Sights set on third CAA Title

With her sights set on a third CAA title in four years, head volleyball coach Bonnie Kenny and her squad began this season with what she calls arguably their toughest schedule ever. 

"I expect our pre-season schedule to prepare us for the CAA, that's what we go out and play these teams for," Kenny said. "I'm pretty excited about the pre-season schedule."

In this case, pre-season meant the non-conference schedule her team has, which includes tournaments at Duke and Notre Dame. The Hens will face off against both of these schools, as well as Dayton University and the University of Minnesota. All four schools were ranked 31st  or higher in the final NCAA Rankings Percentage Index poll last year. Minnesota went to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament last year. 

Delaware finished the season at No. 43 in the RPI poll, with a 21-8 (12-2 CAA) record, which gave them a tie for the CAA regular season title. 

Kenny's team enters this schedule without its leader of the past few years, All-American libero Stephanie Barry, who graduated last year. 

Taking Barry's place on the court is senior Greta Gibboney, who Kenny said has waited a long time to get her shot at the libero position. 

"You don't fill shoes like that immediately," Kenny said of Barry. "Greta is actually a better passer on serve-receive than Steph. She doesn't have the quickness that Steph has, but she has the court presence and she'll be fine filling that void."

Senior setter and co-captain Jess Chason said the team's defensive strategy may alter without Barry in the lineup. "We might change defense a little bit cause she had a big range of how many balls she could get to," Chason said. "She had a lot more area she could cover than anyone cause she's All-American."

To fill the leadership void, Gibboney and Chason will guide the team as co-captains. 

Chason earned First Team All-CAA honors and a nomination to the ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American team.

"Last year I got [CAA] Setter of the Year, but it doesn't mean as much if you don't lead your team to winning conference," Chason said. "I really hope to lead everyone else, lead the team to a conference championship. I would want that before any individual goals."

Thus far, Chason and Gibboney are fulfilling their expectations as captains, leading the Hens to a 2-1 mark with victories over La Salle and Temple. The team's only loss came on Saturday against Virginia. 

Offensively, junior outside hitter Kim Stewart notched 326 kills last year and will be vital for the team's success at the net. She said the team's motivation to win has stepped up after falling short of a third consecutive CAA title. 

"We don't have any less expectations than what we did last year, if not higher ones this year," Stewart said. One concern among the team is chemistry, which is especially critical in volleyball where players must communicate a rapid pace. Although she is confident that the chemistry will develop as the season unfolds, Kenny said the team's vibe needed to improve. 

"We still don't have the chemistry we need," Kenny said. "Our five freshmen and still people in our sophomore class, they need to embrace that type of vibe seniors have because it's their last chance."

Stewart echoed Kenny's sentiment about the team's personality.  

"Chemistry, it's getting there," she said. "Off the court, we have really good chemistry so that's just even going to help it better once we get onto the court."

Kenny also said that players are serving much larger roles than in previous years, which they will have to adapt to this season. 

"Katie Dennehy, Alissa Alker, Greta Gibboney—they've always been three rotation players and now we're asking them to be six rotation players," she said. "It's a very big difference when you don't come off the floor at all. You're going to make more mistakes."

Delaware defeated Villanova 3-0 on Tuesday in three sets.  Stewart had a match-high 17 kills, while Alissa Alker had 11 kills and 11 digs. 

Delaware opens up its annual Delaware Invitational Friday night against Sam Houston State at the Carpenter Sports Building at 7 p.m. It will play a doubleheader Saturday against East Carolina at 12:30 p.m. and border rival Rutgers at 7 p.m. 

For Delaware to be successful this year, Kenny thinks her veteran players must seek responsibility on the most important plays. 

"If we can get those people to understand that whatever the situation is, they want the ball, I think we could have a very good season," she said.