University of Massachusets Athletics
Volleyball Ready To Contend
September 06, 1999 | Women's Volleyball
Get ready for an action-packed season full of excitement, energy and power. The Minutewomen, under the direction of seventh-year coach Bonnie Kenny, are looking to capture their first Atlantic 10 Conference Championship in UMass history with the leadership of senior co-captains Kari Hogancamp and Jill Meyers.
?Kari and Jill are two of the most competitive players I have seen since I?ve been here, and together, they are a pretty nice tandem to have,? Kenny says. ?They understand they are the go-to people, and that in crunch-time, they are going to have to get the job done.?
The Minutewomen have all the tools to reach the feat of an A-10 title, among them, experience, depth and size. All six starters and all nine letterwinners will be returning to the action in 1999. And with the addition of a tall freshman class, the UMass lineup will be certain to challenge its opponents at the net.
?This class has better size than any other class signed here at UMass,? Kenny says. ?What I like most about them, is they all have the potential to get better.? . . .
Following is a position-by-position breakdown of the 1999 Minutewomen:
Outside Hitter
Leading the outside hitter position will likely be Hogancamp, who ranked seventh in the A-10 in kills per game (3.81) and eighth in hitting percentage (.265) last season. Hogancamp (5-8) also fairs well on the defensive end, posting 4.20 digs per game last year. Her total of 462 digs for the 1998 campaign was the fourth best single-season mark in UMass history.
?Nobody has better court sense than Kari in the backcourt and on defense,? Kenny says. ?We have never had anybody here at UMass who could play defense like Kari can. She has ranked in the Top 10 in the country the past two years in digs per game.?
Sophomores Janeen DeMarte and Lymarie Llovet will also be factors in the outside hitting position. DeMarte (5-10) had an impressive freshman season, averaging 1.24 kills and 2.38 digs per game. She ranked third on the team in digs with 217.
?Janeen is a streetfighter, who is very competitive on the court,? Kenny says. ?She can pass the ball as well as anybody on the team in the backcourt. She is a very reliable and capable defender. She also has a very different type of serve, which seems to throw opposing teams off a little bit. She scores a lot of points because of that.?
Llovet (5-9) also flourished in her freshman campaign with 1.47 kills and 1.66 digs per game.
?Lymarie is a dynamic athlete, who has the potential to take over a match,? Kenny says. ?She is still a little green and inconsistent, but has the ability to take over. She can keep us in a match.?
Newcomer Jennifer Davis (5-11), from Ventura, Calif., will be another contributor at the outside hitting position. Davis is a very versatile athlete, who received a tremendous amount of experience this summer playing in club competition.
?Her coach, Larry ?Boomer? Milliken, did a great job training her,? Kenny says. ?Every time she played last year she got better. She has a great volleyball body, with long limbs, good size and great athleticism.?
Middle Blocker
The middle blocker position has the greatest depth of all the positions this year with five players vying for playing time. Topping them all off will likely be Meyers (5-11), who led the team in kills (441) and total blocks (83), in addition to ranking second in digs (268) last season. Her career average of 4.01 kills per game is the fourth-best ever in school history.
?Jill is a tremendous role model on and off the court,? Kenny says. ?She has worked for everything she has gotten here at UMass. She is committed and has the respect of everyone on this team because of her work ethic. She is a natural leader for us.?
Junior Rebecca Hasson (6-0) should be a force in the middle, as well. Hasson led the team with 74 block assists last year, which marked the eighth-best single-season block assist total in UMass history.
?She is a natural athlete,? Kenny says.? She is just finding out how to turn that athleticism into being a volleyball player. She has tremendous jumping ability and she lifts over a lot of her opponents. She is extremely powerful and strong.?
Sophomore Celia Wiste (6-1) was coach Kenny?s pick for most improved player last season. As a result, she should see plenty of action in the middle this year.
?Celia has been doing a great job with summer training and has worked hard in the weight room and in the gym,? Kenny says. ?She is willing to do whatever it takes on the court, which is a role she is not used to, but willing to accept.?
Two freshmen should be factors, as well, to provide that added depth for coach Kenny.
Clare Baxter (6-1), a native of Tampa, Fla., led her team in digs, blocks, and serving aces in her senior campaign at Tampa Preparatory H.S.
?Clare comes from a great junior Olympic program, where her coach, Randy Dagastino, has produced several Division I volleyball players,? Kenny says. ?She is a gamer like Kari. She has very good natural court sense and plays great backcourt defense for someone her size. If she gets in good condition and learns the pace of the game at this level, she will be a contributing factor this season.?
Audra Bodenstab (6-0), a native of Greenville, Del., will provide some added size at the net. Bodenstab posted 53 blocks in her senior campaign at Unionville H.S.
?We really like her size,? Kenny says. ?It is wonderful to have more depth and size in the middle and right side positions.?
Setter
Kenny has depth at the setter position this season with two solid players competing for the action.
Sophomore Heather Holtsberg (5-7) lead the team in assists (1,016) during her freshman campaign, which marked the sixth-best single season mark in school history.
?Heather hopefully understands the flexibility she has in running an offense,? Kenny says. ?She was very regiment in high school and in her olympic training, so she didn?t provide our offense with a lot of variety last season. But after a year?s experience under her belt, I think she can see it a little more.?
Junior Jennifer Drennan (5-8) holds the second-best single season assist per game mark at UMass (11.81), and will remain a defensive specialist this year in addition to her setting responsibilities. Drennan registered 1.88 digs per game and 27 total serving aces last season.
?Last year when Heather took over the setter responsibility, Jen didn?t want to be kept off the court,? Kenny says. ?She had a desire, and passing and playing defense is her desire.?
Right Side
The Minutewomen will have to fill the void of sophomore Lauren Vander Veen (6-2), who will be sidelined for the majority of the season with a knee injury sustained last year. Vander Veen averaged 1.53 kills per game in her freshman campaign.
Llovet could be one of those players to fill that void, in addition to Meyers.
Newcomer Nitia Small (5-11), a native of Los Angeles, Calif., may also see some playing time at right side. Small is the only lefty on the team, which will add a new dimension to the offense this year.
?Nitia will be the best athlete on our roster, but also the least trained,? Kenny says. ?She has all the tools she needs to be a dynamic player.?
Schedule
The Minutewomen will face some tough competition in their non-conference schedule against such national power-houses as defending National Champion Long Beach State and Santa Barbara, which reached the Elite Eight last year. Coach Kenny believes the challenging non-conference schedule will better prepare the team for the A-10 season.
?I would compare our non-conference schedule with anybody else in the country,? Kenny says. ?We try to play tough competition, so no match is an easy match. We have to get used to playing tough matches back-to-back. It will only help us to prepare for our conference season.?
. . . the Minutewomen are poised and ready to contend for that A-10 title. With the experience UMass has with its seniors and the size it has with the addition of its incoming freshmen, it looks as if this may be the year of the Maroon and White.
