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2011 Clarkson Volleyball Preview
Each year since 2006, Clarkson University
Volleyball head coach Johan Dulfer has
tried his best to temper enthusiasm and expectations for the
program. That thought process is getting more difficult with each
passing season, as the Golden Knights have climbed
the regional ladder to become a recognizable name and formidable
foe for opponents. With consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament in
the past two seasons, anything less in 2011 would be a let-down for
a team with three all-star performers returning, including a
First-Team Liberty League outside hitter, an AVCA All-Region
setter, and an AVCA All-American outside hitter.
“The 2010 season gave us the confirmation that we are on the
right path as a program and as a team,” coach Dulfer
remarked. “I think that if you asked the players, they would
tell you they are a little disappointed that we couldn’t
defend our league title successfully. Returning to the NCAA
Tournament, however, was an invaluable experience, and taught us
what it will take to get to the level we are striving to achieve.
It gave us a clear goal.”
The Liberty League underwent some restructuring and has added a
pair of teams to the mix for 2011. Both Rochester Institute of
Technology and Bard College have entered the conference fray,
giving the Liberty League seven teams and an automatic bid two
years from now. Even though there is still no automatic qualifier
for the Liberty League yet, a newly designed post-season tournament
will come into effect this fall. What once was a five-team
round-robin that crowned a conference champion has been altered to
a four-team single-elimination tournament which will have an NCAA
automatic bid going to the champion come 2013. For now, the Golden
Knights, who went 28-10 in 2010 and have a .767 winning percentage
over the last two seasons, will need to continue to produce gaudy
win totals to catch the eye of the NCAA Tournament committee in
hopes of an at-large bid.
“The Liberty League is probably stronger, and definitely
deeper, than it has ever been,” coach Dulfer said.
“With the addition of RIT and Bard, we will now be playing a
double round-robin (conference) schedule and our goal will be to
host the championships in Potsdam in November. I’m expecting
a very tough battle and look forward to seeing how our team
competes in pursuit of another Liberty League
championship.”
Leading the charge for a third straight trip to the NCAA
Tournament are a pair of all-conference outside hitters in seniors
Sara Artus (St. Regis Falls, NY) and Megan
Mahon (Irvine, CA). Artus ranked among the national
leaders in kills for the second straight season and was picked as
an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention once again
in 2010. Her 560 kills shattered her own single-season mark at
Clarkson, and her hitting percentage jumped considerably, helping
the Knights rank 27th overall in the country in that category.
Mahon was certainly no slouch either, posting 378 kills, a figure
that ranked fifth in the Liberty League, with a .257 hitting
percentage, sixth in the conference. Junior Courtney
Haines (Crestview, FL) suffered through a hip injury most
of the season, but battled the pain enough to record 219 kills as
well.
Providing some offense and defense in the middle are seniors
Nicole Edwards (Weiser, ID) and Rachel
Simons (Webster, NY). Both players rank in the top 10
all-time at Clarkson in blocks, with Simons knocking on the door to
become only the fourth player ever to reach 300 blocks. Edwards had
six more blocks than Simons last year and produced 194 kills to
rank fourth on the team. Both players stand at 6-foot and provide a
difficult block to get around.
Sophomore setters Lani Durio (Austin, TX) and
Erika Chin (Katy, TX) will run the offense and
provide excellent passing as well. Durio was the team’s main
setter as a freshman in 2010 and posted a Clarkson single-season
record 1,216 assists despite relenting setting duties to Chin on a
handful of occasions. Chin showed that she, too, was capable of
handling the offense with 180 assists of her own, but her
impressive ball control and defensive acumen pushed her to a
defensive role as a freshman. Chin ranked in the top 10 in the
conference in digs and her single-handed dives on tough kill
attempts kept many points alive for the Knights.
The Green and Gold have four newcomers to the program to fill in
the holes left by the departed seniors. “We had a need for
some ball control as well as some added offensive depth for this
class and I think we filled that need,” coach Dulfer said.
“This is one of the strongest classes ever to come to
Clarkson.”
Freshman Adrienne Walker (Centennial, CO) will
add to the size up front for the Knights as a dynamic middle
blocker. Accompanying Walker to Clarkson this year is her sister,
Bailey Walker (Centennial, CO), who transferred
from Washington & Lee University. The elder Walker, a
lefty-hitting rightside, had 175 kills and 48 blocks for an
NCAA-bound Generals squad that also reached the tournament’s
round of 32 in 2010. Freshman Becca Brabec
(Lemont, IL) might be somewhat undersized as an outside or middle
hitter, but she, too, will immediately add to Clarkson’s
offense and defense. Classmate Kristen Orlandini
(Fairport, NY) has the unenviable job of replacing the
Knights’ all-time digs leader Alison Schroeder as the
team’s libero, but she has plenty of volleyball
“IQ” to make a seamless transition to the college
game.
