2011 Volleyball Preview
August 26, 2011 10:25 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - The 2011 season is all about taking advantage of opportunities and remaining consistent for the West Virginia volleyball team as the program heads into head coach Jill Kramer’s second season.
In Kramer’s inaugural season, the Mountaineers brought the golden ball home with a 3-0 win over Marshall for the first time in nine years and defeated Pitt for the first time in more than 20 years in the Backyard Brawl. WVU finished the season 15-15, just one win shy of the BIG EAST Tournament. Kramer looks to build on the foundation started last season with high expectations for the 2011 campaign.
“My expectations are for us to come out and play our very best every match. We are playing some great teams this year,” Kramer said. “I scheduled the way I did because I feel like that is what our group does best with. We have got a senior led team that will rise to the occasion. All I expect is for our team to come out play its best every match and give its best every practice and live the life of an elite student-athlete.”
Kramer’s roster features nine returnees and six newcomers, including seniors Kylie Armbruster, Michelle Kopecky, Abby Monson, Kari Post and Serinna Russo- all leaders for the 2011 season.
“We have a group of five girls who bring a lot of experience to the table,” Kramer said. “They have worked really hard to make some changes in the gym and to create the culture that we are looking for within our program. They will form a leadership type of council and stay on top of everything. It’s important that they help the newcomers out and be a good example for how we like to do things in our gym.”
Anchoring the Mountaineer offense at the setter position will be three-year starter and Yuba City, Calif., native Post. Post returns for her final season after leading the team in 2010 with 999 assists and 13 double-doubles and earning recognition as the Best Setter at the WVU Classic. For her career, Post has amassed 2,597 assists, which puts her sixth on WVU’s all-time assists list.
Freshman Courtney Robison will add depth to the setter position. Robison, a three-year varsity squad member at Assumption High, was named first team all-state and all-district after leading her team to the 2010 Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Championship. Robison also led her club team, Asics KiVA, to four AAU National Titles in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 while also being named an AAU All-American in 2005, 2008, 2010 and an AAU MVP in 2006 and 2007.
Looking to take on a bigger offensive role this season, Armbruster and Kopecky return on the outside for the Mountaineers. Last season, Kopecky was named Best Attacker at the WVU Classic and finished second on the team in kills (249) and service aces (25). Armbruster also had a successful year finishing third on the team in digs (279) and fifth on the team in kills (199) and service aces (15).
Also filling a void at the net for the Mountaineers will be freshman Halle Kearney and transfers Anke de Jong and Carlijn Oosterlaken. Kearney, a 6-foot-3 outside hitter from Cleveland, led Magnificat High to the Elite Eight in 2010 and the Final Four in 2009. Kearney also played for top club team Maverick 18 Elite, which won the 2010 Powerhouse Tournament and the Canadian-American Tournament. Netherlands native de Jong led Lycurgus club team to a first place finish at the MJT Doezum in 2007 and placed eighth at the B-league competition in 2011. Oosterlaken, also a Netherland native, was a member of club Dynamo Tubbergen which won the National Championships four straight years.
After losing starters Abby Norman and 2009 all-BIG EAST second team member Lauren Evans to graduation, Monson, freshman Evyn McCoy and UNC-Charlotte transfer Kiara Gilbert will step in to shoulder the offensive load at the middle blocker position.
With the loss of all-time digs leader Bonnie West to graduation, Kramer looks for Russo to step into the leadership role defensively. Russo, who has played one season at WVU after transferring from Concordia-Irvine, was fourth on the team in kills with 210 and finished second on the team in digs with 437. Adding more depth to the defensive roster will be juniors Stephanie Mock and Karly Rasmussen and sophomores Bridget Carey and Liz Gulick.
The Mountaineers begin their campaign this weekend with the first of three tournaments and their only home tournament, the WVU Volleyball Mountaineer Invitational. The tournament will feature the Mountaineers competing against New Hampshire, Valparaiso, Ohio State, Towson and Robert Morris.
Following the WVU Invitational, the Mountaineers will head out Labor Day weekend to Kramer’s home state of Texas to take on Baylor and first-time opponents Texas San Antonio and Texas State. The last preseason tournament before BIG EAST play has the Mountaineers heading to Kentucky. WVU will take on Houston, Kentucky and first-time opponent Loyola Marymount.
The Mountaineers will take one weekend off before starting conference competition which features eight matches to be played at the WVU Coliseum. The Mountaineers will begin BIG EAST play at home with Rutgers (Sept. 23) and Seton Hall (Sept. 25), followed by a road trip to Villanova (Sept. 30) and Georgetown (Oct. 2).
“I fully expect it to be an advantage that the majority of our conference matches are at home. Because we get to practice here, we are going to utilize that comfort and experience,” Kramer said. “We are lucky we get to practice in our own facility for the most part. We are going to need to jump on teams quickly when they get here and that’s something we are going to work on. I think this is a really uncomfortable place for teams to come in and play. We have to capitalize on that and we have to take all the energy that our fans give us and run with it. I think talking about those things all the time and making sure the girls understand is important.”
With only eight teams invited to the BIG EAST championships, the final stretch of the season could determine the Mountaineers’ postseason berth. The team will have matches at home against Syracuse, Marquette and USF with one final road trip to Connecticut and St. John’s.
After the BIG EAST championships, the team will return to Morgantown to await an NCAA tournament bid and to prepare for Marshall. The Mountaineers head to Huntington, W. Va., to take on the Thundering Herd on Nov. 26.
