Aug. 27, 2008

The following comes from the 2008 Kennesaw State Volleyball Media and Information Guide, which can be found online and at all home matches this season for $10

The 2008 season marks the third season for the Kennesaw State volleyball program. While there have been subtle changes on the team in each of the first two years, perhaps this season features more changes than any prior year for the program. Head coach Valerie Jones welcomes new assistant coach Jing Hou, who brings a wealth of experience. In addition, nine newcomers join this season's team, bringing new life to the roster.

"Change is always good," Coach Jones said. "We're going to use our two tournaments early in the season to help us solidify our starting line-up and get ready to compete in Atlantic Sun Conference matches."

A strong pre-season competition is shaping up at four of the five positional spots on the floor. "We have a lot of depth right now," Coach Jones said. "The talent level and athleticism is at an all-time high for us and with all of the girls competing for playing time, it's only going to make us better in practice and in game situations."

Setters
Four players will be competing for playing time at the setter spot. Instead of running the traditional 5-1 system, the Owls may run a 6-2 system, depending on how the team reacts to each setter.

"Chemistry between our hitters and our setters is always important," said Coach Jones. "We're going to see which setter or setters work best with our hitters and work from there to decide playing time."

Tara Dillon is the lone senior on this season's squad. Dillon was the primary starting setter in the 2006 season and also played in 15 matches and 40 games last year. The Birmingham, Ala., native set the Kennesaw State record for assists in a match with 63 against Stetson during the 2007 campaign.

Also returning from last season's squad to compete for time at setter will be junior Ginny Frederick. Frederick started the lion's share of the matches last season at setter before a knee injury in the final home weekend of the season brought a premature end to the year for the Snellville, Ga., native. The junior holds both the KSU career and single-season assists records and will look to improve on last season's school-record 539 assists this year.

Two newcomers will compete with the returning players for playing time. Rachael Albright comes to Kennesaw State after a strong prep career at Martin County High School in Palm City, Fla. Albright owns all of the school's setting records as well as owning the career digs record.

Paris Leonce joins the team after a season at Southern Illinois. The sophomore, a native of Atlanta, is considered a great athlete by Coach Jones and will also be trained at the setter spot.

Middle Hitters
Perhaps the most wide-open competition for playing time will come at the middle hitter position. Three newcomers will be looking to crack the starting lineup for Kennesaw State this season.

Heading the list of middle hitters is Chelsey Denesha. A junior college transfer from North Platte Community College, Denesha ranked 15th in the NJCAA her freshman year in blocks per game. The native of Watertown, N.Y., has the advantage of already playing two seasons of collegiate volleyball.

Two freshmen join the season's Owls and will look to make an immediate impact. Callie Churchwell is one of three players on the team that stands over six feet tall. A star at Sebastian River High School, the Vero Beach, Fla., native holds her high school's single-season and career kills marks with 336 kills her senior year and 726 kills for her career.

Chanel Davis is the second freshman that will look for playing time in the middle for Coach Jones. A native of Wilmington, N.C., Davis' team advanced to final four in NCHSAAA 4A her senior year, with Davis named All-Conference honors.

Rachel Odom also returns from last season's squad, but will have to redshirt due to a season-ending injury that occured before the start of the season.

"We're going to see what develops among those three," said Coach Jones. "Whoever brings the most consistency on the court is going to end up with the most playing time."

Outside Hitters
"I'm very excited about our outside hitters," Coach Jones said. "I think this is going to be one of the best groups that we have had at this position since we started the program."

Heading up the list at outside hitter is redshirt sophomore Sabrita Gulley. A native of North Chicago, Ill., Gulley finished third on last year's teams in kills and kills per game and is the leading returning player in those categories for the Owls. "Sabrita did a really good job of staying in shape during the off-season," said Coach Jones. "This season, I'm expecting her to step up big time."

In addition to the potential for playing time on the outside for Denesha, newcomer Maja Kostic will also be looked upon to provide an offensive lift for the Owls. Kostic is a native of Serbia and has experience playing the European style of volleyball.

"Once Maja gets in a good groove, she is going to be a force to be reckoned with on the court," said Coach Jones.

Also joining KSU for 2008 is freshman Shanice Smith. A native of Jonesboro, Ga., Smith led her team to a Region 4-AAA championship her senior year and the Georgia High School Association state playoffs all four years of her high school career.

Right Side Hitters
The right side hitting position is currently held down by junior Asjia Stokes. "Due to injuries last season, Asjia had to move around a lot until we settled on her on the right side," Coach Jones said. "Since that point, Asjia has really taken over the right side and made it her own."

Bianca Rucker, a freshman from nearby Marietta, Ga., will compete for playing time on the right side as well as at the outside hitter position. "Bianca Rucker and Shanice Smith are both great athletes. We're seeing where they will fit in best for us and they will definitely have the opportunity to compete for playing time on both the right side and the outside.

Libero
Two players will compete for the starting libero position this season. Junior Selina O'Leary is the returning starting libero, while sophomore Eman Burns was a defensive specialist for the Owls all last season.

"There's going to be a great competition between Selina and Eman for the starting libero position," Coach Jones said. "Both are very hard workers on the court. No matter who wins the starting job, I know the other will fit right in on the back row as a defensive specialist.

O'Leary is from Plainfield, Ill., and is one of only two players in KSU history to play in every game of every match. Burns is an Illinois native herself, coming from Juliet. She averaged 1.59 digs per game during the 2007 season for Kennesaw State.

Goals
Entering the third year on the court in program history, the Owls will see some goals change from last season while some goals will stay the same.

"Our goal every year, and really in every match, is to be better than we were before and to keep improving," said Coach Jones. "We never want to feel as though we have plateaued during the year; we want to continue getting better with each match.

"We also want to exceed expectations this year," said Coach Jones. "We want to prove to everyone that night in and night out, we are a tough team to play against. We were picked to finish 11th in the Atlantic Sun Conference this year in the pre-season poll, and our team took that as a personal challenge."

This season will mark the first season in A-Sun history that the schedule will be a double round-robin competition between the schools. The Owls will face each team twice, with one meeting coming at the KSU Convocation Center and the other meeting coming on the road. This also marks the first year that it will take 25 points to win sets one through four instead of 30 points per set. "With each set going to 25 points, we have to be ready to play out of the blocks every night," Coach Jones said. "If we can come out sharp and eliminate our service and passing errors, I have no doubt we will be competitive each time we step out on the court."