QU Volleyball Opens 2017 Season At Fort Wayne Invitational This Weekend

Friday, August 25

Fort Wayne, IN

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Fort Wayne

QU Volleyball Opens 2017 Season At Fort Wayne Invitational This Weekend

8/22/2017 11:04:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

By: QU Athletic Communications

Quinnipiac Bobcats (0-0) at
Fort Wayne Invitational, presented by Hyatt Place
Friday, August 25-Saturday, August 26
Fort Wayne, Indiana (Gates Sports Center)

Match Links

Match Times (subject to change if previous matches run late)

Friday, August 25 vs. Fort Wayne, 7 p.m.
Saturday, August 26 vs. Toledo, 11 a.m.
Saturday, August 26 vs. SIU Edwardsville, 4:30 p.m.

HAMDEN, Conn. - After making program history with a 21-win season in 2016, the Quinnipiac volleyball team will look to build on its success in 2017, beginning with it season-opening tournament ar the Fort Wayne Invitational, presented by Hyatt Place on Friday and Saturday. The Bobcats will open play against the host Mastodons on Friday evening, and then face Toledo and SIU Edwardsville on Saturday.

Top Storylines Heading Into 2017 Season

Quinnipiac's 21 wins in 2016 represented an 18-win improvement from the prior season, when it only won three, the biggest single-season turnaround in the nation last year. Notre Dame was second with a 15-game improvement, while SIU Edwardsville, one of Quinnipiac's Saturday opponents, was tied for third with a 14-game improvement
Quinnipiac was picked to finish second in the MAAC preseason poll after ending last year as the third-place finisher in the regular season and the runner-up in the conference tournament. It is the highest the Bobcats have ever been picked in one of their preseason polls at the Division I level.
Senior Elizabeth Kloos (Munster, Ind.) was chosen to the Preseason All-MAAC team in a vote of the league's coaches after hitting .301 as a junior last year, ranking sixth in the conference. Kloos will be making a homecoming to her home state at the Fort Wayne Invitational.
Junior Jen Coffey (Merrimack, N.H.) was a first-team All-MAAC selection last year after leading the Bobcats with 404 kills, tying her for third place on Quinnipiac's single-season Division I list (since 1998). She also tied for eighth in school history in all divisions.
Coffey and graduated senior Allison Leigh were the third and fourth first-team all-conference selections in Quinnipiac's Division I history, and the first Bobcats to earn that distinction since 2002. Heather Wollyung won first-team All-Northeast Conference honors three straight years from 2000-02, which Coffey can match if she repeats her accolades as a junior and senior
Sophomore setter Maria Pansari (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) had 1,358 assists as a freshman last year, setting the Quinnipiac school record for all divisions. No Bobcat setter had ever reached 1,000 assists at the Division I level previously.
Sophomore libero Alejandra Rodriguez (Toa Alta, P.R.) had 407 digs last season, placing her third all-time in Quinnipiac's Division I history. Junior right side Kat Miller (Collegeville, Pa.) also broke into the top 10 with 353 digs, placing her seventh.
Pansari, Rodriguez and sophomore Natalie Alechko (Old Tappan. N.J.) were all chosen to the MAAC All-Rookie Team last year following their freshman seasons
Four new freshmen join the Bobcats this season, outside hitter Haley Anderson (St. James, N.Y.), outside hitter Michelle Cuervo (Miami, Fla.), middle hitter Gabby Horman (Smithtown, N.Y.) and setter Morgan Sherwin (Coplay, Pa.).
Anderson and Horman played at rival high schools on Long Island, with Anderson attending Smithtown East and Horman attending Smithtown West. Senior Jamie Termotto (Smithtown, N.Y.) also played for Smithtown West, while all three played club volleyball with the Island Volleyball Academy.
Three other Quinnipiac teammates also played together before joining the Bobcats. Kat Miller, younger sister Lauren Miller (Collegeville, Pa.), who is entering her sophomore season, and fellow sophomore Kaleigh Oates (Downington, Pa.) all played at Villa Maria Academy in Pennsylvania.
Quinnipiac has a busy week next week, including a road match at Bryant at Tuesday and a long cross-country trip to play in Washington State's Cougar Challenge, where opponents will include Washington State, Baylor, Charleston and Incarnate Word.