Parity rules women's volleyball
Five N.S. teams good bets for AUS playoffs
Courtesy Glenn MacDonald, The Chronicle Herald
On the eve of the Atlantic university women’s volleyball season opener, picking a winner in the highly-competitive league is anyone’s guess.
"It’s going to be a really tough year in the AUS," Dalhousie Tigers head coach Rick Scott said. "There is a lot of parity and a lot of good teams."
And Nova Scotia’s five teams in the conference — Acadia, Cape Breton, Dalhousie, St. Francis Xavier and defending champion Saint Mary’s — should be in the thick of the playoff race. Each made it to the post-season last year, the first time since 2005 that all five teams advanced to the AUS championship tournament.
The road to the conference championship (Feb. 18-20 at Cape Breton University) begins Friday evening at Dalplex when the Tigers host the Huskies in the 2010-11 season opener.
The Acadia Axewomen (10-8), after a three-win season in 2008-09, rebounded to finish only two points out of first. Joffre Ribout’s squad boasts AUS rookie of the year Meg Rector, libero Pam Giordani, arguably Acadia’s best position player, and all-star Nicole Davidson.
Veteran setter Katrina Clow, who led the Axewomen with 611 assists, has graduated. Rookies Lauren Harwood and Veronica Headley, both from Halifax, are ready to step in.
"The one great thing about our team is our depth," said Ribout, in his ninth season at the helm at Acadia. "Katrina was the quarterback of our team. But our rookies have the potential to be really good by the end of the season.
"Two years ago we brought in eight rookies and a lot of them played a big part of that team. Last year, there was a lot more maturity and the players adjusted to the speed of the game at this level. So we have a lot of expectations heading into this season."
The Cape Breton Capers (6-12) will be bolstered by five incoming rookies and the returning triumvirate of Hilary Cummings, Vanessa St. Georges and libero Kristen Ryan, who each were named conference all-stars last season.
Port Hastings’ Ryan was selected as the AUS libero of the year after finishing second in the conference in digs, averaging 4.90 per game last season.
The Dalhousie Tigers (6-12) are coming off a terrific pre-season in which they won the competitive McGill Invitational tournament last weekend in Montreal.
Dal advanced by beating such powerhouses as the Montreal Carabins, Calgary Dinos and the host McGill Martlets. Scott said that could help propel the team this season.
"We have to keep in mind that it’s exhibition," said Scott, who’s starting his third season as Dal bench boss. "But it’s been a long time since we beat two Quebec teams and then to beat Calgary, a perennial top team in the country. I know we can build on it and that we can play with the great teams."
The Tigers have a dozen players returning, including outside hitters Courtney Giesbrecht and Louise Facca, the McGill tournament MVP, middle blocker Kirstie Shepherd and all-star setter Hilary Sears.
"We’re still relatively young but we have experience under our belts," Scott said.
The St. Francis Xavier X-Women (11-7) stumbled out of the gate last season, losing six of their first seven matches, but righted the ship down the stretch to win their final seven regular season matches — and 10 of their last 11 — and capture their first regular season title.
Although they lost the AUS championship to SMU, there were a lot of positives for the X-Women last season. Catherine Thornton had an outstanding sophomore campaign, ranked fifth in the league in kills and scoring, and was named league MVP. Katherine Ryan was an AUS all-star and Michelle Aucoin was selected as the conference’s coach of the year.
The Saint Mary’s Huskies (11-7), buoyed by the likes of setter Katelyn Cross, middle Bryanne Hogue and all-stars Kerri Smit and Alison Beaver, swept both Acadia and St. F.X. to win the AUS title.
Cross, who led the conference in assists two seasons ago, and Hogue, who was fourth in the league in blocks, chose not to return this season.
SMU will have six rookies on its roster, including Jane Pegg, who replaces Cross, and Tessa Felix, a transfer from Simon Fraser who takes over for Hogue.
"Last year we may have surprised teams with a new coach and very few recruits that came in," said Darren Russell, an assistant with SMU for seven seasons before taking over as head coach last year. "I don’t think we’ll surprise anyone this year. We are faster and definitely bigger and our bench is a lot deeper.
"But the parity in the AUS is absolutely crazy this year."