FALL SPORTS OUTLOOK: Volleyball non-conference preview (part 1 of 2)

By Mike Rudin – SPORTS EDITOR
The 2015 season for Hofstra volleyball is fast approaching, with less than a month to prepare for their opening invitational in Maryland on August 28th. Head coach Emily Mansur and her team, which finished 2014 with a CAA title and a 90th RPI ranking, start quickly, facing off against eight teams in nine days.

Maryland Invitational:

8/28 @ Duquesne University (16-12, Atlantic 10) The Duquesne Dukes were ranked 152th according to the NCAA Women’s Volleyball RPI (Ratings Percentage Index). The team’s biggest strength last year was ball control and defense, in which they had four players put up over 200 digs apiece.

This first matchup of the season should host similar playing styles with both teams losing their kills leader in 2015. Hofstra will compete without Kelsie Wills (506 K) while Duquesne without Arielle Love (363 K), so defense will be the name of the game for both teams. The Dukes retain a little more depth on offense with Amanda Levers (257 K), Molly Davert (225 K) and Madelyn Burnham (161 K) while Hofstra holds little depth with Veronika Kostova (273 K) as the only Pride player to return with at least triple-digit numbers in kills. But with Corrina Delgadillo, Sophia Black and Hannah Klemm compiling over 1,000 digs, the Pride stand a good chance.

8/28 @ Kent State University (17-14, MAC) The Kent State Golden Flashes are further down the list in RPI at 166th place. KSU plays in the Mid-American Conference, which is arguably on par with the level of the CAA. The Golden Flashes had an 8-8 conference mark, and lost in the second round of the MAC tournament. Kent State’s offense has depth with six players notching over 150 kills apiece last season, despite losing three of their top six kills leaders this upcoming season.

This will be the harder of the two matches on opening day, since Kent State is keeping a quartet of top defensive players that compiled over 1,300 digs last year as well. Hofstra will have a hard time getting around Kent state’s defense, and their offense will be a notable threat.

8/29 @ University of Maryland (10-21, Big Ten) The Terrapins reside at the tail end of the strong Big Ten (3-17 in 2014), which host teams like No. 5 Wisconsin and No. 6 Penn State. The Terps lost their top kills leader, Ashleigh Crutcher (387), but besides her, the rest of the team’s core stays intact for 2015. Hailey Murray, Emily Fraik and Amy Dion hold down the fort as they return to be the key components on the defensive end. Dion (390), and Faik (238) will come back as last year’s dig leaders, plus Murray will return after leading the team in blocks with 117.

This could be a difficult match for the Pride, since a majority of the Terps are staying on the roster. Hofstra will be dealing with filling multiple positions and Maryland will only need to fill one major role. Maryland is more balanced between offense and defense while Hofstra will have to focus on ball control until they unlock a successful offensive strategy to outperform Maryland.

8/29 @ Morgan State University (13-13, MEAC) The Bears are in a conference that is considerably weaker than the CAA, with RPI rankings ranging from 165-334. The Bears land in the middle with a 265 ranking. Morgan State finished last year with .500 records in their conference as well as out-of-conference. Morgan State is the only team in the invitational that has their top two kills leaders returning to the court (Arianna Hayden, 260 & Evely Maceado, 223). Defensively, the Bears keep their top three defenders from last year. Samantha Prescott (215), Evely Maceado (207) and Arianna Hayden (206) return as the top dig leaders of the team.

Morgan State is not as strong suited defensively as the Pride but their offense can be bothersome since the core is fundamentally together for 2015. Blocks are the biggest issue for the Bears that Hofstra needs to take advantage of in order to produce a win. It’ll be a test to see if Hofstra’s outside hitters can step up and utilize the Bears’ weakness in blocking.

2015 Home Opener:

9/1 vs. Siena College (19-15, MAAC) The Siena Saints are held in a conference that is weaker than the CAA, although Siena is one of the top conference teams. This is a team with no seniors that lost their top players in Meghann Wright and Rachel Stoklosa, who were the leaders in kills as well as in the top four compiling digs. Plus, their top-blocker, Jacqueline Skeen, is no longer on the roster and she put up 143 total blocks– 61 more than the next best blocker on the team.

Overall, Hofstra should be able to take advantage of the key losses from Siena College, despite their own. Unless one of the freshmen or newcomers step up, Hofstra’s defense should be the key factor to grant them the advantage. Hofstra’s defense should provide plenty of opportunities to let the offense strike when needed.

Seton Hall Classic Invitational:

9/4 @ Temple University (24-8, AAC) The Owls were ranked 64th in RPI compete in a relatively strong conference. The American Athletic Conference ranges from five teams in the top 100 then drops off with the rest placed below 150th. Nonetheless, the Owls are stacked with quality players and depth on their roster.

This will be a major hurdle for the Pride to start the Seton Hall series as Temple maintains most of their key players for 2015. The only departure that’ll make any impact is Jennifer Jacobini, who was first in service aces (29) and second in total blocks (93). But there are plenty of core players to make up the difference and continue Temple’s impressive play from last year to 2015.

9/5 @ Seton Hall University (28-8, Big East) The No. 49 team resides in the Big East, similarly structured to the AAC. Five teams were ranked within the top 100 including Marquette and Creighton, placing 33rd and 34 respectively. The Seton Hall Pirates thrived during the 2014 season and made a run all the way to the championship round in the Big East tournament.

The team is facing some similar issues as the Pride, since the Pirates will be without their top two offensive components from last year and a large percentage of the team consists of freshmen – seven in total currently while there’s only one sophomore, two juniors and three seniors. Stacey Manthrope is the biggest lost who led in kills (468) and was second in digs (474) for Seton Hall. This one can possibly swing either way due to similar playing styles from both sides.

9/5 @ University of Notre Dame (6-23, ACC) The Fighting Irish are coming off a rough season and it put them at 179th place overall among D1 teams. Similar to Seton Hall, the roster for Notre Dame consists of 11 underclassmen compared to three upperclassmen. The departures of Jeni Houser and Nicole Smith cost the team of their two best attackers from last year to add to the team’s struggles.

Out of the three matches in the invitational, this one should be the easiest for the Pride to take a win away from. This will be the third match in a span of 25 hours though, so that’ll play a factor in Hofstra’s chances of winning.

Coming soon: A look into the remainder of Pride Volleyball’s non-conference schedule, including a Long Island showdown, Hofstra’s home invitational, and a meeting with VCU.