Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2021 17:01:32 GMT -5
2020-2021 was a weird year for the Big East. Creighton and Marquette did not meet expectations, but there was all around improvement for almost every other team in the Big East (#XavierDeservedBetter).
We'll look to see continued improvement all across the league with many of the teams returning almost all of their roster. Will we see a return to the status quo for Creighton and Marquette or maybe a newcomer will break up the Bluejay and Golden Eagle dominance.
Calendar/Schedule
Standings
Standings
Creighton Bluejays (12-4) Big East Champions - R1 NCAA Tournament
Creighton came into the 20/21 season with high expectations. Those expectations.... took a bit of a ride over the course of the season. Creighton was faced with many difficulties... from setting and passing woes to dealing with covid to playing a system with four middles. The bright spot of Creighton's season was their continued success in the Big East, winning the tournament title over Marquette despite of all of their hardships.
Creighton returns most of their roster from the 20/21 season, saying goodbye to Erica Kostelac, Grace Nelson, and Mahina Pua'a. The most important returners will be MB duo of Naomi Hickman (1.18 bps) & Kiera Reinhardt (1.23 bps) and pin duo Jaela Zimmerman (3.45 kps) & Keeley Davis (3.02 kps). Also returning for Creighton will be DS/L Ellie Bolton, S Ally Van Eekeren, and the MB/RS duo of Kiana Schmitt & Annika Welty. Creighton will have plenty of options and versatility within their right side and middle blockers.
Newcomers for Creighton include transfer Big South Player of the Year, L Abby Bottomley from High Point, to try to stabilize Creighton's passing and anchor the backline. Highly touted freshmen which were part of a top 5 recruiting class for KBB include Kendra Wait (S, #7 overall) and Norah Sis (OH, #28) who will try to make an immediate impact for Creighton's offense. Other freshman include Eve Magill (6'5 RS, #31) and Abbey Milner (MB).
Marquette Golden Eagles (10-4) Big East Tournament Runner Up
In Marquette standards, 20/21 was a season to forget. Covid played a massive part in the struggles and difficulty of the season which ultimately left the team as one of the first teams out of the NCAA tournament. There were many bright spots to this season, however. Taylor Wolf established herself as the go-to offensive outlet while setting in a 6-2 and becoming one of the best players in the conference. Savannah Rennie was one of the league's best middle blockers and returns to finish her collegiate journey.
Marquette also returns almost all of their roster from 20/21. Sarah Rose departs, but she will have played a massive role for this team over the course of her career, which was sadly cut short. But in good news, Sarah has been declared cancer free. Transfer Breyan Ashley has transferred back to California. MU returns 99% of their kills from last season, led by Wolf (2.82 kps), Rennie (2.12 kps), Hope Werch (2.37 kps), and Hannah Vanden Berg (2.43 kps). Wolf may return to set alongside Claire Mosher. Katie Schoessow will continue to anchor the backline as the Golden Eagle's libero.
New faces for Marquette will include transfer MB from Oregon State, Anastasija Svetnik. The freshman are led by #67 recruit, OH Jenna Reitsma who is accompanied by DS Jadyn Garrison, MB Hattie Bray, and DS Samantha Naber. S Ella Foti was an early enrollment in spring 2021.
St John's Red Storm (10-4) Big East Tournament Semifinals
St. John's had an up and down season. The Red Storm started the season slow but picked up steam to clinch a spot in the BET, where they fell to Marquette. St. John's fall roster has not been posted yet, but leaders Efrosini Alexakou (reigning Big East POTY, 4.19 kps) and Rachele Rastelli (4.1 kps) will be back for the Red Storm.
There will be four new freshmen on campus. New recruits include Polish S Wiktoria Kowalczyk, Italian MB/RS Giorgia Walther, MB Ariana Robinson and L/DS Bree Martin.
