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Volleyball 2007 Season Preview For Immediate Release: RICHMOND, Ind. — Six seniors make up the core of the Earlham College volleyball team as Head Coach Natalie Alred begins her fourth year with the Quakers. In each of Alred’s seasons the Quakers have improved and last year they were 14-15 with the most victories since the 2000 team posted 18. “Hopefully, there will be a payoff for four years of hard work by our seniors,” she said. “They understand what I expect and what we’re running offensively and defensively. They’ve also really been excellent role models for our younger players.” To go along with the senior class, there are three more experienced players to at depth. “We are at least 3-4 deep at every position,” Alred said. “We’re able to have more competitive practices and when you can do that everyone improves.” Alred hopes the experience level will add to the team’s talent. “In the past, we’ve been known as a defensive team because we dig a lot of balls and keep them in play,” she said. “I still think that’s going to be one of our strengths, but I also believe we’re going to have more offensive power. We have hitters that can hit from anywhere on the court.” The six seniors are Kaitlin Gentry (Kent, OH/Roosevelt), Amanda Pewitt (Greenwood, IN/Greenwood), Sara Prince (Dresden, OH/Tri-Valley), Kari Schneider (Cincinnati, OH/Mt. Notre Dame), Lisa Vanderkolk (Bluffton, IN/Bluffton) and Jessica Whitaker (Indianapolis, IN/Scecina). Sophomores Keeley McAnnis-Entenman (Portland, OR/Grant), Aleta Cox (Marion, IN/Eastbrook) and Kourtney King (New Madison, OH/Tri-Village) are the other returning players. “Every one of them came back to school in better shape than in the past,” Alred said. “That makes a difference in the level of play and the competition for spots in the lineup has been fierce because they know they can’t take a day off in practice.” Sophomore Michelle Surma (Westville, IN/Muncie Burris) and first-years Phoebe Hallowell (Newton, PA/The George School), Ramona Hemmings (Cleveland, OH/East Cleveland Heights), Alicia Keys (Morrow, OH/Morrow) and Kelsey Tackett (Frankfort, KY/Frankfort) are the newcomers this season. Alred and her squad have established some simple goals. “We want to focus on one game at a time and one week at a time and not look back at what we have accomplished,” she said. “The program has come a long way in three years. It’s real easy to settle for that and we’ve talked about that as a team. They have pretty high expectations and we have to block all of those things out. We have goals for each game and that’s how we’re going to be successful.” Earlham begins its season with the annual EC Quaker Classic on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. It is the start of three weeks of non-conference action before the Quakers begin play in the North Coast Athletic Conference. “We just using these matches to get better so when we start conference play we are ready for whatever those teams throw at us,” Alred said. The first NCAC match is at the College of Wooster on Friday, Sept. 21. —EC — Contact: |
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Earlham College · 801 National Road West · Richmond,
Indiana 47374-4095 |