Coastal Athletic Association (CAA Sports)

CAA VOLLEYBALL:
All of the teams which played a pair of conference games last week produced a 1-1 record, while Georgia State defeated UNC Wilmington in their only CAA match of the week. League leading Hofstra lost its first CAA match this season to Towson in three games on Saturday. With a split last weekend, James Madison clinched a spot in the CAA volleyball championship. Now only four spots are left to be determined with only two weeks of matches left in the regular season.

NCAA RANKINGS:
Entering last week’s matches Hofstra’s Elizabeth Curley jumped from 12th to 6th with a .432 hitting percentage, while James Madison’s Jena Pierson was ranked ninth averaging 6.36 digs per game. The Blue Hens’ Megan Welch was 11th with an average of 13.31 assists per game and the Dukes’ Lauren Miles was ranked 26th (12.95). The Pride’s Beverly Rivera ranked 21st averaging 0.61 aces per game. Delaware’s Colleen Walsh improved to 22nd in kills per game (4.73). George Mason’s Chantal Bodkin-Clarke closed out the CAA players ranked in the NCAA top-30 averaging 1.46 blocks per game.

SIX CAA TEAMS RANKED REGIONALLY:
Six CAA volleyball teams were ranked in last weeks RichKern.com/AVCA Division I Regional Computer Index. Hofstra was ranked second in the East Region followed by Delaware (5th), Towson (8th), James Madison (10th) and VCU (13th). Northeastern returned to the Northeast Region at 13th. The RichKern.com/AVCA Division I Regional Computer Index takes into consideration the Rich Kern Percentage Index (RKPI) of all NCAA DI teams, then computes each region based on the overall ranking.

DELAWARE (17-7, 8-6 CAA):
Delaware went 1-2 on the week, while falling to Villanova in a non-conference match before dropping a five-game match to Hofstra. The Blue Hens snapped their losing streak as they defeated Northeastern in a five-game match on Saturday at home. Senior Heather Ranck recorded a game-high 22 digs and moved into sixth place all-time at UD in the match against the Wildcats. The Blue Hens took Hofstra to its first five-game match of the season in conference play, as sophomore Kelly Gibson recorded her second of three double-doubles on the week with 21 kills and 17 digs. On Saturday, Delaware fell behind 2-0 before winning three consecutive games to defeat the Huskies. Colleen Walsh posted a match-high 26 kills, her third highest of the season, while Gibson added 22 kills and a match-high 24 digs. Junior Megan Welch recorded a match-best 62 assists, her third highest total of the season and sixth 60-plus kill match of the year. The Blue Hens will travel to the south to visit Georgia State and UNC Wilmington this weekend.

GEORGE MASON (7-14, 4-11 CAA):
The Patriots won its second consecutive match as their defeated William & Mary on Friday in three-games. George Mason was unable to continue their winning streak as they fell to VCU on Saturday, 3-0. Jaqueline Kohler and Rebecca Walter posted double-doubles in the win over the Tribe. Kohler recorded a match-best 16 kills and 10 digs, while Walter tallied 11 kills and 12 digs. Freshman setter Katie Corcoran led all players with 40 assists in Williamsburg, Va. Freshman Laura Turner recorded seven total blocks, including a pair of solo blocks. Against VCU, Kohler was the only Patriot to register double-digit kills in the match, finishing with a team-high 10. Corcoran posted a double-double in the match with 29 assists and 10 digs, in addition to a pair of aces and three blocks. Turner had four more blocks against the Rams and hit .400 with seven kills on 15 swings. She averaged 1.83 blocks per game last week. The Patriots will host Hofstra and Northeastern in Fairfax, Va. this weekend.

GEORGIA STATE (9-16, 5-9 CAA):
Georgia State played only one match and defeated UNC Wilmington in three games. Christen Garcia’s 23 digs against the Seahawks were just three off of the school record for digs in a three-game match. The senior already holds the school record for digs in a five-game match with 45 against Eastern Kentucky in 2004. She is also the school record for career digs. Garcia topped 400 digs for the season in the match against UNCW. Michelle Trimble’s .500 attack percentage for the match against the Seahawks is the highest for a Panther this season. Sophomore Leah Tenney now has 100 total blocks this season, with her 90 block assists marking the most since 2003 for a GSU player. With nine kills in the match on Saturday, redshirt junior Ana Paula Ferreira topped the 900-kill mark for her career. Sitting at 902 kills, she needs 98 kills and 168 digs to reach the career 1,000 kills/1,000 digs mark. The Panthers will host Delaware on Friday and Towson on Sunday, in hopes to better their 5-5 home record.

