GOLDEN EAGLES SEEKING 4TH STRAIGHT NCAA PLAYOFF BID; EAGLES OPEN SEASON AUG. 27-28 AT SHIPPENSBURG TOURNAMENT
The Clarion University women’s volleyball team will start its quest for a fourth straight NCAA Division II playoff berth when it begins the 2005 season Saturday and Sunday Aug. 27-28 at the Shippensburg Tournament.
Following the Shippensburg Tournament, the Golden Eagles open their home schedule Tuesday, Aug. 30, when they host Daemen at 7 p.m.
“The players are always ready to play,” fifth-year head coach Tracey Fluharty said. “Playing is always better than practicing. Not only are we excited to be ready to play matches, we are also excited to play with some of the new aspects we have added to our offense and defense.”
Last season, the Golden Eagles went 29-9 overall and 6-4 in the PSAC-West while qualifying for the PSAC Playoffs outright for the first time since 1990. The Golden Eagles fell to East Stroudsburg in the PSAC Playoffs and to Lees-McRae in the NCAA Playoffs.
In order to get back to the level it achieved last season and possibly beyond, Fluharty said the Golden Eagles are focusing on short-term rather than long-term goals.
“We are taking things one game at a time,” Fluharty said. “We aren’t going to talk about what we want to happen until its gets close to being something we can control.”
Along with the match-by-match approach, the Golden Eagles will also use a team concept approach to help it continue the success of the recent past.
“One of the biggest reasons for our success over the last few seasons has been good team chemistry,” Fluharty said. “Our players get along on and off the court. We don’t have any player who wants to win anymore than any other player. Everyone wants it the same, and everyone is willing to put forth the time and effort to help us win. We are going to win or lose as a team.”
That team concept has allowed Clarion to continue to win despite losing a number of good players over the past few seasons. The Golden Eagles hope to continue that trend this year with three key players from last years team gone including outside hitters Sara Heyl (1st team PSAC-West) and Tonya Zatko and middle hitter Colleen Sherk (1st team Daktronics All-Region, 2-time All-Region, 1st team PSAC-West, 2-time PSAC-West).
“Every year you have to replace a couple of different players,” Fluharty said. “But I look at it in a couple of different ways. First, it’s an opportunity for others to step up. Secondly, we might not always be as talented as we were before, but that is where playing as a team and playing for one another comes in. Every player has the right frame of mind that they can help us win.”
It is not as if Clarion is devoid of talent with a host of very talented players set to lead the Golden Eagles in 2005.
Leading the talented class of returnees are senior setter Ashley Kreiner, senior middle hitter Karen Stoklosa and sophomore Libero Vicky Gentile.
Kreiner made a seamless transition from defensive star to setter last season setting Clarion’s single-season set assists record with 1,679. Her 13.39 assists per game was the top mark in the PSAC, and she added 134 kills and 299 digs. She ranks ninth in school history with 1,095 digs and fifth in school history with 1,688 set assists. For her efforts, Kreiner was named first team Daktronics All-Region and second team PSAC-West.
Stoklosa joined Kreiner as a second-team PSAC-West selection after leading the team with 189 blocks while adding 235 kills, 32 service aces and 92 digs. Her .331 hitting percentage ranked fifth in the PSAC, while her 1.55 blocks was fourth best in the conference. She ranks seventh in school history with 372 career blocks while adding 513 career kills.
Gentile not only earned the starting Libero position in the pre-season last year, but her performance earned a scholarship this season. She was named second-team Daktronics All-Region after setting the school record for digs in a season with 711 and averaging 5.43 digs per game, which ranked fourth in the PSAC.
Clarion’s third senior, Heather Byrne, leads an outstanding group of defensive players for Clarion that also includes junior Jenn Sacco.
Byrne, a converted outside hitter, had 367 digs, 35 services aces, 62 kills and 54 set assists last season. According to Fluharty, she is also a very good right-side hitter who can be utilized in that position if the Golden Eagles are out of substitutions or an injury occurs.
Sacco also had a solid season a year ago adding 373 digs and 21 aces.
Joining Bryne and Sacco in providing defensive depth will be sophomore Kristi Fiorillo, who is also Clarion’s No. 2 setter, and sophomore Libero/OH Tressa Dvorsky.
Fiorillo saw action in 16 games last season, while Dvorsky played in seven games.
Three sophomores will anchor Clarion’s outside hitting game, while Stoklosa will be joined in the middle by a junior and a freshman.
Sarah Fries is a lefty who will be a right-side hitter for the Golden Eagles, while Christina Steiner and Lauren Wiefling will hit from both sides.
Fries saw action in 77 games in 2004 and recorded 172 kills, while Steiner played in 60 games with 156 kills. Wiefling had a limited action last season playing in six games with 10 kills
Nicole Harrison and incoming freshmen Karaline Naegele from Alaska and Hannah Robinson from Atlanta will provide depth at the hitting spots.
Joining Stoklosa in the middle for the Golden Eagles will be junior Lindsay Banner (15 games, 33 kills, 10 blocks) and freshman Amy Gottuso from Ambridge.
“We have pretty good depth at all of our positions,” Fluharty said. “That is one thing I am not concerned about.”
Fans of Golden Eagle volleyball will see a couple of different changes in how Clarion approaches things, especially on offense, this season.
“We have changed our offense,” Fluharty said. “We are running a lot more options this year. We are going to set up all of our hitters instead of just maybe one or two.”
Fluharty also believes this could be the best defensive team the Golden Eagles have had in her five years at Clarion.
“I think we are going to be stronger on defense than we have been in the past,” Fluharty said. “I also thing all of our players are on the same page. Everyone understands what we want to do and how we want to do it.”
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES – The Golden Eagles have nine home matches in 2005 with four non-league opponents joining the five PSAC-West teams that will come calling to Tippin Gym … Clarion will also host the Holiday Inn Classic Sept. 30-Oct. 1 with 10 teams scheduled to participate … Fluharty is 109-39 (73.6 percent) in her four years at Clarion including 86-23 (78.9 percent) the past three seasons. She has an 8-year collegiate coaching record of 208-96 (68.4 percent) that included a 99-56 mark in four years at NCAA Division II Glenville St. (W.Va.) … Prior to appearing in the 2002 NCAA playoffs, which was the first-ever NCAA playoff appearance for the Golden Eagles, Clarion last appeared in a national volleyball tournament in 1977 when the Pat Ferguson coached team finished sixth at the EAIAW Regionals in Binghamton, NY with an overall record of 14-5 … The 29 wins last season were the second most in school history to the 31 put up by the 2002 squad (31-5).
Head Coach Tracey Fluharty
Sr. Setter Ashley Kreiner
Sr. MH Karen Stoklosa
Sr. DS Heather Byrne
So. Libero Vicky Gentile