WESTON, Mass. – After close to two weeks of preseason practice, the Regis College women's volleyball team is about to open its 2019 season with eyes on moving up within the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and qualifying for the conference tournament.
Marc Turiano enters his third season at the helm of the Pride women's volleyball program, aiming to increase the squad's win total from the 12 victories accumulated in each of the past two years. Amari King joins the coaching staff as an assistant coach after a stellar collegiate playing career that featured three conference Player of the Year awards (GNAC in 2016, MASCAC in 2017 and 2018).
This year's roster is split evenly with 11 returning players and 10 newcomers, creating competition for playing time at every position on the court. With 30 matches on the docket over the next two months, including two matches on eight of the next nine Saturdays, the team's depth will be key in outlasting opponents to pick up important wins.
"The newcomers have been able to hop in and contribute right off the bat. Our practices have had a lot of good energy and a lot of good competition. The GNAC will be competitive as usual, but, based on what I have seen so far, I believe we will be in the thick of that race," Turiano said.
Senior captain Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) enters her final year as the program's all-time kills leader with 859 career kills, including a school-record 346 kills last season. Veasey is also expected to move up Regis' all-time lists for career service aces and career digs, as she begins the year seventh on both lists.
Lauren Butt (Topsfield, Mass.) is expected to be a force at the net for the Pride, coming into the season ninth on the school's all-time blocks list with 166 total blocks. Fellow senior Samantha Turner (Concord, N.H.) also adds experience at the net for the Pride, coming off a season with 55 kills and 26 total blocks in 22 matches.
Junior Tori Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.) ended the 2018 season as the team leader in assists with 372, plus she contributed 23 service aces and 121 digs. Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) saw more action towards the end of her freshman year, ending up with 18 assists in a 3-0 victory at Albertus Magnus and 17 assists, two service aces, and four digs in a 3-1 win at Norwich.
After splitting time between the setter and libero positions last season, Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) will move to the backline as a defensive specialist after finishing third on the team in 2018 with 214 digs. Other returning players include juniors Meg Adams (Ware, Mass.), Erin Gallagher (Tyngsboro, Mass.), and Julia Pelland (Brockton, Mass.), as well as sophomores Kate Flemming (Woburn, Mass.) and Jordan Sterenberg (Oceanside, N.Y.).
Regis finished with 75 points in the GNAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, landing in ninth place but just five points behind eighth place Saint Joseph's College. Defending champion and nationally ranked Johnson & Wales was the unanimous selection to win the league this season, with Rivier placing second on 12 of the 13 ballots.
The Pride open the regular season Wednesday, Sept. 4, against Dean College in Franklin, Mass., starting at 6 p.m. This weekend, Regis takes part in the Eastern Nazarene Invitational in Quincy, Mass., facing Framingham State Friday, Sept. 6, at 4:30 p.m., followed by matches Saturday, Sept. 7, against the host Lions at 10 a.m. and against University of New England at 2 p.m.
Regis begins its home schedule next Tuesday, Sept. 10, against New England College at 6 p.m. During Regis Fest Saturday, Sept. 28, the Pride will host University of St. Joseph at 1 p.m. and Albertus Magnus at 3 p.m., plus the Pride will welcome conference foes Saint Joseph's College (Oct. 16), Rivier (Oct. 29), and Anna Maria (Nov. 2).