UVa Volleyball Team Looking Forward To 2003 Season.

Story Links

Aug. 25, 2003

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – After having a roster dominated by underclassmen for the last two years, the 2003 Virginia volleyball team returns many familiar faces for what the Cavaliers hope is a 25th anniversary season to remember. In addition to having those familiar faces back on the court, Virginia will return to its old home – a renovated Memorial Gym, where the team hopes to have a true home-court advantage.

Virginia, under the direction of ninth-year head coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton, has a 15-player roster for its silver anniversary season in 2003 featuring seven upperclassmen, including four fourth-years. Six of UVa’s seven upperclassmen have significant collegiate experience. However, of the eight underclassmen, which includes six first-years, only one has played in a match for Virginia.

UVa finished the 2002 season with a 9-25 overall record and a 2-14 mark in the extremely competitive Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cavaliers lost only two starters from last year’s squad. In addition to returning five starters, Virginia has a total of eight letterwinners back as well as a red-shirt sophomore.

“We are finally going to be one of those teams that has more returning starters than the team on the other side of the net,” said Shelton. “The ACC has been led by teams with a lot of All-Conference seniors the last few years. We just haven’t been in that group, so we are excited about the possibilities this year brings. The senior class has put in three tough years, so we are hoping to be able to give them a great fourth year. Our juniors have some great playing experience under their belt as well.”

After playing the last four seasons at University Hall, the Cavaliers will play their home matches in Memorial Gym, which served as UVa’s previous home facility. Memorial Gym was renovated during the summer of 2003, thanks to an $800,000 contribution to the Virginia Athletics Foundation by an anonymous donor.

“It’s a great move for our program to return to Mem Gym. Not only will we be practicing in the same facility we play for the first time in four years, but we will have a great match setting. We will be able to hear our fans and let them help us out of tight situations. It will be a very cozy volleyball atmosphere and really give the fans an intimate experience. The generous donation we received has allowed for us to make renovations that will make it the best facility in the ACC in terms of the court.

OUTSIDE HITTERS

Virginia possesses a blend of experience, depth and young talent at outside hitter. The Cavaliers have seven outside hitters on the roster, including four with starting experience. “We have several outside hitters this season which will give us lots of depth and hopefully a lot of different looks,” said Shelton.

Leading the way on the left side is third-year Celeste Laborde. In 2002, Laborde tallied a career high 170 kills, including 18 against the College of Charleston and 17 against IUPUI. She played in 78 games and started 15 of the 28 matches in which she appeared. Laborde had a “typical sophomore season for someone who was new to the position. However, based on her phenomenal spring we are expecting a much more steady performance this fall. She got a lot more confident and has mastered more shots. She is an incredible athlete, extremely powerful and explosive. If we can tap into her emotions and heart and she plays like she did this spring, Celeste will be one of our go-to hitters. We are really looking forward to her continued development. We need her to be a big force for us.”

UVa will also look to second-year Kristin Chaney to play the left side. Chaney, a returning starter from the spring, is more of a ball control and finesse player. “Kristin is ‘Miss Reliable’ on the court. She rarely makes mistakes and has phenomenal ball control. She is a very positive, calming person and the rest of the team enjoys playing with her.”

Due to injuries, Chaney was thrust into the starting setter role for half of the 2002 season instead of gaining experience at outside hitter. She tallied 511 assists and 210 digs last season while starting 19 of 34 matches. Chaney added 33 kills, 29 blocks and 28 service aces in 113 games.

Katie Synan, the team’s only lefty, returns for her fourth season. Due to the Cavaliers’ depth at outside hitter, this season Synan will be trained solely on the right side. Synan drew 17 starting assignments while playing in 32 matches and 96 games in 2002. She was fourth on the team with 176 kills and added 68 digs and 47 blocks. Synan registered a career-high 22 kills versus Clemson. “Katie will be asked to bring power to the right side and put up a big block when we need her,” Shelton said. “She is also a force out of the back row.”

