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EDINBORO, PA -- After a two-year hiatus the
Edinboro University volleyball team is returning to the NCAA
Playoffs. The Fighting Scots are one of eight teams headed for the
NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional, completing an incredible
turnaround season. At one point showing just a 7-12 record, first
year coach Missy Soboleski’s squad won 18 of its final 21
matches and heads into regional action with a 25-15 record.
Lock Haven is the number one seed in the
regional despite losing in five games to California(Pa.) on
Saturday in the PSAC Championship match. The Lady Eagles are 30-5
and will host the Atlantic Regional on Thursday, November 17
through Saturday, November 19. Lock Haven will play North Carolina
Central (29-13), the eighth seed, in the quarterfinals.
California(Pa.) is the number two seed after improving to 33-2
with the PSAC title victory. The Vulcans face seventh-seeded
Lees-McRae (24-10).
Edinboro will oppose Mount Olive in the first
round, with the contest slated for a 12 noon start. Mount Olive
has a 28-7 record and is the sixth seed. The Fighting Scots
defeated Mount Olive in four games in the Lock Haven Classic on
November 14. The winner of the Edinboro-Mount Olive match will
meet the California(Pa.)-Lees-McRae winner on Friday in the
semifinals at 5:00 p.m.
The Lock Haven-North Carolina Central winner
will oppose the winner of the Slippery Rock-Indiana(Pa.) match in
the other semifinal. Slippery Rock is seeded fourth with a 24-9
record, while IUP is the fifth seed and has a 24-10 ledger.
“During the early portion of our season,
we were searching for the appropriate roles for our players,”
pointed out Soboleski. “Once we established those roles,
the team started to taste success, and with that, gained
confidence. That confidence has carried us to where we are
today.
“We have had exceptional senior
leadership throughout the season,” she continued. “They
have exhibited a high standard for the rest of the team to
emulate. The discipline, dedication and leadership of our
seniors has had a major impact in the success of our team.”
The Fighting Scots are led by their middle
hitter tandem of Alicia Knouff (Louisville, OH/ Louisville)
and Jenna Newman (Reno, NV/Coronado). Knouff, a 6’1”
senior, leads the team with 473 kills, the third-highest season
total in school history. She ranks third on the team with a
hitting percentage of .317. In addition, Knouff has team-highs of
29 block solos and 107 block assists. She has 50 service aces,
second on the team. For her career, Knouff ranks fourth in block
solos (69) and
fifth in block assists (247). Newman, a 5’11”
sophomore, has 459 kills, the fifth-highest season total, and a
.326 hitting percentage, second on the team. She is also second to
Knouff in block solos (19) and block assists (82).
A year ago Ashley Cottengim (Fairport,
NY/Fairport) was thrown into the lineup at setter when Renee
Kam went down with an injury. She struggled at times, but when Kam’s
sister Mallory, quit the team this year, Cottengim was ready to
step in. The 5’8” junior has 1,216 assists, the
seventh-highest season total, ranks fourth on the team in digs
(342), and has 48 service aces.
Two other seniors have played large roles. Tiffany
Trgovac (Irvine, CA/Irvine), a 5’9” outside hitter,
ranks third in kills with 234, and is second in digs with 393.
Michelle Bator (West Middlesex, PA/West Middlesex), a 5’7”
libero, leads the team with 563 digs. That figure ranks fourth
all-time. Junior Amelia Robinson (Amherst, OH/Marion L.
Steele) set the school record for service aces this season
with 88. The 5’6” outside hitter also has 352 digs,
third on the team.
Edinboro defeated Millersville in four games in
the PSAC Championship quarterfinals this past weekend before
losing to Lock Haven in three games in the semifinals. The
Fighting Scots had been selected for the NCAA Playoffs eight
straight seasons from 1996-2003, but failed to reach the
postseason tournament the last two years. Edinboro has four
Atlantic Regional titles to its credit to advance to the Elite
Eight in 1993, 1996, 1998 and 2002. |
