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SAINTS GO 2-2 AT ONEONTA INVITATIONAL Sept. 1: The first official contest of the 2007-2008 season was a win for St. Lawrence and the first career Saint coaching victory for volleyball coach Melissa DeRan as the Saints came from two games down to win their opening match in the Oneonta Red Dragon Invitational, 3-2 over Oswego.
Saint first year player Abigail Rose was named co-MVP of the tournament for her outstanding play in the four matches. The Saint setter had 133 assists, 39 digs and 16 kills in the tournament for the Saints. She was also named Liberty League co-Rookie of the Week.
The Saints dropped match two of the tournament 3-0 to and also lost 3-0 to Potsdam before taking third place in their bracket with a 3-1 win over Plattsburgh.
SLU lost games one and two against Oswego, 30-19 and 30-27, but then rallied to win three straight for the win. The Saints won 30-23 in game three and forced a decisive fifth game with a 30-27 win in game four. The Saints won the tie-breaking fifth game 15-11. Rose had 44 assists, 12 digs and six kills in the five games while sophomore Jessica Lucky was the Saint kill leader with 18 and led the team in digs with 24 in the five games. Julia Congdon added 11 kills and 18 digs and Kelly O'Connell had 10 kills in the match.
The games against Oneonta, which was 2-0 after day one of the tournament, were very competitive, but the Red Dragons won in three straight, 30-25, 30-26 and 30-24. Lucky again led the Saints in kills with 13 and had ten digs and two service aces. Congdon had six kills and seven digs to go with a pair of service aces while Rose had five kills, 28 assists and eight digs. Laura Gibbons also tunred in a sold defensive performance with ten digs in the match.
Potsdam turned back the Saints 30-26, 30-15 and 30-23 in Saturday’s first match. Congdon led the Saints with seven kills in the match and added a dozen digs while Rose had 20 assists and ten digs to go with a pair of service aces. Lucky had six kills and ten digs in the three games.
SLU came back to win the third place bracket match against Plattsburgh. The Saints won the first game of the Plattsburgh match 32-30, lost the second 30-28 and closed it out with 30-18 and 30-18 wins. Lucky had 18 kills in the eight games and 26 digs to lead the Saints while Rose had 41 assists and nine digs along with three block assists and three service aces. Tami Couch added 16 digs and Lara Gibbons had three service aces to go with 12 digs.
The Saints will host North Country rival Clarkson in a dual match on Tuesday.
MELISSA DERAN NAMED SAINT COACH May 18: Melissa DeRan, a former Division I volleyball player at Murray State University who was most recently assistant volleyball coach at Otterbein College has been named head coach of the St. Lawrence University women’s volleyball team.
DeRan replaces Anne Schneider who retired as Saint coach to take care of her young family.
DeRan is a 1999 graduate of Murray State where she was an all conference player in volleyball and team captain. She was head volleyball coach and an assistant track coach at Division II Tiffin University, coaching six all conference athletes and four Academic All Americas in volleyball and a number of national qualifiers in the throws in track and field.
She also was an assistant coach at Capital and coached teams of USA Athletes International and Junior Olympic Volleyball.
“I am excited about the potential of the St. Lawrence volleyball program,” said DeRan. “Anne Schneider did a good job in building the program up, so the ship is certainly pointed in the right direction. She laid the foundation for a lot of success, and I am thrilled to come in and give the players the opportunity to win games and championships.”
DeRan will also assist with the track and field program in addition to her duties as head volleyball coach.
GOLDMAN NAMED SAINT ASSISTANT Aug. 7: Shelby Goldman, a three-time first-team All America East selection in volleyball for the University at Albany,
Goldman, a 2007 graduate of UAlbany and a two-time America East All Academic selection in volleyball as well as earning all-star honors on the court, helped the Great Danes to two America East championships during her career and two NCAA tournament appearances. She is Albany’s all-time kills leader and was a AVCA All-Northeast Region player.
Shelby is from Whitby, ONT. and was a member of the Canadian Junior National Team. She graduated from Anderson Collegiate High School and was a member of the club team which won the 2000 Ontario Provincial Championships and finished second in the national tournament.
SAINTS FINISH FOURTH, BOULANGER AND SULLIVAN EARN ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS Nov. 4: The St. Lawrence University volleyball team finished their 2006 season at the Liberty League Championships against Skidmore and Clarkson. The Saints (12-21) finished in fourth place in the conference, while junior outside hitter Ali Boulanger was selected First Team All-Conference and senior setter Jenni Sullivan was tagged Second Team All-Conference.