Providence Friars (7-3) Big East Tournament *Had to withdraw due to COVID
20/21 was one of the most successful seasons in recent memory for Providence volleyball. Led by the Big East Coaching staff of the Year, the Friars were supposed to compete in their first Big East Conference tournament, but covid had other plans. The Friars found success in their youth, all but one (Sarah Daneliak) will be returning for the Friars. They were led by All Big East first team selection Allison Barber (S) and Emma Nelson (3.12 kps, OH). Also returning will be Jennifer Leitman (3.10 kps) and 99% of their kills from last season.
New faces for the Friars will include 5 freshman. They include Jillian Lykins (OH), Niah Tucker (MB), Riley Ananias (DS), Shaliyah Rhoden (OH), and Alicja Pokrzyma (DS).
Xavier Musketeers 7-7 (3-3)
2021 was a bit heartbreaking for Xavier. There was a time where they had thought they'd qualified for the Big East Tournament... only for the Big East to have other plans. Xavier were led by All-Big East Setter Carrigan O'Reilly. She averaged 10.71 assists/set and was one of the few players in the NCAA to record a triple-double. Joining Carrigan on the first team was MB Delaney Hogan, who had an outstanding freshman campaign where she was 4th in the conference in hitting percentage. Xavier returns all but 6% of their kills from the spring season. The Musketeers will look to make their push again to the Big East Tournament. New faces on the team will include OH/DS Emma Grace, DS Lucia Corsaro, OH Anna Taylor, and S Logan Flaugh.
UConn Huskies (4-7) (4-4) Big East Tournament Semifinals
UConn's first season back in the Big East was nothing but a success for the team. They qualified for the Big East Tournament (even if it took some help to get there) where they bowed out to Creighton without team leader, Caylee Parker (1st team All-Big East selection). Parker will be back this season to try to lead the Huskies back to the postseason. Also returning for the Huskies will be Kennadie Jake-Turner, who was second to Parker in kills/set and libero Aset Baker-Falealili. The Huskies will only lose one player, Ally Barret who graduated. There will be plenty of new faces for the Huskies including transfers Karly Berkland from Houston and McKayla Wuensch from Wichita State. Freshmen for this season will include DS/S Brooklyn Wiedenheft and MB Carly Furlong.
Villanova Wildcats (4-6) (3-5) Thanks azvolleydad
Villanova looks to bounce back from a disappointing season in which they finished with a losing record (4-6 overall, 3-5 in conference) and failed to make the BigEast tournament for the first time in years. The good news is that there are real reasons to optimism. Nova will miss the loss of All-BigEast MB Sophia Howling and four-year starters OH Mallory Potts and Sarah Allman to graduation, but the Wildcats return all of their remaining major contributors for fall 2021. This includes BigEast Libero of the Year Averi Salvador (4.37 dps) who returns for a second grad-transfer year, and sophomore OH Riley Homer (3.03 kps) who made both the All-BigEast and All-BigEast freshman teams. Other notable returners include seniors RS Sanaa Barnes (who did not play in spring), OH Claire Delaplane, DS Anna Morse (who was injured for most of spring) and S/DS Emily Curtis. Returning juniors include S Belle Morgan, RS/OH Kathleen Johnson (who did not play in spring) and DS Maddie Schieder. Many of the 2020 freshman performed well in significant playing time. In addition to Homer, MBs Maddie Barber and Kiera Booth, and S Andrea Campos all showed they can perform well in the BigEast. Belle Morgan shouldered most of the setting load in the spring, but Nova also worked on a 6-2 which allowed Campos significant playing time. Sophomore DS Taryn Whittingham was injured in the spring but should be healthy for the fall. In the fall, Nova will add five incoming freshman, including OH Rose Crist, S Ellery Gray, MB Ozzie Ozonoh, DS Elizabeth Feczko, and S/DS Dani Ortiz.