The foundation has been laid for the WVU volleyball team to rise to the occasion and build on the future of a promising program. The 2011 season is set with a schedule full of opportunities, a senior led team and a chance to reach that final goal of a BIG EAST championship title.
In Kramer’s inaugural season, the Mountaineers brought the golden ball home with a 3-0 win over Marshall for the first time in nine years and defeated Pitt for the first time in more than 20 years in the Backyard Brawl. WVU finished the season 15-15, just one win shy of the BIG EAST Tournament. Kramer looks to build on the foundation started last season with high expectations for the 2011 campaign.
“My expectations are for us to come out and play our very best every match. We are playing some great teams this year,” Kramer said. “I scheduled the way I did because I feel like that is what our group does best with. We have got a senior led team that will rise to the occasion. All I expect is for our team to come out play its best every match and give its best every practice and live the life of an elite student-athlete.”
Kramer’s roster features nine returnees and six newcomers, including seniors Kylie Armbruster, Michelle Kopecky, Abby Monson, Kari Post and Serinna Russo- all leaders for the 2011 season.
“We have a group of five girls who bring a lot of experience to the table,” Kramer said. “They have worked really hard to make some changes in the gym and to create the culture that we are looking for within our program. They will form a leadership type of council and stay on top of everything. It’s important that they help the newcomers out and be a good example for how we like to do things in our gym.”
Anchoring the Mountaineer offense at the setter position will be three-year starter and Yuba City, Calif., native Post. Post returns for her final season after leading the team in 2010 with 999 assists and 13 double-doubles and earning recognition as the Best Setter at the WVU Classic. For her career, Post has amassed 2,597 assists, which puts her sixth on WVU’s all-time assists list.
Freshman Courtney Robison will add depth to the setter position. Robison, a three-year varsity squad member at Assumption High, was named first team all-state and all-district after leading her team to the 2010 Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Championship. Robison also led her club team, Asics KiVA, to four AAU National Titles in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 while also being named an AAU All-American in 2005, 2008, 2010 and an AAU MVP in 2006 and 2007.
Looking to take on a bigger offensive role this season, Armbruster and Kopecky return on the outside for the Mountaineers. Last season, Kopecky was named Best Attacker at the WVU Classic and finished second on the team in kills (249) and service aces (25). Armbruster also had a successful year finishing third on the team in digs (279) and fifth on the team in kills (199) and service aces (15).
Also filling a void at the net for the Mountaineers will be freshman Halle Kearney and transfers Anke de Jong and Carlijn Oosterlaken. Kearney, a 6-foot-3 outside hitter from Cleveland, led Magnificat High to the Elite Eight in 2010 and the Final Four in 2009. Kearney also played for top club team Maverick 18 Elite, which won the 2010 Powerhouse Tournament and the Canadian-American Tournament. Netherlands native de Jong led Lycurgus club team to a first place finish at the MJT Doezum in 2007 and placed eighth at the B-league competition in 2011. Oosterlaken, also a Netherland native, was a member of club Dynamo Tubbergen which won the National Championships four straight years.
After losing starters Abby Norman and 2009 all-BIG EAST second team member Lauren Evans to graduation, Monson, freshman Evyn McCoy and UNC-Charlotte transfer Kiara Gilbert will step in to shoulder the offensive load at the middle blocker position.
With the loss of all-time digs leader Bonnie West to graduation, Kramer looks for Russo to step into the leadership role defensively. Russo, who has played one season at WVU after transferring from Concordia-Irvine, was fourth on the team in kills with 210 and finished second on the team in digs with 437. Adding more depth to the defensive roster will be juniors Stephanie Mock and Karly Rasmussen and sophomores Bridget Carey and Liz Gulick.
The Mountaineers begin their campaign this weekend with the first of three tournaments and their only home tournament, the WVU Volleyball Mountaineer Invitational. The tournament will feature the Mountaineers competing against New Hampshire, Valparaiso, Ohio State, Towson and Robert Morris.
Following the WVU Invitational, the Mountaineers will head out Labor Day weekend to Kramer’s home state of Texas to take on Baylor and first-time opponents Texas San Antonio and Texas State. The last preseason tournament before BIG EAST play has the Mountaineers heading to Kentucky. WVU will take on Houston, Kentucky and first-time opponent Loyola Marymount.
The Mountaineers will take one weekend off before starting conference competition which features eight matches to be played at the WVU Coliseum. The Mountaineers will begin BIG EAST play at home with Rutgers (Sept. 23) and Seton Hall (Sept. 25), followed by a road trip to Villanova (Sept. 30) and Georgetown (Oct. 2).
“I fully expect it to be an advantage that the majority of our conference matches are at home. Because we get to practice here, we are going to utilize that comfort and experience,” Kramer said. “We are lucky we get to practice in our own facility for the most part. We are going to need to jump on teams quickly when they get here and that’s something we are going to work on. I think this is a really uncomfortable place for teams to come in and play. We have to capitalize on that and we have to take all the energy that our fans give us and run with it. I think talking about those things all the time and making sure the girls understand is important.”
With only eight teams invited to the BIG EAST championships, the final stretch of the season could determine the Mountaineers’ postseason berth. The team will have matches at home against Syracuse, Marquette and USF with one final road trip to Connecticut and St. John’s.
After the BIG EAST championships, the team will return to Morgantown to await an NCAA tournament bid and to prepare for Marshall. The Mountaineers head to Huntington, W. Va., to take on the Thundering Herd on Nov. 26.
The foundation has been laid for the WVU volleyball team to rise to the occasion and build on the future of a promising program. The 2011 season is set with a schedule full of opportunities, a senior led team and a chance to reach that final goal of a BIG EAST championship title.
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