George Washington University Athletics
2001 Volleyball Season Outlook
8/9/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 9, 2001
Turn the page on GW Volleyball. After graduating six seniors, losing a sophomore to injury and a freshman who transferred from last year's championship team, the 2001 Colonials will begin the march toward establishing their own identity.
A-10 Coach of the Year Jojit Coronel will have his stamp on this year's squad as all but one of the players are his handpicked recruits. Five new starters will join sophomore Ruth Lazzari on the court this season as GW prepares to field one of its youngest teams in years. The team also will have a new assistant coach in former Florida State assistant Amy Bambenek and second-year graduate assistant coach Perette Arrington.
"Last season, we reached all of our goals as a team," Coronel said. Winning the A-10 Tournament and playing in the NCAA Tournament was a great experience for GW's six returnees and affords them a barometer of what is required to return to a championship level of play.
The Players The 2001 Colonials will build around a pair of sophomores in Lazzari and setter Lauren Dunning. Dunning, the daughter of Stanford volleyball coach John Dunning, is faced with the daunting responsibility of replacing All-Atlantic 10 setter and three-time team MVP Jill Levey.
This year's team captain, Dunning appeared in 88 of GW's 112 games as a freshman last season. She tallied 81 assists and 122 digs mostly in a defensive role.
Lazzari will be relied upon to provide much of the Colonials' experience as the only returning regular. She played in 106 games before suffering a dislocated ankle after the A-10 Tournament. Lazzari led the team with 25 service aces and averaged 2.58 digs a game.
Sophomore Sarah Hokom played in 82 games and saw her playing timme increase toward the end of last season. Hokom contributed 37 kills in 123 swings.
Lindsay Ochs is another returnee who figures to play an increasing role in the Colonials' plans. She spent most of her freshman season adjusting to the college game and has put in plenty of work in the off-season and spring to improve her play. As a freshman last season, Ochs recorded 24 block assists and hit .311 with 25 kills in 61 attacks.
Shannon Farley is the lone senior on the team. She appeared in 22 games last season and posted 23 digs with three service aces.
The Colonials will be without the services of junior Abby Ernst who elected not to return to competitive volleyball due to a chronic back injury. Despite the pain, she still managed to contribute 126 kills and 87 blocks while playing in 87 games last season.
The team welcomes seven newcomers in Amanda Carnahan, Katie Downey, Sara Faraone, Jacqueline Kay, Kristin Kiefer, Molly Law and Britta Stroman for 2001.
Kay and Kiefer are setters who will battle Dunning for playing time. Downey and Law are outside hitters while Carnahan and Stroman are middle blockers. Faraone is a defensive specialist. I think we are going to be in as good a position as any other team in the conference to be vying for the tournament," said Coronel."
The Schedule Coronel's team enters the season with high expectations for the level of competition it must face. "Once again our early season schedule can make or break us," Coronel said. "We will have an opportunity to face teams from very strong conferences such as the Big Ten, Big West and Big East. We are looking toward an A-10 Tournament bid and an NCAA Tournament bid and our schedule should help us reach those goals."
Our immediate goal is to challenge for a conference tournament spot," Coronel points out. The Colonials will open the season in a tournament at George Mason before traveling to Stockton, CA, for a difficult early-season tournament at Pacific. GW will play the nationally ranked Tigers after facing Northwestern and Connecticut. Another tough field awaits the Colonials at home when American University, Princeton and Villanova invade Smith Center for a mid-September tournament before beginning Atlantic 10 Conference play.
"These tournaments will yield instant feedback about our offense, defense and ability to compete," said Coronel. "This team really wants to make a name for itself and our early season tournaments will give them the opportunity to set the tone for the season. This group of players will be very exciting to watch."
Also on the 2001 slate will be traditional crosstown rival and 1999 Big East Conference champion Georgetown as well as George Mason, William & Mary and Illinois.
The A-10's top four teams will advance to the Verizon-Atlantic 10 championship tournament Nov. 16-17 at Amherst, MA, where an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament is at stake.
