Friday, September 9
Providence, RI
5:00 PM
Quinnipiac University
vs
La Salle University
QU Volleyball Concludes Non-Conference Schedule At Providence Invitational
9/8/2016 12:02:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Quinnipiac Bobcats (6-4) at Providence Invitational
Friday-Saturday, Sept, 9-10
Providence, Rhode Island
Friday, 5 p.m.: Quinnipiac vs. La Salle (7-1)
Saturday, 1:30 p.m.: Quinnipiac vs. Holy Cross (2-4)
Saturday, 5:30 p.m.: Quinnipiac vs. Providence (7-1)
Live Video (Free)
La Salle
Holy Cross
Providence
Live Stats: Friars.com
Follow on Twitter: @QUWVB
LAST MATCH
Quinnipiac picked up its sixth win of the season on Wednesday, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson 3-1. Junior outside hitter Elizabeth Kloos had a career-high 16 kills (in 27 attempts), while freshman setter Maria Pansari had a personal-best 52 assists. Quinnipiac took the first two sets 25-17, 27-25 before FDU rallied from a 17-10 deficit to pick up the third set 25-23 and stay in the match. The Bobcats, though, started the fourth set on a 6-0 run and put the match away 25-14, with freshman outside hitter Natalie Alechko picking up four kills for the final six points. Alechko and sophomore outside hitter Kat Miller had 12 kills apiece, while sophomore outside hitter Jen Coffey had 10.
HISTORIC START
The Quinnipiac volleyball team has six wins already this season (6-4), which ties for the most wins that the program has had since the 2002 team finished 10-15. The 2003, 2005, and 2010 teams have all won six matches since then, a figure that the Bobcats can eclipse with one win at the Providence Invitational. Quinnipiac opened the season 5-1, its best-ever start at the Division I level (since the program moved up in 1998).
FIRST MEETING vs. LA SALLE
Quinnipiac faced the Explorers already once this season, falling on opening day 3-0 at the La Salle Invitational (after defeating Saint Francis Pa. earlier in the day) by scores of 25-20, 25-23, 25-18. Freshman outside hitter Natalie Alechko led the offense with seven kills, while sophomore outside hitter Kat Miller had 12 digs. Bryanna Davis and Madison Kuch led La Salle with 11 kills apiece.
LAST YEAR vs. HOLY CROSS
Quinnipiac faced the Crusaders a year ago on opening weekend at the Hampton Invitational in Virginia, picking up a 3-2 victory for its first win of the year. Senior outside hitter Katie Urycki had a huge day with a career high 20 kills, while senior middle hitter Allison Leigh had 10 blocks (five solo). With the score tied 12-12 in the fifth, sophomore outside hitter Kat Miller had a kill and Urycki followed with an ace, before a Holy Cross error ended the match 15-12.
LEIGH, PANSARI EARN MAAC WEEKLY HONORS
Senior middle hitter Allison Leigh and freshman setter Maria Pansari were named the MAAC Player of the Week and MAAC Rookie of the Week respectively on Aug. 30, after an opening weekend which saw the Bobcats go 3-1 at the La Salle Invitational. Leigh became the first Bobcat to earn a conference player of the week honor since current senior Emma Ogden won it is as a freshman in 2013, and is only the fifth player in program history to earn the award since the program moved to Division I in 1998. It is also the first time that the Bobcats have swept both the Player and Rookie of the Week honors in their league in the same week.
LEIGH'S RENEWAL
Senior middle hitter Allison Leigh is back after missing all but the first three matches of last season with an injury. She came into the 2016 campaign already ranking fifth in school history in career blocks (286) after only two full seasons, as well as second among players who played their entire careers at the Division I level. Her 6-3 presence in the middle was sorely missed a year ago, and she wasted no time this season in proving her value, earning a spot on the All-Tournament team at the La Salle Invitational after tallying 32 kills and only nine errors in four matches. She also added 14 blocks, giving her exactly 300 in her career (she now has 333 with 47 already this fall), and had a double-double against Saint Francis Brooklyn with 14 kills and 10 blocks. Leigh was off to an impressive start last season before her injury, tallying 23 blocks in only three matches, including a high of 10 against Holy Cross. She ranked third in the MAAC in blocks per set as a sophomore with 1.16 and leads so far this year at 1.31.