Butler Bulldogs (4-10) (1-7)
Butler was unfortunately in the harder division of the regional divisions that the Big East set. The highlight of the Bulldogs season was their 3-2 victory over Marquette. The Bulldogs were led by RS. JR MB Melody Davidson, an All-Big East selection. Melody led the team in blocks and hitting percentage and was second in kills (behind returning OH Brittany Robinson). Libero Jaymeson Kinley also returns, she was second in the Big East last season in digs/set. Every player except for Maria Schorr will return for the Bulldogs. Schorr took over the setting position at the end of the season for the Bulldogs. Madison Friebel should take back control of the offense this season. New faces for the Bulldogs will be MB Grace Boggess, OH Destiny Cherry, and OH Mariah Grunze.
Seton Hall Pirates (4-7) (2-6)
The Pirates will look to utilize their experience to try to gain momentum in the Big East this season. They return every player from last year's team include All-Big East selection, Tsvetelina Ilieva who had an outstanding freshman year. The Bulgarian was second on the team in kills/set and third in digs/set. The Pirates also return Reagan Hopp, who was second in the conf. in hitting percentage and libero Raygan Murray, who led the conference in digs/set. Freshmen for the Pirates include RS Katie Winkler, MB Hanna Tulli, OH Jenna Walsh, S Faith Lamacchia and DS Anna Holland. Transfer OH Madeline Matheny from Hofstra will look to make her mark as well.
DePaul Blue Demons (6-5) (3-5)
DePaul will again try to make a push towards the Big East Tournament after falling short this past spring. They ended their season with wins over Northern Iowa and Iowa State, using that as momentum for the fall. DePaul will lose one of their kill leaders, Avarie Evans-Allen as well as Mariah Robinson and Isabell de la Rosa. Every other player will return for DePaul including kills leader, Emma Price and all Big East Freshman Jill Pressly. Freshmen for the Blue Demons will be DS Julia Nagy, S Ashley Cudiamat, L Avery Horejsi, and MB Aly Kindelberger.
Georgetown Hoyas
New head coach David Heller will try to turn the Hoya's program around after he was not able to lead the team, which did not compete this past spring. Georgetown has no information out yet, so that's all I got for now. lol.
Creighton came into the 20/21 season with high expectations. Those expectations.... took a bit of a ride over the course of the season. Creighton was faced with many difficulties... from setting and passing woes to dealing with covid to playing a system with four middles. The bright spot of Creighton's season was their continued success in the Big East, winning the tournament title over Marquette despite of all of their hardships.
Creighton returns most of their roster from the 20/21 season, saying goodbye to Erica Kostelac, Grace Nelson, and Mahina Pua'a. The most important returners will be MB duo of Naomi Hickman (1.18 bps) & Kiera Reinhardt (1.23 bps) and pin duo Jaela Zimmerman (3.45 kps) & Keeley Davis (3.02 kps). Also returning for Creighton will be DS/L Ellie Bolton, S Ally Van Eekeren, and the MB/RS duo of Kiana Schmitt & Annika Welty. Creighton will have plenty of options and versatility within their right side and middle blockers.
Newcomers for Creighton include transfer Big South Player of the Year, L Abby Bottomley from High Point, to try to stabilize Creighton's passing and anchor the backline. Highly touted freshmen which were part of a top 5 recruiting class for KBB include Kendra Wait (S, #7 overall) and Norah Sis (OH, #28) who will try to make an immediate impact for Creighton's offense. Other freshman include Eve Magill (6'5 RS, #31) and Abbey Milner (MB).
Marquette Golden Eagles (10-4) Big East Tournament Runner Up
In Marquette standards, 20/21 was a season to forget. Covid played a massive part in the struggles and difficulty of the season which ultimately left the team as one of the first teams out of the NCAA tournament. There were many bright spots to this season, however. Taylor Wolf established herself as the go-to offensive outlet while setting in a 6-2 and becoming one of the best players in the conference. Savannah Rennie was one of the league's best middle blockers and returns to finish her collegiate journey.
Marquette also returns almost all of their roster from 20/21. Sarah Rose departs, but she will have played a massive role for this team over the course of her career, which was sadly cut short. But in good news, Sarah has been declared cancer free. Transfer Breyan Ashley has transferred back to California. MU returns 99% of their kills from last season, led by Wolf (2.82 kps), