Volleyball: Reaching High
The womens volleyball team huddles during a match. They look to improve this season after last season's dissapointing 5-20 record.
With key returning players and depth at the freshmen class, the women's volleyball team is looking toward the 2006 season to put them in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference playoffs after a two-year absence.
Second year head coach, Steve Benson, said, "We want to improve over last year's record, so that we will qualify for the ODAC tournament. And we want to show the conference that EMU is a team that is getting better, and to watch in the future." This year's team has one major improvement over last year's squad, and that is more players. The team can stay competitive with more players because even with injuries the quality of play stays at a higher level.
One of the goals of this year's squad is to improve their record of 5-20 from last year. "So far we are 4-9, but we really want to have an overall record of 500," says junior Frances Pfister. "With team dynamics going as well as there are this year, we should be able to reach our goals and make playoffs," adds first year student athlete Moriah Haver.
Some of this year's key returning players will be senior and captain Lisa Berry and senior Kara Stoltzfus who both start and give lots of experience to this years squad. Juniors Megan Good and Courtney Miller also give the team experience and add versatility with Miller being able to play many positions and Good leading the team in kills. She had 268 kills last year and was named ODAC Honorable Mention.
There are also several newcomers that will be key players to this year's team. Moriah Haver, Laura Stoltzfus, and Kathryn Taylor will give the team more depth and can play multiple hitting positions. "The freshmen are a key asset to this year's team; they will add depth and help us in many ways. They are learning the way we play at EMU and will build and take the program to new heights," notes Coach Benson.
With a competitive conference (Washington and Lee and Randolph Macon being in the top) EMU hopes to make their way up the standings this year. One of their biggest games this year will be Bridgewater College, EMU's cross-town rivals, and the team hopes for a big turnout for that game.
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