SETTING THE TABLE
Freshman setter Maria Pansari is off to an impressive start to her collegiate career, currently ranking first in the MAAC by a wide margin in assists per set at 9.83 (Haley Howell of Siena is second at 7.55 at the start of the week). Pansari has reached the 40-assist plateau five times in her first matches, including a personal-best of 52 on Wednesday against FDU, passing the 48 she had in her college debut against Saint Francis (Pa.) at the La Salle Invitational.
KLOOS ON THE LOOSE
Junior middle hitter Elizabeth Kloos is coming off a career-high 16 kills in Wednesday's win over FDU, passing her previous high of 14 set last year against Saint Francis Brooklyn. In the two home matches this week, including Tuesday against UMass Lowell, Kloos totaled 24 kills in only 40 attempts, hitting a combined .452. She also had big performances in both of Quinnipiac's wins over NJIT this year, with nine kills in 16 attempts at the La Salle Invitational on Aug. 27, and 10 kills in 16 attempts at the Terrier/Rose Hill Classic on Sept. 2.
BLOCK PARTY
Quinnipiac totaled 16 blocks as a team in its home-opening win over Bryant on Aug. 31, including an impressive nine in the first set alone. After falling behind 3-1 in the first set, the Bobcats had blocks on four straight points to take a 5-3 lead and added another one to make the score 8-4. With the score 23-16, Bryant called a timeout and Quinnipiac ended the set with two straight blocks. In the first set, Bryant had 10 kills, just one more than the number of blocks that the Bobcats had. For the match, Kat Miller led the way with eight blocks (two solo), while Allison Leigh and Elizabeth Kloos each had seven.
FRESHMEN HAVE IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Freshman libero Alejandra Rodriguez was named to the All-Tournament team in her first collegiate tournament at the La Salle Invitational after leading the Bobcats in digs on the weekend with 53 (including 23 in her debut against Saint Francis of Pennsylvania). Rodriguez wasn't the only freshman to make her presence felt on opening weekend either, as setter Maria Pansari quarterbacked the offense with 153 assists (10.2 per set) and broke 40 assists in all three wins, with a high of 48 against Saint Francis (12 per set) to earn the MAAC Rookie of the Week Award. Freshman outside hitter Natalie Alechko, meanwhile, was second on the Bobcats with 41 kills and had two double-doubles, tallying 15 kills and 14 digs against Saint Francis and 11 kills and 10 digs against NJIT. Rodriguez currently leads the Bobcats with 117 digs, Pansari is first in assists with 354 (leading the MAAC) and in aces (17), and Alechko is first on the team in kills with 95.
COFFEY TALK
Sophomore outside hitter Jen Coffey was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team last season in a vote of the league's head coaches last fall and started off this season in fine fashion, leading Quinnipiac with 50 kills at the La Salle Invitational. Coffey started out the season with 19 kills against Saint Francis (Pa.), setting a new career high, passing the 18 she had against UMass Lowell last year. In 2015, Coffey ranked third on the Bobcats with 176 kills in just 18 matches while leading the Bobcats with 2.71 kills per set. She posted arguably her best match of the season in the Bobcats' 2015 finale at home against Manhattan with 14 kills in 18 attempts, giving her a 722 hitting percentage. She is currently second on the team this season in kills with 91, behind 95 from Natalie Alechko.
SENIOR CLASS
Quinnipiac enters the new season with a seven-member senior class, who will be looking to lead the Bobcats back to the postseason this fall. Setter Emma Ogden, middle hitters Allison Leigh and Sam Alechko, outside hitters Katie Urycki and Jamie Paolucci, and defensive specialists Cody Michaels and Jana Kmec give the Bobcats plenty of veteran leadership, in contrast to a year ago, when Chandler Thornton was the only senior on the roster. Urycki was lost for the season with an injury she suffered in the first week of practice, while Leigh and Ogden have missed full seasons in the past with injuries and also have a year of eligibility remaining. Alechko and Ogden have also yet to play this season with injuries.
SISTER ACT
The Bobcats have two sets of siblings on this year's team, with the addition of freshman outside hitter Natalie Alechko and freshman defensive specialist Lauren Miller to the roster. Alechko's older sister, Sam, is a senior outside hitter on this year's squad, while Miller's older sister, Kat, is a sophomore setter/outside hitter.
