HAMBURG, N.Y. - Amanda Logue looks to extend her team’s competitive drive and capitalize on their 2012 post-season experience as they return to the court this fall. Honors from 2012 (Coach of the Year, 1st Team All-Conference) will not automatically pick up wins this year; the 2013 Hilbert volleyball team has to work even harder and set loftier goals in order to get back to the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference post season tournament in November.
The Hawks’ two senior captains have started every game during their four-year career. Chelsea Reischuck became the program’s All Time Kill Leader (534) during her junior year and Shannon Memminger owns the Assist category having grabbed the top spot by a landslide (1,697) as well as Service Aces (152) with one season still to play.
Memminger will continue to run the team’s offense. Her setting targets will be Reischuck, juniors Jordan Botsford and Kayla Lewis and sophomore 1st Team All-Conference player, Allegra Johnson. Johnson set a new Season Record with 240 Kills (2.61 kps) during her rookie campaign and she and Reischuck both set season records in 2012 averaging 2.98 points per set. Botsford led the squad with 223 digs last season while Lewis finished with 55 kills and 91 digs.
Sophomores Ashley Benjamin, Chelsea Adamski, and Olivia Tom are all expected to have a larger role in the team’s rotation this year. Benjamin adds good size in the front line and Adamski and Tom will continue to rotate into as a defensive stopper.
Rookies at Hilbert can always count on seeing court time and all three newcomers will be involved in Logue’s plans. Junior transfer Ashley Veignmay brings quickness and will see mainly back-row rotations, while Amanda Binder and Crystal Swanson add height and hitting/blocking presence at the net.
The Hawks open their season in the AMCC vs. NEAC Challenge hosted by D’Youville College August 31 when they square off against Keuka and Morrisville and then Hilbert will host Geneseo September 4th in their home opener (7pm). The Hawks will participate in three tournaments (Nazareth, Fredonia and Houghton) along with other non-conference games giving them 23 total non-conference games before they face their nine AMCC opponents.
Hilbert will honor the two seniors in pre-game activities during their Senior Game against Franciscan University on November 2nd at 1pm.