2008 Season Review
The Lasell College women’s volleyball team finished the 2008 season, 9-20 overall, and 5-8 in the GNAC conference. Though the Lasers made an appearance in the quarter finals of the GNAC women’s volleyball tournament, they were seeded against a tough Rivier College (no. 1 seed), who brought the Lasers season to an end, in a 3-0 match.
The Lasers opened the season on September 5th in the Western Connecticut Invitational, where junior captain Amanda Major (Southbury, CT) was chosen for the All-Tournament Team. Then, the Lasers picked up their first win of the season at their home opener when they swept Lesley University, 3-0. The Lasers went 6-2 on their home court.
The Lasers went on a winning streak mid-way through the season, highlighted by winning a five set match over a strong Rhode Island College, and then beating three GNAC teams, Albertus Magnus (3-0), Saint Joseph’s Maine (3-0), and Pine Manor College (3-0). Lasell finished as the eighth seed in the GNAC heading into the tournament.
Major was the leader in digs this season once again, picking up 503 total digs, for a total of 1754 digs so far in her career. That makes Major the leader in digs in Lasell women’s volleyball history. Major was also recognized by the AVCA as part of the 30-dig club three times this season. If that was not impressive enough, Major finished the season ranked 36th nationally in the DIII NCAA statistics in digs per set, averaging 5.53.
Also setting history in Lasell College ranks this season is senior co-captain Kelsey Schmidt (Ballston Spa, NY). Schmidt recorded 56 blocks this season for a career total of 232, making her all the time leading blocker in women’s volleyball history. Schmidt also leads the team in kills this season, with 186, bringing her four year total to 751, making her the third highest in school’s history.
Fellow senior co-captain Nicole Wetterman (Dighton, MA) did not end up far behind Schmidt in final numbers. Wetterman collected 171 total kills this season, finishing her career with 617 kills, making her 5th in the record books. Wetterman also had a total of 88 career blocks, 22 of which were recorded this season.
Newcomers Meghan Crozier (Ballston Spa, NY) and Danielle Drapeau (Biddeford, ME) made an immediate impact on the Lasell volleyball team. Crozier was selected as Rookie of the Week in the GNAC once this season, and selected to the weekly honor roll two additional times. Crozier dished out 472 assists this season as the team’s primary setter, averaging 4.82 assists per set. Crozier was also a great defender, with 203 dug balls this season.
Drapeau finished third on the team in total kills in 2008, putting down 166 kills in 29 matches. The freshman middle also leads the team in services aces (24) and blocks (57). Drapeau was listed on the GNAC honor roll twice this season.
Other Lasers making an impression this year were Melanie Costa (Ludlow, MA), who was selected to the Plymouth State University Invitational All-Tournament team and finished second in digs with 248, Kayla Binnette (Biddeford, ME) had 97 assists and 111 digs in her first season as a Laser, and returning outside hitter Megan Gobeille (Lincoln, RI) ended with 158 digs and 52 kills.
Jenna-Lynn Geary (Marion, MA) and Eilleen Barrett (Ludlow, MA) saw plenty of time as rookie outside hitters. Geary put down 81 kills, 20 service aces, and picked up 229 digs in her first year, while Barrett was a huge presence at the net with 62 kills and 52 blocks, 34 of which were solo blocks.
Jamie Riccio (East Hartford, CT) and Lauren Short (Scarsdale, NY) rounded out the 2008 roster for the Lasers. Both Riccio and Short played considerable minutes for the Lasers and will be returning next season.
Though the Lasers will graduate two senior captains from their roster in May of 2009, the Lasers have a young squad that gained valuable experience in 2008, to bring to the future of Lasell women’s volleyball.
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