VILLA MARIA CONNECTION
Sophomore Kat Miller, freshman Lauren Miller (Kat's younger sister), and freshman Kaleigh Oates were all part of a successful Villa Maria Academy high school program in Pennsylvania before coming to Quinnipiac. Oates and Laura Miller helped Villa Maria earn a District 1 championship and an appearance in the state semifinals last fall, while the three alumnae were responsible for leading the team to AACA league titles and district finals appearances in 2013 and 2014.
MISS VERSATILITY
Sophomore Kat Miller was one of the most valuable members of the Bobcats in her freshman season, due to her ability to play multiple positions. Miller vacillated between the setter and outside hitter positions and was successful in both roles, tallying a team-high 454 assists and 280 digs, while also 164 kills and 73 blocks. Miller would often change positions in the same match, including a near-triple double with 21 assists, 12 digs, nine kills and four blocks in a win over Saint Peter's. She has settled into an outside hitter role this year and has 73 kills (2.03 per set) through the first 10 matches. She has had two double-doubles in the last four contests with 14 kills and 15 digs against Saint Francis Brooklyn and 12 kills and 13 digs in Wednesday's win over FDU.
RETURNING STATISTICAL LEADERS
The Bobcats returned a wealth of talent from a year ago, including their top six leaders in kills. Senior Katie Urycki led the way last season with 279 kills, while junior Elizabeth Kloos was second with 218. Kloos was also the most efficient attacker with a .272 hitting percentage, followed by senior Sam Alechko with a .225 percentage. Sophomore Jen Coffey, meanwhile, was tops on the Bobcats in kills per set with 2.71, followed by Urycki's 2.61, while sophomore Kat Miller (454) was the team leader in assists. Defensively, Kloos (111) and Alechko (88) were 1-2 in blocks (senior Allison Leigh was at an impressive 1.92 blocks per set through three matches, before being lost to injury). Miller and senior Cody Michaels were 1-2 in digs with 280 and 235, respectively.
NEXT UP
Quinnipiac will begin conference play next weekend with a two-match road trip to New Jersey, facing Rider on Saturday and Saint Peter's on Sunday. The Bobcats will then travel to Siena on Wednesday, Sept. 21 before their conference home opener against Iona on Saturday, Sept. 24.
Friday-Saturday, Sept, 9-10
Providence, Rhode Island
Friday, 5 p.m.: Quinnipiac vs. La Salle (7-1)
Saturday, 1:30 p.m.: Quinnipiac vs. Holy Cross (2-4)
Saturday, 5:30 p.m.: Quinnipiac vs. Providence (7-1)
Live Video (Free)
La Salle
Holy Cross
Providence
Live Stats: Friars.com
Follow on Twitter: @QUWVB
LAST MATCH
Quinnipiac picked up its sixth win of the season on Wednesday, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson 3-1. Junior outside hitter Elizabeth Kloos had a career-high 16 kills (in 27 attempts), while freshman setter Maria Pansari had a personal-best 52 assists. Quinnipiac took the first two sets 25-17, 27-25 before FDU rallied from a 17-10 deficit to pick up the third set 25-23 and stay in the match. The Bobcats, though, started the fourth set on a 6-0 run and put the match away 25-14, with freshman outside hitter Natalie Alechko picking up four kills for the final six points. Alechko and sophomore outside hitter Kat Miller had 12 kills apiece, while sophomore outside hitter Jen Coffey had 10.
HISTORIC START
The Quinnipiac volleyball team has six wins already this season (6-4), which ties for the most wins that the program has had since the 2002 team finished 10-15. The 2003, 2005, and 2010 teams have all won six matches since then, a figure that the Bobcats can eclipse with one win at the Providence Invitational. Quinnipiac opened the season 5-1, its best-ever start at the Division I level (since the program moved up in 1998).
FIRST MEETING vs. LA SALLE
Quinnipiac faced the Explorers already once this season, falling on opening day 3-0 at the La Salle Invitational (after defeating Saint Francis Pa. earlier in the day) by scores of 25-20, 25-23, 25-18. Freshman outside hitter Natalie Alechko led the offense with seven kills, while sophomore outside hitter Kat Miller had 12 digs. Bryanna Davis and Madison Kuch led La Salle with 11 kills apiece.