HOFSTRA (17-6, 13-1 CAA):
Hofstra went 1-1 last week and saw its 12-match winning streak come to an end in a three-game loss at Towson on Saturday. The 12-match win streak was Hofstra’s longest since a 14-match streak in 2000. It marks the second straight season that the Tigers had ended a Pride win streak of at least 10 matchs. The loss to Towson also ended a 15-match regular season win streak against CAA opponents for Hofstra, dating back to the November 4, 2005 loss to the Tigers. The match against Towson came one night after Delaware became the first CAA squad to take Hofstra into five games before the Pride escaped after overcoming a two games to one deficit in the match. Against the Blue Hens, senior outside hitter Beverly Rivera registered a career-high 25 kills and added 11 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. The five-game match against UD was only Hofstra’s second of the season and it marked the team’s first five-game win since defeating VCU on October 29 of last year. Sophomore right side Harmonie Calinda came up huge in the thrilling win over the Blue Hens and committed no errors in 24 attempts last week. Against Delaware, Calinda reached double figures in kills for the first time in her career, notching a career-high 10 on 17 attempts with no errors for a .588 hitting percentage. She was also added eight digs, two blocks and two service aces in the match for a solid all-around evening. Against Towson, Calinda chipped in with three kills on seven attempts and added two digs, one block and an assist. For the week she hit .542 with 13 kills on 24 attempts, while adding 10 digs, three blocks, two service aces and one assists. Hofstra plays its final two regular season road matches this week as they travel to George Mason on Friday before closing the weekend with a showdown against second place JMU on Sunday.

JAMES MADISON (17-7, 11-4 CAA):
The Dukes went 1-1 for the week, but the JMU managed to maintain their hold on second place in the CAA and clinch a spot in the upcoming CAA volleyball championship. JMU started the weekend with a 3-2 win at VCU. Junior Allyson Halls led four Dukes in double-digit kills with 20 and a .500 attack percentage. She also had five blocks in the win. Senior Hanna Porterfield had 15 kills. Freshman Kaitlin McFaddin punched in 14 kills and sophomore Michelle Johnson tallied 13 kills and a .435 attack percentage. Lauren Miles had her 14th double-double with 66 assists, one short of her career high, and 10 digs. Junior Jena Pierson had 33 digs for her fourth match of the season with at least 30. Senior Bayli Stillwell narrowly missed a double-double with nine kills and 13 digs. The Dukes then completed a four-match road swing with a 3-0 loss at William and Mary. The loss snapped an eight-match winning streak for JMU and a span of 13 wins in 14 matches. The Dukes had also been 11-1 in their last 12 CAA matches prior to the loss. McFaddin led the Dukes with 12 kills in three games with a .370 attack percentage. Halls turned in 11 kills, while Miles had 39 assists. Her 105 assists for the weekend raised her season total to 1,167 assists for the season and vaulted her into eighth place on the season assists chart. Miles passed former teammate Krista Cannon’s sophomore season total in 2003 of 1,149. Pierson added 22 digs against the Tribe and raised her JMU single season record to 574 for an average of 6.38 digs per game, which is also currently a JMU record and leads the CAA. She currently has 1,410 career digs and needs just 160 to tie Lindsay Collingwood (1996-99) for the JMU record. Pierson has recorded at least 20 digs in 20 of 24 matches this season, including 12 of her last 13 matches. For the week, she also had just one error on 79 reception attempts. Rookie Kaitlin McFaddin continued her strong second half play with 3.25 kills per game for the week and a .293 attack percentage. Since increasing her role on Sept. 24 against VCU, she has averaged 2.76 kills per game with a .213 attack percentage in the last 11 matches. She ranks third on the team in both categories during that span. The Dukes return home for three matches to close the regular season. JMU hosts Northeastern on Friday followed by a 2 p.m. match on Sunday against Hofstra.

UNC WILMINGTON (8-20, 0-14 CAA):
UNC Wilmington finished with a 1-2 record on the week as the Seahawks defeated South Carolina State, 3-1, in a non-conference match-up. The Seahawks fell to Mercer in another non-conference match and dropped a three-game decision at Georgia State in CAA play. The eight wins marks the most victories for UNCW since the 2001 campaign. The Seahawks were led by Ashlyn Morris, Liz Mitchell, Megan Nash and Jill Hoeck last week. The four teammates each posted 10 kills a piece, while Morris led with a team-best .333 attack percentage. Mitchell recorded 22 digs and Nash tallied eight total blocks. Hoeck averaged 10.30 assists per game and added 25 digs. She registered a career-high 51 assists in the win over South Carolina State and finished with her first career double-double while adding 10 digs. Hoeck added her second double-double at Georgia State (26 assists/12 digs) Dorinda Petrisko led the Seahawks with 44 digs last weekend and averages a team-best 3.78 digs per game for the season. For the first time this season, four players are averaging better than 2.00 killer per game. The Seahawks will play their final home matches of the 2006 season when they entertain Delaware and Towson this weekend.