In the first of the afternoon contests, the Saints met 2006 Liberty League Player of the Year Darryl Manzer and the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds. Manzer was solid inside, recording 26 kills, while teammate Eric Duncan notched 17 kills and 18 digs for Skidmore. The host school took the opening two games 30-26 and 30-19.
However, the Scarlet and Brown shocked everyone in the third game, battling the Thoroughbreds point for point in the game, never throwing in the towel. First year Jessica Lucky, who had 14 kills and 20 digs in the Day 2 opener, teamed with Sullivan to rally the Saints and upset Skidmore in the third game 31-29.
Skidmore came right back on the attack in the fourth game, taking the match 3-1 behind a 30-17 win. However, head coach Anne Schneider was pleased with the result.
“We played well, and taking a game against a talented team like Skidmore shows exactly how far we’ve come this season,” said Schneider. “It was a season highlight for us, and I’m extremely proud of our team for believing they could do it.”
The season finale came against the Clarkson Golden Knights, a team the Saints know very well having met them three other times during the season. With a win, the Saints would capture third place in the Liberty League standings. However, their archrival dug in and took two of the first three games to grab a 2-1 lead.
The Saints, who have been prone to five-game matches throughout the season, pulled themselves even at 2-2 after a 30-23 fourth game win. The fifth game match would be their twelfth of the season.
Sullivan and fellow senior captain Lauren Waggoner worked hard to keep their team alive in the fifth game. Sullivan closed with 8 kills, 26 assists, 8 digs, and 2 blocks, while Waggoner played great defense with 26 digs. However, it wasn’t to be, as the Golden Knights played perhaps their best match against the Saints all season, taking the fifth set 15-12.
“It’s disappointing not to win the last match of the season, but you have to give credit to Clarkson,” added Schneider. “They worked hard and played a great match.”
Boulanger was named to the Liberty League’s First Team after posting yet another outstanding season with the Scarlet and Brown. Entering this weekend’s play, she had 424 kills and 388 digs, leading the Saints offensively for the third straight season. Sullivan’s Second Team bid is well deserved as well, as she has come up with several triple-doubles throughout the season to help the Saints to their much-improved record. The senior came into the Liberty League tournament having totaled 253 kills, 509 assists, 304 digs, and 62 blocks.
“I’m so proud of and excited for Ali and Jenni,” said Coach Schneider. “Their play, along with both other captains Laura (Waggoner) and Clare (Joscelyne) and several key first years helped this team improve throughout the season.”
SAINTS SPLIT OPENING DAY OF LIBERTY LEAGUE TOURNAMENT Nov. 3: The St. Lawrence University volleyball team opened the 2006 Liberty League Tournament on Friday evening against Union and Vassar in Saratoga Springs, NY. The Saints, dropped the opening game to the Dutchwomen, but rallied for a four-game victory. However, the Brewers, looking to repeat as Liberty League champions, were too much for the Saints, winning in three games.
St. Lawrence (12-19) came out sluggish against Union, as the Saints seemed unable to get on track in the early going. They lost the opening game 30-22, but head coach Anne Schneider always believed her team would bounce back.
“We were just a little off in the first game, perhaps from the travel or nerves, but we just weren’t clicking yet,” said Coach Schneider. “However, we came back strong and really asserted ourselves throughout the next three games to pick up the win.”
The Saints opening the tournament with a win as the Scarlet and Brown collected the next three games in impressive fashion, dropping the Dutchwomen 30-24, 30-25, and 30-20. Senior Jenni Sullivan, playing in her final tournament of her St. Lawrence career, was outstanding, totaling five kills, nine digs, and 28 assists.
Meanwhile, junior outside hitter Ali Boulanger added 18 kills and 18 digs, while first year Jessica Lucky looked sharp in her first conference tournament match with 10 kills, 23 digs, and 4 blocks.
Coming off the victory, the Saints met last year’s Liberty League champion and conference powerhouse Vassar in the evening match. Although Boulanger would keep her team competitive with 8 kills, 12 digs, and one block, the Brewers were simply too much for St. Lawrence, winning in three games (30-15, 30-18, 30-20). Vassar’s Alia Al-Khatib recorded 29 assists and 15 digs, while Kat Foley had 10 kills and Katie Newton had 8 kills and 10 digs.
“I think we were a little intimidated in the early going against a very talented Vassar team,” added Schneider. “But once we got comfortable and settled in, we were much more competitive.”
Much of the conference tournament will sort itself out tomorrow, as round robin play continues throughout the day. St. Lawrence will take on tournament host Skidmore and archrival Clarkson tomorrow, with the Saints and Thoroughbreds meeting at 1:00pm. The Scarlet and Brown will then square off with the Golden Knights at 3:00pm, finishing the 2006 season.
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joins the St. Lawrence staff as assistant volleyball coach.