LAST YEAR vs. HOLY CROSS
Quinnipiac faced the Crusaders a year ago on opening weekend at the Hampton Invitational in Virginia, picking up a 3-2 victory for its first win of the year. Senior outside hitter Katie Urycki had a huge day with a career high 20 kills, while senior middle hitter Allison Leigh had 10 blocks (five solo). With the score tied 12-12 in the fifth, sophomore outside hitter Kat Miller had a kill and Urycki followed with an ace, before a Holy Cross error ended the match 15-12.
LEIGH, PANSARI EARN MAAC WEEKLY HONORS
Senior middle hitter Allison Leigh and freshman setter Maria Pansari were named the MAAC Player of the Week and MAAC Rookie of the Week respectively on Aug. 30, after an opening weekend which saw the Bobcats go 3-1 at the La Salle Invitational. Leigh became the first Bobcat to earn a conference player of the week honor since current senior Emma Ogden won it is as a freshman in 2013, and is only the fifth player in program history to earn the award since the program moved to Division I in 1998. It is also the first time that the Bobcats have swept both the Player and Rookie of the Week honors in their league in the same week.
LEIGH'S RENEWAL
Senior middle hitter Allison Leigh is back after missing all but the first three matches of last season with an injury. She came into the 2016 campaign already ranking fifth in school history in career blocks (286) after only two full seasons, as well as second among players who played their entire careers at the Division I level. Her 6-3 presence in the middle was sorely missed a year ago, and she wasted no time this season in proving her value, earning a spot on the All-Tournament team at the La Salle Invitational after tallying 32 kills and only nine errors in four matches. She also added 14 blocks, giving her exactly 300 in her career (she now has 333 with 47 already this fall), and had a double-double against Saint Francis Brooklyn with 14 kills and 10 blocks. Leigh was off to an impressive start last season before her injury, tallying 23 blocks in only three matches, including a high of 10 against Holy Cross. She ranked third in the MAAC in blocks per set as a sophomore with 1.16 and leads so far this year at 1.31.
SETTING THE TABLE
Freshman setter Maria Pansari is off to an impressive start to her collegiate career, currently ranking first in the MAAC by a wide margin in assists per set at 9.83 (Haley Howell of Siena is second at 7.55 at the start of the week). Pansari has reached the 40-assist plateau five times in her first matches, including a personal-best of 52 on Wednesday against FDU, passing the 48 she had in her college debut against Saint Francis (Pa.) at the La Salle Invitational.
KLOOS ON THE LOOSE
Junior middle hitter Elizabeth Kloos is coming off a career-high 16 kills in Wednesday's win over FDU, passing her previous high of 14 set last year against Saint Francis Brooklyn. In the two home matches this week, including Tuesday against UMass Lowell, Kloos totaled 24 kills in only 40 attempts, hitting a combined .452. She also had big performances in both of Quinnipiac's wins over NJIT this year, with nine kills in 16 attempts at the La Salle Invitational on Aug. 27, and 10 kills in 16 attempts at the Terrier/Rose Hill Classic on Sept. 2.
BLOCK PARTY
Quinnipiac totaled 16 blocks as a team in its home-opening win over Bryant on Aug. 31, including an impressive nine in the first set alone. After falling behind 3-1 in the first set, the Bobcats had blocks on four straight points to take a 5-3 lead and added another one to make the score 8-4. With the score 23-16, Bryant called a timeout and Quinnipiac ended the set with two straight blocks. In the first set, Bryant had 10 kills, just one more than the number of blocks that the Bobcats had. For the match, Kat Miller led the way with eight blocks (two solo), while Allison Leigh and Elizabeth Kloos each had seven.
FRESHMEN HAVE IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Freshman libero Alejandra Rodriguez was named to the All-Tournament team in her first collegiate tournament at the La Salle Invitational after leading the Bobcats in digs on the weekend with 53 (including 23 in her debut against Saint Francis of Pennsylvania). Rodriguez wasn't the only freshman to make her presence felt on opening weekend either, as setter Maria Pansari quarterbacked the offense with 153 assists (10.2 per set) and broke 40 assists in all three wins, with a high of 48 against Saint Francis (12 per set) to earn the MAAC Rookie of the Week Award. Freshman outside hitter Natalie Alechko, meanwhile, was second on the Bobcats with 41 kills and had two double-doubles, tallying 15 kills and 14 digs against Saint Francis and 11 kills and 10 digs against NJIT. Rodriguez currently leads the Bobcats with 117 digs, Pansari is first in assists with 354 (leading the MAAC) and in aces (17), and Alechko is first on the team in kills with 95.