Also returning for Virginia is three-year starter Paige Davis, who is coming off an incredible spring. “We were able to set her a lot of second tempo balls and she responded to that very well. She came flying in and was able to beat the block a significant percent of the time. Paige needs to continue working on her shot selection, seeing the block, and her blocking. If all those areas continue to improve she will be an amazing right side hitter for us, possibly the most prolific we’ve ever had.” As a junior in 2002, Davis led the team with 332 kills (2.81 per game), 398.5 points and 35 service aces. She was also second with 338 digs (2.86 per game) and added 57 blocks. Davis led all UVa players with 12 double-doubles and reached double digits in kills in 17 matches and in digs 16 times. She is on pace to become on the fourth Virginia player with 1,000 career kills and digs.

Second-year Lisa Krolikowski is coming off a red-shirt year and is expected to make contributions in 2003. “Lisa is the best athlete on the team in every category and her volleyball skills are catching up,” praised Shelton. “She has an incredible work ethic and has put in a lot of extra time above and beyond her teammates because she wants to play. Her heart and desire are very evident and will earn her playing time this year on the right side. Last spring she always came in and made the play. When you have a red-shirt who is always making a play that is reassuring. We are looking for her to push for playing time and utilize her athletic ability on the court.”

The Cavaliers also welcome two newcomers, Lindsay Osco and Emily Perilli, to the outside hitter fold.

“Lindsay Osco is probably the most heralded recruit of the class. She is a big swinger, hits hard, is very smart, and savvy, and is a very experienced outside hitter. She will come in and challenge for playing time right away. Her ball control is very strong and her passing and defense will be some of the best on the team. She is a tall player with a great block and good instincts. She has been around a high level and open level game for many years now so the jump to the college level will not be a surprise or difficult for her.” Osco was a first-team All-Texas pick in 2002-2003 and is a two-time District 20-5A MVP. She also earned 2002-2003 All-Greater Houston first-team honors.

“Emily Perilli has played middle blocker all of her life, but will play outside for us,” said Shelton. “She is a great athlete and hits the ball hard. Emily has played a little on the outside in camps. We are not expecting her to come in and play right away because she is adapting to a new spot. But I would expect her to come in during some tight situations, when we need some big swings, because she is fearless. She has proven she can get the kill when the game is on the line. Page High School has won several championships behind her arm. Emily is also a tenacious back row player. She always seems to be touching a lot of balls and getting the ball up, so she may see some time across the back row for us.”

Perilli was three times selected as the MVP of the Tennessee State Championship game. She also helped Impact Volleyball Club to second-place finishes at the USVA Junior Nationals in 2002 and 2003 and earned All-Tournament honors in the process.

MIDDLES

Just as with the outside hitters, UVa possesses a good mix of experience and youth in the middle. “We have two of the most experienced middles returning in the ACC and also welcome two promising first-years.”

Fourth-year Shannon Boyle earned a starting position at the end of her first year and has started ever since. “Shannon has proven she can be a .400 hitter and get 1.5 blocks per game and we need her to do that. It’s a matter of her being consistent and staying relaxed yet focused at the same time. We worked on technique all spring with her, trying to change her arm swing a little bit, and it seemed to pay off. We are looking for Shannon to have a great year.”

Boyle was fourth on the team with 230 kills (2.23 per game) and was third with 76 in blocks last season. She played in 103 games and started 29 of the 33 matches she appeared in.

“Alexis Geocaris really came alive last season and definitely this spring became a go-to hitter. She has the ability to hit above .400 every match and did so this spring. She also has the ability to lead our team in blocks. We need Alexis to show her emotions and really go out there and play as hard as she can every time. She can be a big inspiration for this team if she chooses to do so.” In 2002, Geocaris led the team with 104 blocks (1.05 per game), was second with 33 service aces and third in kills with 234 (2.36 per game). She set career bests in all three categories. Geocaris also topped the team with a .227 hitting percentage. She started 26 of the 32 matches she played and saw action in 99 games.

