MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College Volleyball team enters the 2017 campaign coming off one of their most successful seasons in program history. The team finished 2016 with a 10-14 overall record with a 2-7 mark in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC). They qualified for the CCC Tournament for the first time in program history. Under direction of new head coach Bori May, the program looks to reach new heights in 2017.
Read Coach May's Season Outlook below:
Players To Watch On Your Team (Provide Details on Athletic Skills They Possess and What They Will Bring To the Team/Personal Attributes of Student-Athletes that will Enhance On/Off Field Chemistry Student-Athletes)
Courtney Carroll (Fairhaven, Mass.) & Nicole Rice (Woburn, Mass.) bring senior leadership on and off the court. Their positive attitude and hardworking philosophy will help propel this program to new heights. It is no surprise that they captain our program.
Top Upperclassmen (Provide Details on Athletic Skills They Possess and What They Will Bring To the Team. Include any relevant information in regards to your top upperclassmen coming back.)
Grace Strafford (West Yarmouth, Mass.) - Coming into this year as the kill's leader and second in digs last year, Grace is the most well rounded player on the team. Her presence both in the front row and back row are pivotal for the program's success.
Carroll - With her defensive prowess and able to read where hitters are going, Courtney helped carry the team with 356 digs last season and is to surely exceed that number this season.
Rice - She is a wall when it comes to blocking. Not many hitters can hit through or around her. Her high reach not only helps her in blocking, but makes a huge impact on our offense. She opens up our pin hitters because of her presence in the middle.
Top Underclassmen (Provide Details on Athletic Skills They Possess and What They Will Bring To the Team. Include any relevant information in regards to your top underclassmen to your team.)
Caroline Kilduff (Rockland, Mass.) - Stats will never really show how much work Caroline is putting in. She is the first line of defense. Her blocking ability helps channel our opponent's swings into our back row defenders.
Expectations For Season (Provide Details on What You as a Coach Expects for the Upcoming Season.)
It's not easy to win. It takes a lot of work on and off the court. I expect us to keep learning and not settling on what we have. My expectations for the team is to win at least 15 matches and make it past the first round of CCC playoffs.
Who in League To Look Out For (Provide Details on the Teams To Look Out for in Conference Play, i.e. Teams you expect to jockey with for postseason/playoff positioning and postseason play).
In order to be the best, you got to beat the best. Roger Williams and Endicott have been on the top of the conference for a long time. We have a lot of work to compete with those teams, but I feel we have the talent and drive to compete with the top teams in our conference.
Talk About Coaching Staff (Provide Details on your Coaching Staff as a Whole. Introduce new coaches and talk about what they will bring to your program. Also talk about Returning Coaches and their Role on the Team as a Coach).
Assistant Coach, Drew Jordan, a former player for the Men's Volleyball Program at Emmanuel College and has been my assistant coach over there as well. He brings in wealth of knowledge of the game and a strong discipline of what it takes to win.
Emily O'Reilly, a former setter at Rivier University who made four GNAC All-Conference Teams and holds the all-time assist record at her alma mater will be a tremendous asset to the program. She will be working with our young core of setters to help them develop into great decision makers and help them be a stable presence on the court.
(Answers provided by Bori May, Curry Volleyball Head Coach)
