Emory Volleyball To Compete at UW-Whitewater Invitational

INVITATIONAL FACTS –  The Emory volleyball team, ranked No. 3 nationally, continues its season this Friday and Saturday (Sept. 24-25) when it competes at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Invitational.  The Eagles open play on Friday with a 5:00 p.m. (CDT) match against Carthage College before closing the day out with battle against host UW-Whitewater at 7:00 p.m.  On Saturday, Emory meets Finlandia University at 10:00 a.m. before taking on St. Ambrose in its final match of the weekend.

THE COACHES – Emory Head Coach Jenny McDowell (Georgia, ’89) is in her 15th year at the helm of the Eagles’ program.  During her stint at Emory, McDowell has posted a school and career won-lost ledger of 450-119.  She has 11 campaigns of 30 or more wins and has directed the program to 14 consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.  She guided Emory to its first-ever national title in 2008 and was named as the AVCA National Coach of the Year.

Carthage College is led by Leanne Ulmer (California-Riverside, 1979), who is in her 10^th campaign as head coach.  Heading into Friday’s bout against Emory, Ulmer owns a school and career record of 268-78.  She was named American Volleyball Coaches Association Midwest Regional Coach of the Year in both 2006 and 2007

In her sixth season as the head coach at UW-Whitewater is Stacy Boudreau (Iowa Wesleyan, 2001).  During her stint with the Warhawks, she has compiled an impressive won-lost slate of 186-34.  She was tabbed as the 2005 Tachikara/AVCA Division III Coach of the Year after leading the program to the national championship.

Mary Kaminski (Hillsdale College, 1982) is in her second season as head coach at Finlandia.  She has had other successful coaching stints at Michigan Tech (1984-96) and Northeastern University (1997-2000).

Guiding the fortunes of the St. Ambrose University program is Bruce Billingsley (Knox College).  Now in his 13^th season as the head man of the Queen Bees, he has recorded over 500 wins as both the men’s and women’s coach at SAU.

2010 RECORDS – Emory heads north with an overall mark of 10-1. The Eagles suffered their first loss of the year last Friday (Sept. 17) when they came out on the short end of a 3-0 decision to Lee University.

Carthage College currently posts a won-lost slate of 8-5 after winning three of four matches at the DePauw Tiger Invitational.  Before venturing to the UW-Whitewater Invitational, the Lady Reds will host North Park University (Sept. 21) and the University of Chicago (Sept. 22).

UW-Whitewater, ranked 5^th on the national scene in the Sept. 21 AVCA Coaches’ Poll, takes an overall record of 11-1 into a Sept. 21 home match vs. Robert Morris.  Last weekend, the Warhawks recorded 3-1 wins over UW-Eau Claire and UW-Superior.

The Lions of Finlandia check in with a 4-7 effort.  In its most recent outing, Finlandia bested Gogebic CC, 3-1, last Thursday.

Heading into a Sept. 22 affair against Grand View, St. Ambrose owns a 9-4 record. 

SERIES RECORDS – Emory and Carthage have met just once with the Lady Reds emerging with a 3-0 win during the 2006 campaign.

UW-Whitewater stands 1-0 against Emory with the Warhawks earning a 3-1 decision in the quarterfinal round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.

When Emory plays Finlandia and St. Ambrose, it will mark the first meetings in volleyball.

EAGLES WELCOME BACK ALL-AMERICANS – Emory welcomes back a pair of 2009 All-Americans to its roster in junior setter Natalie Schonefeld (Riveria, TX) and junior outside hitter Jessica McAlvany (Roswell, GA). 

Schonefeld garnered first-team honors in 2009 after claiming second-team kudos in 2008.   The 5-foot-8 performer directed the Emory attack with a steady hand, ending the year No. 2 in the UAA and No. 9 nationally with a 10.73 assists per-set average.  Her total of 1,405 assists placed her fifth on the school's seasonal list while her assists per-set effort ranked seventh.  In addition, she was named the UAA's Most Valuable Player, the fourth Emory spiker to earn that distinction.

McAlvany, 6-foot-1, was selected to the first team as well,  pacing the team with 362 kills while her team-leading 3.15 kills per set placed her eighth among UAA players. She finished third on the squad with 59 total blocks (0.60 bps) and totaled 18 matches of double-figure kills.

EAGLES DUO TO SERVE AS CAPTAINS – Serving as captains for the 2010 Eagles will be seniors Natalie Schonefeld and Amelia McCall (Montgomery, AL).


NUMBERS TO WATCH –  Junior Ali Wright (Matteson, IL) tied her career high with 13 kills in the Lee match and ended that contest with a 47.8 hitting percentage (13-2—25) … After this weekend’s action at the UW-Whitewater Invitational, the Eagles return home to host the UAA Round Robin I, Oct. 2-3, at the Woodruff PE Center … In the latest UAA statistics, Emory stands No. 1 in hitting percentage (.297) and No. 2 in kills per set (13.24 kps) … Sophomore Breanah Bourque (Houston, TX) is second among UAA performers with a 41.1 attack percentage while Wright holds down the No. 6 spot at 35.6 percent … The Eagles claim two players among the league’s top 10 in kills per set with Bourque (3.22 kps) and junior Jessica McAlvany (3.13 kps) ranking fifth and seventh, respectively … Senior Kelsey Krzyston stands 11^th on Emory’s all-time list with 167 service aces, one shy of tying Alysse Meyer (2006-09) for 10^th place.