UGA Women’s Club Volleyball Team wins national championship

The 2009 University of Georgia Women’s Club Volleyball Team recently won the National Volleyball Championships by defeating Ohio University in the Division II finals.
“Opportunities for regional and/or national competition for club sports are sometimes difficult to find, or when available, difficult to fund,” said Kent J. Blumenthal, executive director of the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association. “We appreciate the dedication of the University of Georgia… and the support of the Department of Recreational Sports.”

Members of this year’s championship team are: Elise Cashman, Marietta; Alex Condy, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Amanda Crawford and Danielle Crawford, Moreland; Lisa DeCarolis and Bethany Houser, Roswell; Anna Ewing and Kathryn Ewing, Marietta; Lauren Ford, Decatur; Katherine Poss, Newnan; Casey Stoll, Kennesaw; and Valana Vannoy, Stone Mountain.

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Emory Women's Volleyball Wins National Championship

The Emory volleyball team capped off its storybook season Saturday evening with a 3-1 win over the University of La Verne in the title match of the NCAA Division III National championship. The Eagles closed out their year with a 35-6 record following the 16-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-22 win over the No. 4-ranked Leopards who finished out the campaign with a 27-3 won-lost ledger. The match was held at the Shirk Center on the Illinois Wesleyan campus in Bloomington, Illinois.

Emory hit 28.1 percent in the match (56-20—128) while La Verne posted a 22.4 attack percentage (47-19—125). Each team totaled 47 digs while the Eagles finished with a 7-5 edge in total blocks.

Emory had a number of players produce outstanding matches. Senior middle Dani Huffman led a balanced offensive attack with 13 kills while finishing the contest with a 36.0 hitting percentage (13-4—25) along with four blocks. Huffman registered four digs, perhaps none more important than one she came up with in the decisive fourth set that fell into the La Verne side of the court resulting in a kill and giving Emory a 21-20 lead. Sophomore Amelia McCall banged away to the tune of 12 kills while senior Maggie Baird and freshman Alexandra Wright each came up with 11 put-aways. Freshman setter Natalie Schonefeld dished out 47 assists and sophomore Kelsey Krzyston and freshman Brannan O’Neill paced the defensive effort with 11 digs each.

Emory stumbled out of the gate in the first game, hitting just 11.5 percent while La Verne countered with an impressive mark of 34.5 percent. However, in games two and three, the Eagles’ offense got untracked and hit 40.6 and 39.3 percent, respectively, in surging to a 2-1 lead in the match. Holding a 19-18 margin in a hotly contested second game, the Eagles made the most of a pair of La Verne attack errors, along with a kill by Amelia McCall, to take a 22-18 advantage. The Leopards drew to within three points on a couple of occasions, but a pair of McCall terminations helped Emory seal that set.

Emory used a pair of kills by both McCall and Huffman in bolting to an 8-2 lead in the third game. After the Leopards crept to within 11-9, a kill by Wright, combined with a pair of attack errors by La Verne and a service ace by Schonefeld boosted Emory’s lead to 15-9. The Eagles eventually built a 22-13 cushion en route to taking a 2-1 edge in the match.

La Verne led during the early stages in game four before a kill by Wright knotted the set at 9-9. The teams battled back and forth and the game was tied on six occasions as the scored settled into an 18-18 deadlock. Eventually, the Leopards went up by a 22-21 count but Emory closed out the contest with a 4-0 run, the winning point coming on a termination by Baird.

Huffman was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament after compiling 49 kills, a 31.4 hitting percentage and 19 total blocks. Also garnering spots on the team were Schonefeld and Wright.

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Emory Volleyball Earns No. 1 Ranking

The Emory University volleyball team holds down the No. 1 spot in the week's Bison/American Volleyball Coaches Division III Poll. The Eagles received 21 of 24 first-place votes and totaled 596 points. Juniata College, which had been No. 1 since the start of the season, slipped to the No. 2 position with one first-place vote and 571 points. La Verne (559 pts.), Washington University (526 pts.) and Wittenberg (499 pts.) round out the top five.

Emory ascended to the top of the poll following an impressive 3-1 win over Juniata this past weekend at the Emory National Challenge. It marked the second time this year that the two schools had met with Juniata claiming a 3-0 decision at the Leopard Invitational hosted by La Verne.

Head Coach Jenny McDowell and her squad have enjoyed considerable success against nationally ranked teams this year, compiling an 8-1 mark against teams that have been ranked among the top 25.

This week's No. 1 ranking represents the first time since Nov. 15, 2005, that the Eagles have held the top position among Division III teams.

Emory returns to action this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 7-8) when it looks to defend its title at the University Athletic Association Championships in St. Louis.

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Alysse Meyer Named Division III Volleyball National Player of the Week

Emory University junior outside Alysse Meyer (Stockton, CA) has been named the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III National Player of the Week following her performance at the Emory Classic last weekend.

The 6-foot Meyer earned the prestigious honor after an MVP performance that saw her spark the Eagles to a championship effort with a 4-0 record. She played in all 15 of the team’s games over the four matches and came up with a team-leading 71 kills (4.73 kpg), hit 42.2 percent (71-11—142), doled out 10 service aces and averaged 1.73 digs per game.

