Ohio Wesleyan University | Battling Bishop Athletics

2009 Season Preview

[ Sarah Marshall ] Youth and experience would seem to be contradictory terms in athletics, but Ohio Wesleyan University volleyball coach Cynthia Holliday has both working for her Battling Bishop squad this season.

A solid nucleus of returning players and a talented incoming class have Holliday hopeful that the Bishops can improve on last year's 8-22 record and return to the North Coast Athletic Conference championship tournament.

"We're definitely young, but we're a lot deeper than we have been," Holliday said. "We will have freshmen who will be playing, but a number of those players have come from club teams and have the experience we will need to succeed. We may hit a couple of speed bumps along the way, but with the support of the upperclassmen, I think we'll improve."

Junior setter Sarah Marshall (Lima/Senior) again will be the hub of the Bishop offense. Marshall ranked fourth in the NCAC in assists last season with an average of 7.79 per set. Freshman Brittany Vickers (Newark/Utica), an all-conference selection in high school, will be the secondary setter, and junior Jenna Teeters (Johnstown) will expand her role this season, possibly seeing action at setter, back row, and weakside hitter.

[ Kristin Kovach ] The Bishop attack again will run through senior outside hitter Kristin Kovach (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) and junior outside hitter Alexa Bean (Columbus/Upper Arlington). Bean led the Bishops with 220 kills on the way to second-team All-NCAC honors last season, while Kovach averaged nearly 2 kills per set before missing the last third of the season with a broken hand.

Freshman Meg Weissenberger (Toledo/Central Catholic), a first-team all-district choice in high school, should contribute, and freshman Michelle Long (Findlay/Van Buren) will see time both as an outside hitter and a defensive specialist.

"We're deeper at outside hitter than we have been in a number of years," Holliday said.

Junior Lainey Kekic (Canfield/Western Reserve) returns in the middle. Kekic ranked third on the team with 39 blocks last year and proved an asset on offense as well, averaging nearly 2 kills per set.

[ Lainey Kekic ] Freshmen Hannah Benzing (Findlay/Liberty Benton) and Ashley Haynes (Norton), both all-conference picks in high school, give the Bishops excellent depth at the middle hitter spot.

"We have three solid middles," Holliday said. "They could see playing time at the right side as well."

Freshman Madison Stofcheck (Richwood/North Union), a 2-time all-district selection in high school, will look to win the libero position.

"The team holds its destiny in its own hands," Holliday said. "Our goals haven't changed. We want to finish in the top four in the conference, and compete hard against the nationally ranked teams on our schedule."

Ohio Wesleyan opens the season at Otterbein on Sept. 1. The Bishops host their annual Bishop Invitational the following weekend, and a tournament at Otterbein follows. Non-conference matches against Bluffton, Anderson, John Carroll, and nearby rival Capital lead into the double round-robin NCAC slate, which begins at Allegheny on Sept. 26-27.