NORTHEASTERN (12-10, 9-5 CAA):
The Huskies went 1-1 on the road over the weekend with a 3-0 win over Towson and a 3-2 loss to Delaware. With 26 digs against the Blue Hens, Kira Batura became the new Northeastern career dig leader as a junior with 1,377, breaking the 15-year old school record of 1,365. On Friday night, NU blanked the Tigers, 3-0. Batura led the Huskies with team highs of 13 kills and 26 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Ashley Reeves and Brittany Eukovich steadied the offense totaling 12 kills each and hitting .321 and .444, respectively. Ivana Pavlisin and Jessica Tkachuk each registered 20-plus assists to orchestrate the Husky attack as Tkachuk added 11 digs for a double-double. After jumping to a two-game lead on Saturday against UD, Northeastern let the next three game slip away as the Huskies fell 3-2 in Newark, Del. Reeves led three Huskies with double-digit kills as the co-captain posted a team-best 14 kills on an efficient .448 attacking percentage. Whitney Turner also had a big night at the net recording a match-high .600 attacking percentage with nine kills. The Huskies will be on the road for the second straight weekend as they visit James Madison and George Mason.

TOWSON (18-8, 9-5 CAA):
After suffering a three-game setback against Northeastern on Friday night, the Tigers snapped a three-match losing streak with a three-game victory over Hofstra at the Towson Center. It was just the seventh time the Tigers have beaten the Pride in the 40-match all-time series. The win also snapped the Pride’s 12-match overall win streak and their 15-match regular season win streak against CAA opponents. It was the Pride’s first CAA loss this year. With nine blocks in the two matches last week, senior Christina Grempler took over sole possession of second place on Towson’s career blocks list. She now has 468 career blocks, surpassing Heidi Schaefer, ’94 on the career list. She also added 19 kills during the weekend and now has 974 career kills. Grempler is now 26 kills away from becoming the 10th player in Tiger volleyball history to reach 1,000 career kills and the third player in school history with 1,000 kills and 400 blocks. Freshman Claudia Schneider tied a career high with four service aces in the win over Hofstra. It was the second time she has recorded four service aces in a match this season. The Tigers had 10 service aces in the win against the Pride, marking the fourth time this season Towson has had 10 or more service aces in a match. Sophomore libero Alison Essink enters this week’s play needing four digs to tie Jordann Tomasek, ’02 for 12th place on the Tigers’ career digs list. Essink has 933 career digs in just two seasons with the Tigers. She needs 67 digs to become the 11th player in school history with 1,000 digs. The school record for career digs is 1,617 set by Stacy Humphries, ’95. The Tigers will have their final road trip of the regular season this weekend when they travel to UNC Wilmington and Georgia State. The Tigers swept the Seahawks on September 30 and earned a five-game victory against the Panthers on September 29. A win this weekend clinches a playoff spot for the Tigers and would mark the fifth straight season they have advanced to the CAA Tournament.

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH (13-12, 7-8 CAA):
Virginia Commonwealth University split a pair of conference matches last week as they fell to James Madison in five games and defeated George Mason in three games. Sophomore Elisa Kuehnel tied a career high with 16 kills against James Madison on Friday, while senior outside hitter Ludmila Francescatto posted a team-best 19 kills. Cat Juson handed out 48 assists in the five-game match. On Saturday, Ana Luzia de Borja joined Francescatto and Kuehnel as the three registered double-figure kills for the Rams. Francescatto is among several Rams making a mark on the VCU record books this season. In addition to her kills per game average (currently 4.46), which will likely smash the previous school record, Francescatto had recorded 397 kills this season, three shy of 400 for the second straight season. With a minimum of six matches remaining in the season (three conference and three non-conference), Francescatto could challenge the school record for total kills in a season. The current record of 513 was set by Jonnie Stone in 1990. With 82 assists over the weekend, sophomore Cat Juson moved into fifth place on the Rams’ career list with 1,982. Mary Franke, who logged 2,495 assists from 1995-98, sits in fourth place. VCU will play one match this week as they travel to Williamsburg to play the Tribe.

WILLIAM & MARY (9-13, 6-9 CAA):
William & Mary fell to George Mason on Friday in a three-game match, but bounced back quickly as they defeated James Madison in three games on Saturday. The Tribe snapped the Dukes’ eight-game winning streak. Sophomore Kim Mount averaged 15.3 assists per game in the win over JMU, handing out 46 in the three-game match and reached the 1,000 assist mark for the season. She ranks third in the CAA with 12.05 assists per game. The sophomore completed the week averaging 12.67 assists. Senior Sarah Long tallied a match-high 17 kills on .382 hitting on Saturday and senior Kathleen Hawley added 19 digs. Hawley now has 422 digs this season, ranking third on the W&M single-season list. She also ranks second among the CAA with 5.28 digs per game. Katie McCartney’s six blocks against the Dukes was a career-high. With the double-double (30 assists/12 digs), Mount now has a team-high nine this season. The Tribe will host Hampton in a non-conference midweek outing on Tuesday before welcoming VCU to their court on Friday.