August 25th, 2009

2009 Penn State Harrisburg Women´s Volleyball Preview

MIDDLETOWN, PA - The Penn State Harrisburg women´s volleyball team will be looking to make their first appearance in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) playoffs during the 2009 season. With five players returning and six highly recruited newcomers added to the team, accomplishing this task looks very promising for the Lady Lions. Head coach, Bob Creason, will have the challenge of filling the outside hitter position with the departure of NEAC all-conference player Ashley Huth, who was the team leader in kills last season. Another lost from last year´s team is, NEAC all-conference performer, Heather Grosser.

"I am expecting Elise Williams (Mountain Top, PA/Crestwood) and freshman, Amanda Duda (Centreville, VA/Westfield), to be the go to girls on the outside. It will be great to have two options, especially if one is playing on the opposite line," said Creason, "the problem with last year was Ashley was the only go to girl and at times we had to set her up even when she was on the back line."

"Although we are small again this year, we will make up for it with speed and aggressiveness," comments Creason when describing his team. "We look to get over the hurdle of playing to the level of the completion. Last year we played tough with the high quality teams and then were too laid back when playing the not so strong teams. If this team can mature quickly then I see no problems in overcoming that hurdle."

SUNY IT will be the heavy favorite this year for the NEAC conference title with the NEAC player of the year, Juleah Vedder, returning as well as their 1st team all-conference setter, Nicole Higgins. With the departure of D´Youville College, the 2008 NEAC tournament winners, the Lady Lions have room to sneak into the top three in the conference. Joining the NEAC for the 2009 season are newcomers, Penn State Abington, St. Elizabeth College and SUNY Morrisville.

"We have a tough but good non-conference schedule this season. Last year we played SUNYIT very well and went five sets with them. We did a good job stopping their best player so I look for us to play them tough this year as well," said Creason.

The Lady Lions will be led by seniors Amanda Wade (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cedar Cliff) and Elise Williams. Wade started all 23 matches, recording 488 assists (5.67 apg) and 178 digs. Williams also appeared in 23 matches and finished second on the team in kills with 136 (1.60 kpg). Also returning to the Lady Lions are Lindsay Shook (Clarion, PA/Clarion), Melissa Reese (Hershey, PA/Lower Dauphin) and Carla Martin (Manheim, PA/Home School). The newcomers looking to make an impact included Morgan Madden (Towanda, PA/Towanda), Trisha Stauffer (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown), Michelle Pellechia (Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua), Finesse Hempfing (Hanover, PA/Hanover) and Miranda Jumper (Lebanon, PA/Lebanon).

"I´m looking for Amanda Wade to be more vocal this year, where as last year she led by example. I also look for her to run the show as well as become the leader of the team," said Creason. "Elise is hitting the ball hard in practice and this year she will come out of the shadows and be a more aggressive hitter."

The Lady Lions begin the 2009 schedule at the Gettysburg College Tournament on Friday, September 4th. Harrisburg´s first round opponent is SUNY Old Westbury. The 2009 home opener is scheduled for Thursday, September 10th, against Hood College at 7:00 P.M. at the Capital Union Building.