Sports News: Fall 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008

MORAVIAN WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL SQUAD TO TRAVEL TO JUNIATA COLLEGE FOR
LANDMARK CONFERENCE SEMIFINAL

BETHLEHEM, PA --- The fourth seeded Moravian College women’s volleyball team advanced to the semifinals of the 2008 Landmark Conference Championship Tournament with a 3-1 victory over fifth seed The Catholic University of America on Wednesday evening, and now the Greyhounds will travel top seed Juniata College for a semifinal match on Saturday, November 8th at 11:00 a.m. in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.

The Greyhounds, who are 14-18 overall and posted a 3-3 mark in Landmark Conference regular season action, are making their 12th postseason appearance in the last 13 seasons.  The Eagles, who have won two of the last four NCAA Division III National Championships, enter the contest at 29-4 overall.  Juniata, which is currently ranked second in the country after being first most of the season, was a perfect 6-0 in the Landmark Conference regular season for the second straight year.

Saturday’s other semifinal match features third seeded Susquehanna University taking on second seed The University of Scranton a 1:30 p.m. match.  The winners of the semifinal matches will advance to the championship match is slated for 7:00 p.m. Saturday night in Huntingdon.

Moravian head coach Shelley Bauder has the Greyhounds in the postseason for the 12th time in her 16 seasons at the helm of the program.  Bauder surpassed the 300-win plateau last year and enters the Landmark Conference Championships with an overall record of 329-189.

Freshman middle hitter/outside hitter Katie Moquete (Midland Park, NJ/Midland Park HS) leads the Greyhounds with 307 kills to go along with 32 blocks, 94 digs, 12 service ace and six assists in her debut season.  Sophomore middle hitter Mary King (Paramus, NJ/Paramus HS), who is out for the remainder of the season with an injury and has missed a total of ten matches, has added 61 blocks to go with 180 kills, 32 service aces, 48 digs and nine assists while senior outside hitter Stephanie Struble (Hampton, NJ/Voorhees HS) has added 255 kills, 294 digs, 42 service aces, 25 blocks and 16 assists in her first year as a hitter.  Struble started at setter for the Greyhounds last fall and has become just the third player in school history to record 1,000 assists and 1,000 digs in a career while ranking sixth in school history with 1,063 digs and eighth with 145 career service aces.  Struble has 1,119 career assists.

Sophomore outside hitter/right side hitter Molly DuVall (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township HS) has contributed 189 kills, 216 digs, 7 blocks, 15 assists and four service aces this season while sophomore middle hitter Christine Reeser (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock HS) has 148 kills, a team high 64 blocks, 12 digs, five assists and a service ace on the year.  Sophomore defensive specialist Katie Kercher (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) has 201 digs for Moravian to go along with 25 service aces and six assists in her first year with the program while freshman libero/defensive specialist Ashley Schmidt (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS) has a team high 298 digs, 23 service aces and 24 assists.  Both Kercher and Schmidt have missed five matches due to injury.

            Freshman setter Kristin Hannings (Levittown, PA/Pennsbury HS) has a team high 573 assists this fall to go with 229 digs, 41 service aces, 31 kills and 13 blocks while sophomore right side hitter/setter Christine Poole (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central HS) has contributed 363 assists, 95 digs, a team high 43 service aces, 29 kills and 14 blocks.

Juniata, which won the 2004 and 2006 NCAA Division III National Championship and was the runner-up in 2005, has not lost to a conference opponent since 1982.  The Eagles are coached by Larry Bock and had lost just twice to an NCAA Division III opponent this fall.

Leading Juniata is senior outside hitter Amber Thomas, who has 305 kills, four assists, 14 service aces, 169 digs, and 35 blocks on the year.  Senior middle hitter Cassie Dickmann has 181 kills, three service aces, 34 digs and 33 blocks while senior middle hitter Erin Albert has contributed 156 kills, three assists, 16 service aces, 46 digs and a team high 47 blocks.

Sophomore setter Steph Strauss has a team high 592 assists to go alone with 135 kills, 86 digs, 47 blocks and a pair of service aces while junior outside hitter Michelle Morchesky has contributed 132 kills, 24 service aces, 179 digs and 16 blocks.  Junior outside hitter Paige Johnston has 119 kills, 46 digs and 25 total blocks while freshman middle hitter Amanda Schmidt has 110 kills, 40 blocks and 20 digs.

Sophomore middle hitter Kristen Notzel has contributed 79 kills, 20 blocks and 16 digs for the Eagles while sophomore opposite hitter Lauren Cline has 27 kills, 13 digs and nine blocks.  Sophomore opposite/outside hitter Sam Bristol has added 25 kills and nine blocks.

Freshman outside hitter Colleen Wallace has 109 kills, 104 digs, 23 service aces and nine blocks in her debut season at Juniata while freshman outside/opposite hitter Drew Barnhart has 97 kills, 32 digs, 22 blocks and 13 service aces.  Senior setter Beth Kozak has contributed 532 assists to go along with six kills, 24 service aces and 211 digs junior libero/defensive specialist Megan Sollenberger leads the team in digs and service aces with 544 digs and 37 service aces to go with 109 assists.  Junior libero/defensive specialist Molly Sollenberger has put up 21 service aces and 90 digs while senior defensive specialist Jessica Ritchey has 31 service aces and 194 digs.