POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (August 31, 2010) – If the Vassar College women's volleyball team is to achieve its goal of winning the Liberty League Championship and participating in the NCAA Division III Tournament this season, the team can thank a productive spring non-traditional season and a competitive fall pre-season for its success. With a potent trio of returners that includes Liberty League Rookie of the Year Hilary Koenigs, First-Team league selection Chloe McGuire and  Second-Team honoree Amy Bavosa, the Brewers are poised to have a strong 2010 season.

Vassar, which fell one match shy of winning the Liberty League Championships last season (a tough 3-1 loss to Clarkson), opens its season at Kenyon Hall against Rutgers-Newark on September 1 at 7:00 p.m.
Vassar returns nine players from last year's 24-9 team, but will have to find replacements for its graduating class of stalwarts Tess Johnson, Jasmin Iskandar and Sarah Potts.  For the Brewers, the addition of five new players provides head coach Jonathan Penn with the rationale to suggest “we will be better than last year, maybe in a significant way.”

If the Brewers are going to make a run toward regaining the Liberty League Championship, one Vassar won six straight times, and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006, they'll need to play their gritty, aggressive brand of volleyball against a formidable schedule. Vassar will play in five tournaments during the season, in addition to hosting the annual Vassar Invitational on October 29-30.

Penn has plenty of depth in an outstanding sophomore class, which besides Koenigs and McGuire, includes Brittany Stopa, Cebe Loomis and Christina Verdirame. “Going into any season, there are always holes in the lineup for lots of reasons, but that means opportunity,” Penn explains. “Our sophomore class wants to fill in those holes.”

The 2010 team features a core group of returners that includes Bavosa, Koenigs, McGuire and senior Chelsea Mottern.

Catch the Brewers at Home   Five away tournaments during the season makes it tough to catch the Brewers at Keynon, so mark down these dates:   Sept 1:  Rutgers-Newark at 7:00 p.m.   Sept. 7:  Sage College at 7:00 p.m.   Oct. 7: Stevens Institute at 7:00 p.m.   Oct. 9: Tri-match (Marietta, NJCU)  at  noon   Oct. 16: Tri-match (Bard, MSMC)  at Noon   Oct. 29-30: VC Invite at AFC at 4:00 p.m.

Bavosa finished second on the team in kills last year with 259, a 2.70 kills per set average. “Amy gets better and stronger every year and sets the bar for everyone,” says Penn. “She is absolutely is driven and on a mission to take our program back to the level we have enjoyed in the past, which is winning the Liberty League and going to the NCAA's.”

Koenigs, who earned Liberty League Rookie of the Week honors seven times last season and was named Honorable Mention All-New York Region by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), figures to take on an even larger role on the team this season. She had 21 matches with 30 or more assists and had a career high of 52 against Skidmore in the second round of the Liberty League Championships. “We've never had a setter assimilate into the system as quickly as Hilary,” says Penn. “She learned it, ran it and this season needs to become aggressive as a leader and proactive as a coach on the floor. She knows how our system works. Her talent is undeniable.”

McGuire had a strong debut season. En route to earning First-Team All-Liberty League honors, she led the team in kills with 344, a 3.07 kills per set average.  She had 18 matches with 10 more kills and had a season high 23 against Colby. 

“Chloe has the ability to be a real force on the court,” says Penn. “She wants a bigger role on the team and by getting stronger and doing the necessary work, she has all the tools to take the next step.”

Mottern has developed into an integral member of the team the last two seasons. As a junior, she came of age. She had 26 matches with 10 or more digs and set a new career high of 28 digs against SUNY New Paltz during an eight game stretch where she averaged more than 20 digs per match. “Chelsea has become one of the great developmental stories we've ever had,” says Penn.

A returning starter for the Brewers is senior Julianna Simon, a consistent player for the team that provides Vassar with another option in the frontline. Simon averaged 1.03 kills per set last season, but has the potential for greater numbers. “I believe Julianna wants to finish her career on the very best note possible and is competing hard as a player and a leader and is poised to have an outstanding year,” says Penn.

Loomis, Stopa, Cassius and Verdirame, all sophomores, all come match tested from a season ago. Verdirame played the most amount of sets at 68 and aside from her ability at net, showed a capacity on the defensive side with 64 digs. Loomis, Stopa and Cassius all played sparingly last season, but their minutes were productive ones. The team welcomes back senior setter/libero Yevgeniya Sergeyenko after her JYA year.

The Brewers welcome five newcomers to the team, a group that Penn feels could have an immediate impact. They are: Megan Anderson, a hitter from Santa Monica, CA., Rose Carman, a utility player from Santa Cruz, CA., Vanessa Baker, a hitter from San Diego, CA., Jesse Ditmore, a hitter from Santa Barbara, CA., and Lydia Bolton, a hitter from Wellesley, MA.