In the Eagles’ opening match of the Classic against No. 18 Haverford, she pounded out a career-high 30 kills, tying the second-highest match total in school history, and hit a blistering 56.2 percent (30-3—48) while also registering nine digs and five aces in the four-game win. She followed that up with a 16-kill, nine-dig evening against Southwestern in a thrilling five-game, come-from-behind victory over Southwestern.

She continued her torrid pace on the final day, hitting 68.4 percent with 13 kills in 19 attempts with zero errors in the Eagles’ 3-0 decision over Mount Union before closing out the weekend with three aces, while registering a 57.9 attack percentage on the strength of 12 terminations in 19 attempts with one error in a sweep against Carleton.

Meyer’s selection represents the fifth time that an Emory player has earned the Sports Imports/AVCA Division III National Player of the Week Award. She joins Liana Roman (Oct. 14, 1996), Jennifer Naeger (Oct. 26, 1998), Lulu Sewell (Sept. 9, 2002) and Courtney Rose (Oct. 25, 2004) as Emory players to have been tabbed for the honor.

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Emory Volleyball Ranked No. 3 in Preseason Poll

SSG Note: Emory Eagles, we're rooting for you. After all the Olympic volleyball coverage lately, we're primed and ready to cheer you to victory!

Hopes are high in the Emory volleyball camp during the early stages of fall drills and those optimistic expectations are shared by voters in the CBS College Sports Network/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Preseason Poll with the Eagles holding down the No. 3 position. Emory finished with 541 points and received one first-place vote. The Eagles’ preseason ranking is the program’s highest since the preseason poll made its debut in 2000.

Head Coach Jenny McDowell enters her 13th season at the helm of the program with a total of nine letterwinners, including four starters, returning from last season’s club that posted an overall won-lost slate of 33-7 that included an 12th straight appearance to the NCAA Tournament where it advanced to the quarterfinal round. Among the returnees are senior setter Madison Robelen, a second team All-America honoree from 2007, and senior middle hitter Dani Huffman, who garnered first team All-University Athletic Association status last season.

Holding down the No. 1 spot in the preseason rankings is Juniata College with 13 first-place votes and 588 total points. University Athletic Association member and defending national champion Washington University is No. 2 with 584 points while Wittenberg College (492 pts.) and La Verne (466 pts.) are 4th and 5th, respectively.

The Eagles opens the 2008 campaign the weekend of August 29-30 when they compete at the Comfort Inn Challenge hosted by Birmingham Southern College.

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A Fall Sports Preview for University of West Georgia

Commentary by Mitch Gray

Football

Everything is new for the West Georgia Wolves this fall. A new coaching staff, headed by Daryl Dickey, is at the helm. There is also a major influx of new players on both sides of the ball and will will try to erase the disappointment of last season’s 2-9 record.

The Wolves’ top returnee is among the nation’s most prolific specialists. Senior Jared Guberman was named on four separate All-America teams, as well as making All-Gulf South Conference First Team last season.The Wolves are counting on more than just Guberman receiving post-season honors in 2008.

First game is scheduled on Thursday, Aug. 28, at 8 p.m. at Samford University, Birmingham, AL. Go Wolves!

Volleyball

The surprise story of 2007 in all of the Gulf South Conference was West Georgia’s volleyball team. From midseason tumult to conference champion and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, no team anywhere had a wilder and more fun ride last year than the Wolves.

This season, UWG has a new coach on board with Gary Lee. Lee has a solid nucleus returning, led by Andressa Martins, who was voted Most Outstanding Player in the GSC Tourney. Senior Amber Barnlund provides size and experience for the Wolves’ lineup, also. Beyond this pair, Lee will be looking for contributions from several talented newcomers this fall.

First game is scheduled on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m., at Alabama-Huntsville.

Cross Country

If youth shall be served, the West Georgia Wolves’ cross country teams should be in for an entertaining fall. Coach Frank Butts has brought together talented and young rosters for both the women’s and men’s teams for 2008.

Despite the youth, the West Georgia teams have a veteran presence to lead their charge this season. UWG’s women feature a pair of seniors, Deanna Houghton and Jessie Reynierson to help show the ropes with a lineup that includes five outstanding freshmen.

On the men’s side, the Wolves return with Nao Asano. The team’s lone senior represented West Georgia at last season’s nationals and should be a mainstay this season. All-GSC Roman Dankin, a junior, also returns to help lead a squad featuring four freshmen.

An invitational meet is scheduled on Friday, Sept. 12, at 4:30 p.m. at Hoover, AL.

Soccer Preview

West Georgia’s women’s soccer team is looking for a bounce back season in 2008. Coach Marisa Kovacs and her Wolves weren’t satisfied with last season’s 8-11 record, and fifth place finish (3-5) in the Gulf South Conference standings.

Despite the loss of a trio of top performers to graduation, UWG has a veteran presence this fall. Leading the returnees are junior Erica Harvey and senior Samantha Jones, who were the team’s second and fourth leading scorers, respectively, a season ago. Also back is goalkeeper Patricia Logsdon, who notched a pair of shutouts a season ago.

First match is scheduled on Thursday, Aug. 21, at Emory University in Atlanta.

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