The first of UVa’s two newcomers in the middle is Stephanie Everett from Cincinnati, Ohio. “Stephanie is a big, physical athlete who moves her feet well and plays hard. She will need some training before she sees a lot of court time, but we are hoping to get her in early in the season so she has some experience under her belt and we can use her if we need to.”

Everett won high school letters in volleyball and basketball and was a 2002 first-team All-Conference and second-team All-City selection.

First-year Meghan O’Leary is probably the rawest newcomer UVa has in terms of volleyball experience, but is a great athlete. “Meghan is very strong and is a determined competitor. We expect her to make some strong strides her first year. Whether or not she sees court time will be determined by how fast she adapts to the college game.”

O’Leary was a standout three-sport athlete at Episcopal High, earning All-State honors in volleyball, softball and basketball. She was the national winner of a 2002 Wendy’s High School Heisman Award.

SETTER

The Cavaliers recruited a pair of excellent first-years, Emily Kirkwood and Kathleen Branagh, to run the offense this fall. “Emily and Kathleen are very similar setters. They are both phenomenal leaders and we are very excited to have them on our roster. They bring huge amounts of heart, leadership, knowledge and experience to the court.

“Emily Kirkwood is a very experienced setter as well as a competitive leader. She has played at the open level for a long time and has a great grasp of how to lead a team and how to get them performing. The offense she ran at Tampa Bay is very similar to what we do, so we think she will pick it up right away and feel very comfortable. We are very excited about her future,” Shelton said.

Kirkwood was named the 2002 Florida 4A Player of the Year and helped lead Plant High to the 4A State titles in 2001 and 2002.

“Kathleen Branagh joined us late in the spring. She is an accomplished setter as she was the MVP of 16-Club Nationals as a sophomore. Kathleen is one of the setters on one of the top 18-Open teams this year. She will also push right away for playing time.”

Branagh was named a 2002 Contra Costa Times All-Star Prep Athlete as one of the top six players in the East Bay of Northern California. She also helped lead Campolindo High to three consecutive league titles.

LIBERO/DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST

The Cavaliers return two experienced defensive specialists, including the top libero in the ACC in fourth-year Whitney Ashcraft. Third-year Annie Hylton has gained valuable experience as defensive specialist as well.

Ashcraft returns to the floor as UVa’s starting libero and is the heart and soul of the team. In 2002, Ashcraft became the first player to be named All-ACC as a libero. She was also an AVCA honorable mention All-East Region selection. Ashcraft led all ACC players in digs with 499 (4.23 per game) and enters the 2003 season with 976 career digs (ninth all-time at UVa).

“Whitney is our leader and the heart and soul of our team,” said Shelton. “She puts everything into every match and every practice and is here to win. We are hoping that catches fire with our younger players. We know she will be a great role model to everyone. She is the top returning libero in the ACC and we will be using her as much as we can.”

Hylton enters her third year with the program and has made great strides in her game. She started seven times and played in 26 matches in 2002, collecting 73 digs. She had a career-best nine digs against East Carolina. “If Annie can stay aggressive and keep herself mentally focused on the court she’s a great player. She’s a very positive influence on the rest of the team. Her spirit carries through in tough times and can be counted on to keep everyone going in the right direction,” said Shelton.

CONCLUSION

Virginia has high expectations for the 2003 season. Couple the experience of the veterans with a talented first-year class and lots of enthusiasm, UVa has a chance to regain its place as one of the elite teams in the ACC.

“Finally, experience is on our side. If we are lucky enough to stay injury free it will be a strong year for us,” predicted Shelton. “The ACC is anybody’s this year and I am confident we have the means to compete at the highest echelon of the conference.

“We also need to stay focused on winning – just make winning our only goal and recapture the winning ways of the teams that we’ve had in the past. We need to not be afraid of putting it on the line. It’s a lot easier to accept losing than to fight back and try to win. We came around the corner with figuring out how to fight back and win in the spring. Now we need to stay on the boat from day one and just keep charging forward with it.”