2009 Walsh University Volleyball Outlook
The Cavaliers return seven letter winners and two starters from the 2008 team that qualified for the NAIA National Tournament and a No. 21 NAIA final ranking. The 2008 squad won the AMC regular season crown with a 13-1 record , and finished the season with a mark of 29-13. Although the Cavaliers graduated NAIA All-American and AMC Player of the Year Megan McDonald, and NAIA All-American Erica Parker, look for Walsh to make a run for the AMC Championship and a bid to the National Tournament once again.
The top returners include senior middleblocker Natalie Borland (6-0, Kent, OH/Roosevelt/Kent State), senior defensive specialist Amy Police (5-5, Perry, OH/HS), junior outside hitter Megan Kelly (5-10, Brook Park, OH/Holy Name) and sophomore outside hitter Natalie Phillips pictured at right (5-10, Wooster, OH/HS). Megan Kelly, a co-captain for 2009, returns with 737 career kills and was named to the AMC All- Freshman team in 2007. Kelly will once again push for a starting position on the outside. Police, going into her senior campaign, has a total of 994 career digs and will be a top defensive specialist. Borland, a Co-Captain, has made the move back to the middle, and will be a go-to hitter for her senior year. She averaged 1.6 kills, with a .281 hitting percentage in 2008. Phillips returns having played in every set for the Cavaliers during her freshman year. While mainly seeing time on the defensive end, she will vie for a starting spot on the outside this year. Phillips finished second on the team in digs with 423 and also added 58 kills and 32 service aces in 2008. Look for her to be a dominant leader on the court for the Cavs.
Letter winners Dayna Daltorio (5-8, So., New Middletown, OH/Cardinal Mooney), Marie Jubak (5-7, So., Cincinnati, OH/McNicholas), and Kristen Rohlfs (5-7, So., Loveland, OH/Mount Notre Dame) round out the returning members of the 2008 squad. Daltorio was the most improved player from the spring and has moved to the opposite position. She is a hard worker and will fight for a starting position opposite the setter. Daltorio is a fiery player, and will be a great leader for the young Cavaliers. Jubak played in 65 games as a freshman and tallied 563 assists, 133 digs, and nine service aces. She is one of the best defenders for the Cavs. Look for her to be a potential starter in the setting position. Rohlfs comes into her sophomore campaign a vocal and dominant leader on the court. She is the top contender for the libero position and needs to play above her years for the Cavs to make a run for the AMC Championship. Rohlfs has a high knowledge of the game and is a mentally tough player.
Walsh will be considered young this year, due to the addition of eight new players to the roster. Catie Shears (5-7, So., Washington Courthouse, OH/HS) joins the team after running track for the Cavaliers as a freshman. Shears is a hard worker and will take this year learning the Walsh system and getting her feet back in the game of volleyball. Incoming freshmen include Paige Chandler (6-0, Cincinnati, OH/McNicholas), Hannah Duran (5-9, Grafton, OH/Midview), Jenna Golic (5-10, Mentor, OH/HS), Katie Magers (5-8, Tiffin, OH/Columbian), Brittany Morris (5-11, North Royalton, OH/Padua Franciscan), Julianne O’Donnell (5-10, Willowick, OH/Lake Catholic), and Erica Ritchey (5-10, Wooster, OH/Triway).
Chandler comes to Walsh from McNicholas High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is former high school teammates with current Cav, Marie Jubak. Chandler plays high at the net and could be a force opposite the setter. She will also train in the middle for the 2009 season. Duran will vie for the starting setting position and comes in with tremendous leadership abilities as a freshman. She is an intense player and a true competitor on the court. Golic is a consistent player with great ball control skills. Look for her to potentially earn some time on the right-side, while also training on the outside. This will give Burrows the most depth to the outside position since her arrival at Walsh. Magers is another outside hitter that has knowledge of the game and good basic skills. She is the cousin of former Walsh standout, and NAIA All-American, Jamie Herr. Morris helped her 2008 Padua Franciscan team win the Ohio Division II State Championship. She is an athletic and quick middle, and will immediately step into the starting lineup opposite Borland. Look for her to be a dominant force in the middle for the Cavs, and in the AMC. Morris has the ability and potential to be a go-to hitter for the Cavs. She adds tremendous speed to the game. O’Donnell is another outside that will push immediately for playing time and could potentially replace All-American Megan McDonald on the outside. O’Donnell is a fiery player with great leaping ability, a fast arm-swing, and unbelievable ball control and defensive skills. Julianne was also teammates with Morris on Burrows’ CVC 17 Black USAV Team in 2007-08. Ritchey is a lefty that will vie for the opposite position, along with Daltorio, Chandler, and Golic. She is an athletic, raw player that has potential to be a force for the Cavaliers. Look for Ritchey to improve on her game throughout the year.
“I believe many in the volleyball world think this is a ‘down year’ for Walsh,” stated sixth-year Head Coach Krista Burrows. “I personally, however, believe this is a team that is going to surprise some people. We are already striving to repeat as AMC Champs and focused on heading back to Sioux City to win at the National Tournament. We are now at the point where we have the players to speed up our offense significantly and with our strength being ball control, this will be such a fun team to watch. The athleticism in the gym is unbelievable and we will have players constantly fighting for playing time throughout the season. We are a little down in numbers in the middle, but with Borland and Morris, it could be the best combination of middles we have had at Walsh in six years. We are extremely deep on the outside and I believe we have the most experience in that position. They could make it a very difficult decision for the coaching staff in who sees the court more times than not, but I feel that is more of a positive than a negative. The outsides will continually push and make each other better throughout the year. Hannah and Marie also add two different dynamics in the setting position. Hannah is a fiery, vocal, intense player that gets her teammates excited when they make a great play. Marie is the more quiet, but athletic setter, that at times has the ‘wow’ factor in her defensive efforts. Both have the ability to run the quicker offense. It’s just a matter of who gets the job. Rohlfs has come into this season with a lot more confidence and vocal leadership than last year. Our leadership in Borland, Kelly, and Phillips, will take this young squad further than many believe we can go. I have the utmost confidence in this team and we are working hard everyday, always keeping our eyes on the AMC Championship. We are young, but our young players come in with a lot of club and high school experience. We are a team full of winners. They are all hard workers, and their team chemistry will take this group to the next level. We may not be returning a lot of starters from the 2008 squad, but I know this group is determined to win, and by December, I expect us to be in Iowa.”
