2009 Dominican College Women's Volleyball Summary

 

In one of the most amazing turn-a-rounds in collegiate volleyball history, the Dominican College women's volleyball team came back from a 2-25 2008 season to finish with a overall record of 22-10 and a 16-4 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) in 2009 which included a program high 10 match winning streak.



The Lady Chargers made their first appearance in the CACC Tournament in four years after earning the second seed in the CACC North Division. After a 3-0 victory over the third seeded Eagles of Post University, the team made the trip to the CACC Semi-Finals where they lost to the eventual champions and overall top-seed, Georgian Court University.

 


Leading the way this season was freshman outside hitter, Michelle Fiorvanti. She led the team and conference in kills (346), while ranking second in the CACC in kills per game (3.15). She also led the team in hitting percentage (.221).  Fiorvanti also finished in the top four on the team in digs (190) and digs per game (1.73). For her efforts she was named the 2009 CACC Co-Rookie of the Year, the All-CACC Second Team and earned four CACC Rookie of the Week Accolades.

 


Fellow rookie Whitney Ranger also had a stellar season as the Lady Charger setter. She led the team and finished third in the CACC with 917 assists and held the top spot and ranked fourth in the CACC in service aces (52) and service aces per game (0.49). Ranger also finished in the top four in digs (185) and digs per game (1.75). Ranger earned All-CACC Honorable Mention honors and one CACC Rookie of the Week Accolades this season.

 


Junior captain Catherine Giordano tallied 246 defensive digs to finish second behind freshman Jordyn Fuller (333) and also finished second on the team with 45 service aces.  Fuller also finished third on the team with 37 service aces.  Freshman Michelle Klimas also had a great season with 114 kills, 27 aces and 139 defensive digs.

 

 

The top two spots in the blocking category also belong to freshmen as Courtney Heard led the team with 44 total blocks (23 solo, 21 block assists) and Kristen Loney amassed 43 blocks (19 solo blocks, 24 block assists). 

 

 

Junior Yashani Smith added 29 total blocks (13 solo blocks, 16 block assists). Fellow junior Kerianne Dudley recorded 124 kills and 11 blocks on the season.  She was named to the CACC All-Tournament Team.

 

Head Coach Stefanie Carrington was named the 2009 CACC Coach of the Year in just her second season at the helm. After bringing in her first recruiting class, she was the driving force behind the success the team had this season. She introduced the first annual "Dig Pink" game to the women's volleyball program this season and led the team to the first winning season in seven years. She now has a career coaching record of 24-35 and put together a roster of 15 players from four different states.

 

With the loss of two seniors, Lauren Palermo and manager Keriann Quinn, the 2010 Lady Chargers will return a strong core of talented veterans. With the experience they gained this season and the leadership of Carrington and Giordano, Dominican should have a very successful 2010 campaign.