NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk State volleyball team opens the 2009 season on Friday in the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) Sun Bowl Invitational, which also features Texas-Corpus Christi, Texas Southern and host UTEP. The Spartans open with UTCC at 7 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Friday. On Saturday, NSU takes on Texas Southern at noon and UTEP at 9 p.m.
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Holding fast to the 2009 motto of “No Sacrifice, No Victory”, Norfolk State head volleyball coach Jennifer Fry and her Spartans will be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices that will allow them to achieve success in the upcoming season.
“In order for us to reach our team goals, each player is going to make the sacrifices that will be necessary for us to be victorious,” Fry said. “My expectations for the season are that we will build on the improvements made during the last two years and that we will be the best team we can be at all times.”
Former volunteer assistant Brandon Duvall was hired in July 2009, giving Fry the assistance she desperately needed in running the program. Duvall will be responsible for recruiting, film exchange, scheduling, team travel, and coordination of team practices and training sessions.
“Brandon is tremendously knowledgeable about the sport of volleyball and is great at training players,” Fry said. “He knows the game very well and uses various training tools to keep the players in top shape. I look forward to working with him, both on the court and in the office, and using his knowledge and experience to keep the program moving in the right direction.”
Fry returns seven players from the team that went 10-23 in 2008 and welcomes six new players to this year's team.
Returning to the team from last season at the outside hitter position are senior Aurelia Isham (Lancaster, Tex.), sophomore Breanna Allums (Channelview, Tex.) and redshirt freshman Paige Gary-Canty (Winston-Salem, N.C.).
Isham averaged 1.11 kills and 1.48 digs per set in 96 sets last season. She was named to the Wake Forest Deacon Invitational all-tournament team after totaling 10 kills and 18 digs in three matches.
“Aurelia is probably the most athletic of the three seniors because of her amazing quickness and good jumping ability,” Fry said. “She trained hard during the spring and summer and will come in ready to compete for a starting spot.”
Allums, the team's Outstanding Freshman in 2008, led the squad in kills (270), kills per set (2.35), and total attempts (826). She tied for the team lead with 115 sets played and leads the returnees with 227 digs. Allums was also named to the all-tournament team in four of the five regular-season tournaments NSU participated in last year.
“Breanna led the team in kills as a freshman last year and I am expecting her to be one of the top offensive players in the conference this year,” Fry said. “She made good strides during spring workouts with her ball control, defense and blocking. I am also expecting her to be a leader for the younger players.”
Gary-Canty redshirted last season after tearing her ACL in early September. She played in five sets before suffering her injury, recording a total of four kills, two digs and one block. Gary-Canty has successfully completed her rehab and should be ready to play in the fall.
“Paige has been doing her rehab and training very hard to ensure that she is ready to compete for a starting spot once the season starts,” Fry said. “She is very quick and athletic, and once she gets back into the rhythm of playing, there will be no limit on her potential.”
Newcomers Maatra Henderson (Houston, Tex./Lamar HS), Chynna Blaker (Goodrich, Mich./Goodrich HS) and Ellica Morris (Bedford, Tex./L.D. Bell HS) will add depth at outside hitter. Henderson was a District 20-5A first-team pick in 2008, while Blaker helped Goodrich to a 39-10-4 record and the 2008 Genesee Area Conference Red Division Tournament title.
“Maatra is quick and athletic, and once she is trained in our system, she will be able to compete for a starting position,” Fry said. “She also has a very positive attitude and I am excited to coach her.”
“Chynna is a power lifter in her spare time and it shows,” Fry said. “She is very powerful for her size and can hit through solid blocks. She also has a great work ethic that allows her to pick up on technique changes very quickly.”
“Ellica is a very competitive player who wants to be on the court and will push her teammates to have the same intensity,” Fry said. “She will give us depth at the outside and right side positions and will definitely fight for a starting position.”
