Volleyball Opens 2009 Season Friday at Bronco Invitational
8/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 27, 2009
TULSA, Okla. - The University of Tulsa volleyball team opens the 2009 season at the Boise State Bronco Invitational Friday and Saturday at Bronco Gym in Boise, Idaho, with the first match coming Friday at 6 p.m. CT against Cal State Northridge.
The Golden Hurricane will also play Saturday against Boise State at 1 p.m. CT and Northern Arizona at 6 p.m. CT.
"We have a lot of young kinds and we're excited to see how they're going to respond to some pressure situations," Tulsa Head Coach Ed Allen said. "We're playing hard. I think we're playing somewhat smart right now and it will be interesting to see their development over the course of the weekend against some competition that's going to push them to some of their limits."
Tulsa is beginning the new season with a nearly new squad, bringing in six freshmen and welcoming back six returners from the 2008 team that went 22-11 overall and 8-8, finishing fifth in Conference USA play. The returners include senior outside hitter Jennifer Eichler, senior middle blocker Julia Kenealy, junior middle blockers Hannah Stout and Shaylin Werner, sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Hancock and sophomore setter Rachel Vukson.
Tulsa enters the season with six returners - two players in each of the senior, junior and sophomore classes - and six freshmen, most of whom are expected to make a significant impact on the team this year. Of the returners, two are outside hitters, three are middle blockers and one is a setter. TU brought in three outside hitters, a setter, and both defensive specialists on the squad.
The Hurricane begins the 2009 season with high hopes and lots of promise, coming from the talented class of newcomers along with the strong crop of returners.
"We've beat each other up for almost three weeks and we're now pretty excited to see how we can measure ourselves against someone else," Allen said. "I think the chemistry is outstanding. The desire to compete is outstanding. It will be good to see their development against somebody from the outside."
Tulsa's first opponent, Cal State Northridge, completed the 2008 season with a 9-21 record and went 3-13 in the Big West Conference. Boise State finished last season 9-19 overall and 5-11 in the Western Athletic Conference. Northern Arizona went 15-10 last year with a 7-9 Big Sky Conference record.
The meeting between Tulsa and Cal State Northridge will be the first between the two schools. Tulsa has played Boise State five times and leads the series, 4-1. The two schools are old Western Athletic Conference rivals, and played each other from 2001 to 2004 in the league. The Golden Hurricane won twice in 2001, once in each of the 2002 and 2003 seasons, and BSU won in 2004. Tulsa is 1-1 vs. the Broncos in Boise. TU and Northern Arizona met once in 1996, with NAU winning the match, 3-0.
Returners that lead Tulsa on the outside are senior Jennifer Eichler and sophomore Kelsey Hancock. Eichler recorded 402 kills (3.15 kills per set), a .276 attack percentage, 93 total blocks and 460 points for the Hurricane last season. Hancock tallied 196 kills in 16 starts, along with 83 digs, 37 total blocks and 224 points. The returning setter, sophomore Rachel Vukson, totaled 1,091 assists, led the team with 32 service aces, and contributed 41 kills, 198 digs and 48 total blocks.
At middle blocker, TU's leaders from last season were senior Julia Kenealy and junior Hannah Stout. Kenealy led the team in blocks with 130 total (1.02 per set) and also had 202 kills, 92 digs and 279.5 points as the only player to start all 33 matches. Stout scored 272 kills, led the team with a .288 attack percentage and tied Eichler with 93 total blocks, while scoring 323 points.
The six freshmen added to the squad in 2009 is the largest number of freshmen to enter the program in one season in recent memory. Jessica Adams and Shelbi Pitcher are the two defensive players and will make immediate impact on the team. Jordan Clampitt is the setter, and will rotate in with Vukson. Dianna Craine, Tyler Henderson and Marina Georgieva (Sofia, Bulgaria) come in as the outside hitters, and will have immediate impact as well. Henderson was ranked the No. 21 volleyball player coming out of high school last year by PrepVolleyball.com.
TU's first home match will be Tuesday, Sept. 8 against Arkansas. It plays host to the Radisson Tulsa Airport Invitational on Sept. 11-12.
For all Tulsa volleyball news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane. Become a fan of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane page on Facebook - search "Tulsa Golden Hurricane."
