August 18, 2006

LAURINBURG, N.C.—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College women’s volleyball team will be hitting the court in 2006 with a new look that should make any Knights netters fan excited. Second year Head Coach Dan Kreiger adds six new faces to this year’s young and talented squad while a trio of seniors will provide much needed leadership that looks to be a recipe for success in ’06.

Kreiger and assistant coaches Kelley Kreiger and Randy Key will look to guide this year’s team to much more success than the team saw last year. The coaching staff that took over just before last seasons regular season began posted a 3-24 mark in 2005.

“We plan to have major improvements from last season,” said Kreiger. “It was critical that I had a full year to recruit and will have a full preseason to work with our four freshmen and two transfers, who we are expecting to help immediately. I also expect good leadership out of my upper classmen, especially my seniors.”

With expectations much higher this season, Kreiger plans to manage a 12-player roster that has the potential to regain much of the programs success of two years ago. The 2004 SAPC volleyball team qualified for the NCAA Division II National Tournament. Four players still remain from that team; seniors Jesi Bewley, Kim Harper & Lauren McManus and junior Erin Haugen. The quartet of multi-year letter winners will provide the experience and leadership that is needed to backbone the still very youthful squad.

“I feel the attitude from our veterans will be a key to our success,” expressed Kreiger. “They have been here for the best and for the worst. They should come in this year with a good attitude and transfer the excitement into a successful season.”

Kim Harper, a three-year starter, will continue her role as the team’s setter. Harper, who has 3,497 assists and 1,148 digs entering her senior season, is a two-time CVAC All-Conference selection and a CVAC Player of the Week. Harper also has a team-high 143 service aces and a career .240 hitting percentage.

“Kim has a year under our coaching system and she has done a lot to improve her game on the mental side,” stated Kreiger. “Freshman Jaime Hayes will compete with Harper at the setter position and will add competition that will make the position stronger.”

Jesi Bewley enters her senior season as the team’s leader with 859 kills, 97 solo blocks and 79 block assists. Bewley also brings 818 digs, 126 service aces, 124 assists, and a .211 hitting percentage as a middle blocker.

“Jesi was our go-to player last season and she will be once again a focal point for what we do offensively this year,” explained Kreiger. “Freshman Galina Podolsky, another middle blocker, will make a big difference and should make an immediate impact as a presence at the net.”

The very versatile Lauren McManus concludes the Knights trio of seniors. After three seasons of action at multiple positions for the Knights, McManus has accumulated 355 kills, 701 digs, 110 assists, 85 service aces, and 40 total blocks.

“Lauren could see time at every position for us this year,” rejoiced Kreiger. “She will mostly compete as a defensive specialist and outside hitter and will be successful because she is willing to do what is needed for the team to be successful.”

Erin Haugen brings a veteran presence at the libero position for the Knights after accumulating 622 digs in her first two seasons at St. Andrews. Haugen ranked fourth in the CVAC last season with a 5.15 digs/game average.

“ Erin, in my opinion, has the opportunity to be the best libero in the conference,” declared Kreiger. “She had really improved her game near the end of last season and I look for that progress to continue.”

A large group of young outside hitters for SAPC are led by sophomores Dani Ghramm and Liz Windham. Ghramm posted 227 kills, 218 digs, 33 service aces and 21 assists as a freshman while Windham recorded 120 kills, 208 digs, and 14 assists in her freshman campaign.

Chelsea Lavalleur and Tyler Lee round out the Knights freshman class of four. Lindsey Stansbury and Tara Lemieux bring experience to St. Andrews as junior college transfers from Gulf Coast Community College.

“We have brought in some very talented freshmen in Chelsea and Tyler,” added Kreiger. “Tara and Lindsey add more depth to our roster that we needed. There will be a lot of competition for about two or three positions, which will be good for the team.”

Dan Kreiger and assistant coaches Kelley Kreiger and Randy Key have made it a goal to make major improvements from last year. As long as the squad that features half of the team being newcomers, are able to jell together as a unit the Knights coaching staff plan to meet all expectations in 2006.

The St. Andrews volleyball team will not only be trying to improve overall but also plans to make a lot of noise in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference. The Knights finished 3-16 in league play last year.

“The whole level of the CVAC will be better across the board but we still expect to be very competitive in every match. We have scheduled tough competition early and will play a lot of matches but being we are very young we will need the experience. However, we feel we will be able to compete against all of opponents,” concluded Kreiger.

The Knights netters scheduled a 36-match regular season including 11 home contests in Harris Court. St. Andrews opens the season with four matches in the Glenville State Tournament (Francis Marion, Glenville State, Bridgeport, and Slippery Rock) on August 25-26. The Knights also compete in the Lees-McRae Tournament (Newberry, Lenoir-Rhyne, Francis Marion, and USC Aiken) and the Tusculum Tournament (Lander, Johnson C. Smith, and Tusculum).

The 2006 home opener is slated for August 29 against Francis Marion University. The Knights 20-match conference regular season consists of home and away battles against all 10 CVAC foes. The regular season also includes road contests against non-conference opponents UNC Pembroke, Fayetteville State, Wingate, and Augusta State. The 2006 CVAC Volleyball Tournament begins on Monday, October 30 with the higher seeds hosting the first round. Converse College hosts the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals in Spartanburg, SC, on November 3-5.

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