle led the team and finished sixth in the OVC with an average of 9.69 assists per set. In OVC matches only, Hendle ranked fourth in the league with an average of 10.63 assists per set.

“Kate as a senior understands the offense and the way we run things. That is a tremendous advantage for us,” said Duncan.

Sophomore Jessica Mueller has a year of development under her belt and could see increased time on the court this season. Freshman Robyn Hench will have the opportunity to ease into action as she becomes acclimated with the collegiate game.


DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS
In order for the team to meet its goals this season, Duncan believes her group of defensive players must continue to improve. Senior #Abby O’Connor# anchors the group of four. O’Connor, a 5-foot-4 libero, was a second team All-OVC selection last season after leading the league with an average of 5.56 digs per set and ranking eighth in the nation in the same category. She moved into sixth place on EKU’s all-time digs list with 1,332 career digs, was a two-time OVC Defensive Player of the Week and registered double-digit dig totals in 27 of EKU’s 29 matches. The Maineville, Ohio native had 20-plus digs 16 times. She tied her career-best with 32 digs against Southeast Missouri State on Oct. 2 and on the next day, she set a new career-high with 36 digs against Eastern Illinois.

The unit also includes senior Kelsey Rose, junior Jill Henneman and freshman Candice Biltz. Rose appeared in every set last season and totaled 223 digs and 17 aces. Henneman missed her sophomore campaign due to an injury and her absence had a significant effect on the team. She had 197 digs as a freshman.

“This is an area where we’re really focused on improving,” Duncan said. “Our ball control court defense the last couple of years has really suffered for several reasons. This is an area that we’re going to get a lot better at. We’ve been drilling that really hard this preseason.”

SCHEDULE
After opening the season at the Western Carolina Invitational, Eastern Kentucky will face Appalachian State, Valparaiso and South Carolina Upstate a week later in the Appalachian Invitational. The team will then fly west for the UNLV Invitational in Las Vegas on Sept. 10-11. The Colonels open with UNLV before playing Cal State Fullerton and Pepperdine.

Of the team’s final 19 matches, 18 will be against Ohio Valley Conference teams. The league slate begins on Sept. 17 with a home-match against Tennessee Tech at 7 p.m. Five of Eastern’s first eight OVC matches will be at home. Morehead State will visit McBrayer Arena on Nov. 4. The final non-conference match of the season will be on Nov. 6 against future OVC opponent Southern Illinois Edwardsville. The Colonels wrap up the regular season on the road against Murray State and Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 12 and 13.

The 2010 OVC tournament is scheduled for Nov. 18-20.

“The one thing this team needs is confidence,” Duncan said. “They need to start the season with quality wins and be able to have accomplsihments to feel good about. How fast we can get there will be determined by how good of shape we’ve come back in and how far ahead of other teams we are because of that.”