2003 Season Outlook

In 2003, Mount Union College's volleyball team will look to its solid core of experienced players, including six overall letterwinners and six starters returning to contend in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
The Purple Raiders (21-12, 4-5 OAC in 2002) posted their eighth 20-win season in the past 10 years while finishing fifth overall in the OAC during regular season play last fall.

Leading the way this fall is senior/setter Katie Snyder (Mentor), who earned Second-Team All-OAC honors in '02. Sophomore/middle hitter Ashley Balogh (Clyde) and sophomore outside/hitter Jess DiCarlo (Austintown/Fitch), both Honorable-Mention All-OAC selections in '02, also return.

Snyder set a Raider single-season assist record (1,604), a new assist per game average mark (13.37) and a new career assist record (4,219) in '02. DiCarlo finished first in the conference with a .393 hitting percentage while Balogh finished third (.361) and fifth in blocks per game (1.00).

"Obviously, we have several veterans returning who have established themselves as excellent players in this conference," said Raider head coach Sandy Douglas, who enters her 18th year at the College just 20 career wins shy of 300. "Katie (Snyder), Ashley (Balogh) and Jess (DiCarlo) were all deserving of their All-Conference status in 2002. We're expecting them to lead by example once again this fall."

Other key returners include junior/outside hitter Kris Barker (Alliance/Marlington), junior/middle hitter Mary Maul (Columbus/St. Francis DeSales), junior/middle hitter Ashlee Mueller (Norwalk) and sophomore/outside hitter Ashlee Lemke (Austintown/Fitch).

"There will be opportunities for some of our younger players to earn playing time this coming season," said Douglas. "We're looking forward to seeing who takes advantage of those opportunities. We have some early season tournaments that should shed some light on what our rotation will look like once we get into OAC play."

The Raider volleyball team, which dates back to 1984, has a strong tradition. Mount Union has posted six consecutive 20+ win seasons and eight
20+ win campaigns overall. During their span of six straight, the Purple and White posted a 133-69 record for a .658 winning percentage. Over the last 10 years, the Purple Raiders have finished in the OAC's first division (top half) in nine of those 10 seasons. Individually, Mount Union has produced numerous All-Conference and Academic All-OAC selections.

We've had a good run of success recently and
we're hoping that continues," added Douglas. "We've had many outstanding players at Mount Union contribute to the success of the program. It's incumbent on our veterans to show the younger players what it takes to be successful on and off the court at this level."