COFFEY TALK
Sophomore outside hitter Jen Coffey was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team last season in a vote of the league's head coaches last fall and started off this season in fine fashion, leading Quinnipiac with 50 kills at the La Salle Invitational. Coffey started out the season with 19 kills against Saint Francis (Pa.), setting a new career high, passing the 18 she had against UMass Lowell last year. In 2015, Coffey ranked third on the Bobcats with 176 kills in just 18 matches while leading the Bobcats with 2.71 kills per set. She posted arguably her best match of the season in the Bobcats' 2015 finale at home against Manhattan with 14 kills in 18 attempts, giving her a 722 hitting percentage. She is currently second on the team this season in kills with 91, behind 95 from Natalie Alechko.
SENIOR CLASS
Quinnipiac enters the new season with a seven-member senior class, who will be looking to lead the Bobcats back to the postseason this fall. Setter Emma Ogden, middle hitters Allison Leigh and Sam Alechko, outside hitters Katie Urycki and Jamie Paolucci, and defensive specialists Cody Michaels and Jana Kmec give the Bobcats plenty of veteran leadership, in contrast to a year ago, when Chandler Thornton was the only senior on the roster. Urycki was lost for the season with an injury she suffered in the first week of practice, while Leigh and Ogden have missed full seasons in the past with injuries and also have a year of eligibility remaining. Alechko and Ogden have also yet to play this season with injuries.
SISTER ACT
The Bobcats have two sets of siblings on this year's team, with the addition of freshman outside hitter Natalie Alechko and freshman defensive specialist Lauren Miller to the roster. Alechko's older sister, Sam, is a senior outside hitter on this year's squad, while Miller's older sister, Kat, is a sophomore setter/outside hitter.
VILLA MARIA CONNECTION
Sophomore Kat Miller, freshman Lauren Miller (Kat's younger sister), and freshman Kaleigh Oates were all part of a successful Villa Maria Academy high school program in Pennsylvania before coming to Quinnipiac. Oates and Laura Miller helped Villa Maria earn a District 1 championship and an appearance in the state semifinals last fall, while the three alumnae were responsible for leading the team to AACA league titles and district finals appearances in 2013 and 2014.
MISS VERSATILITY
Sophomore Kat Miller was one of the most valuable members of the Bobcats in her freshman season, due to her ability to play multiple positions. Miller vacillated between the setter and outside hitter positions and was successful in both roles, tallying a team-high 454 assists and 280 digs, while also 164 kills and 73 blocks. Miller would often change positions in the same match, including a near-triple double with 21 assists, 12 digs, nine kills and four blocks in a win over Saint Peter's. She has settled into an outside hitter role this year and has 73 kills (2.03 per set) through the first 10 matches. She has had two double-doubles in the last four contests with 14 kills and 15 digs against Saint Francis Brooklyn and 12 kills and 13 digs in Wednesday's win over FDU.
RETURNING STATISTICAL LEADERS
The Bobcats returned a wealth of talent from a year ago, including their top six leaders in kills. Senior Katie Urycki led the way last season with 279 kills, while junior Elizabeth Kloos was second with 218. Kloos was also the most efficient attacker with a .272 hitting percentage, followed by senior Sam Alechko with a .225 percentage. Sophomore Jen Coffey, meanwhile, was tops on the Bobcats in kills per set with 2.71, followed by Urycki's 2.61, while sophomore Kat Miller (454) was the team leader in assists. Defensively, Kloos (111) and Alechko (88) were 1-2 in blocks (senior Allison Leigh was at an impressive 1.92 blocks per set through three matches, before being lost to injury). Miller and senior Cody Michaels were 1-2 in digs with 280 and 235, respectively.
NEXT UP
Quinnipiac will begin conference play next weekend with a two-match road trip to New Jersey, facing Rider on Saturday and Saint Peter's on Sunday. The Bobcats will then travel to Siena on Wednesday, Sept. 21 before their conference home opener against Iona on Saturday, Sept. 24.
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MH
/ Women's Volleyball
MH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
S/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
L/OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballQuinnipiac Athletics 2024-25 Highlight Video
Tuesday, May 20
Volleyball vs Marist
Sunday, November 10
Volleyball vs Siena
Saturday, November 09
Volleyball vs. Fairfield
Sunday, November 03