At middle blocker, Fry will rely on the experience of senior Angie Clewis (Lancaster, Tex.) and sophomore Elayne Greer (Bakersfield, Calif.). In 2008, Clewis played in all 115 sets, averaging 1.75 kills while hitting .139. She tied for the team lead with 68 total blocks (15 solo) en route to being named the team's Most Improved Player.
“Angie did a good job last year in the middle, despite being much smaller than the other middles she went up against,” Fry said. “If she works out hard during the summer, there is no reason why she could not be on the court in every set.”
Greer, who started 32 of NSU's 33 matches in 2008, is third among the returning players in kills (188, 1.66 per set) and matched Clewis' team-leading 68 total blocks (17 solo).
“Elayne has the ability to be one of the most dominant middles in the conference,” Fry said. “She struggled a bit last season while trying to learn a new system, but she did very well in spring workouts. She should easily step into a starting role and dominate the net.”
Freshman Charlotte Armstead (Williamsburg, Va./Warhill HS) will back up Clewis and Greer at middle blocker. In 2008, Armstead tallied 297 kills, 177 digs and 122 blocks as a senior before being named to the All-Bay Rivers District first team. A two-year letterwinner at Warhill, Armstead was also a Region 1 honorable mention pick last season.
“Charlotte can play both right side and middle for us, and once she gets more training and learns our system, she can give the returners some serious competition,” Fry said.
Moving to libero this season will be senior Solange Honore (San Fernando, Trinidad), who spent her first two seasons as the team's primary setter. Fry noticed Honore's interest in taking on a bigger defensive role and experimented with it last season. Honore had 159 digs in 2008 (1.53 per set) and, despite sharing setting duties with sophomore Nicole Kessner (Blacksburg, Va.), managed to pass out 346 assists, bringing her career total to 1,925 (NSU's all-time leader).
“Solange is a fundamentally sound player who loves to play defense and has great ball control,” Fry said. “She is also very versatile and can be used as a setter, defensive specialist, or libero. I know that whatever role she is given, she will gladly accept and play to the best of her ability.”
Challenging Honore for starting rights at libero will be junior transfer Tracey Copley (Virginia Beach, Va./Lees McRae College). As a sophomore at Lees McRae in 2008, Copley averaged 1.92 digs per set in 86 sets.
“Tracey has great court vision and ball control which give her an edge on hitters,” Fry said. “She will give Solange stiff competition for the libero position and I am expecting her to be a leader on and off the court because of her prior college experience.”
Kessner, the 2008 team MVP, returns to handle the setting duties for the Spartans in 2009. During her freshman campaign, she led the team and ranked ninth in the MEAC with 5.82 assists per set. She also averaged 1.66 digs per set and had a team-leading .240 hitting percentage.
“Nicole is a very talented setter and team leader who can run the offense and keep the team going in the right direction,” Fry said. “She has great court awareness and delivers good passes to the hitters from anywhere on the court.”
Incoming freshman Kristen Burt (Ashburn, Va./Broad Run HS) will compete with Kessner for time at setter. Burt lettered four years for the Broad Run Spartans and was a three-time AA All-Dulles District pick. As a senior in 2008, she had 277 assists, 43 service aces, 14 total blocks and averaged 4.0 assists per set.
“Kristen comes from a great club program and has trained very hard to become a top-level setter,” Fry said. “She will battle with Nicole for the setting position.”
Fry and her squad will sacrifice a lot early in the season by playing 16 of their first 17 matches on the road. The Spartans play in tournaments hosted by Texas-El Paso, Virginia Tech, Delaware State, Elon and Maryland Eastern Shore to start the season. Their home opener is on Sept. 2 against local rival Hampton.
Other non-conference home matches include dates with North Carolina Central (Oct. 3), Alabama State (Oct. 7) and Winston-Salem State (Nov. 8). In addition to playing each of the MEAC southern division teams at home and on the road, the Spartans play a non-conference match at James Madison on Oct. 13.
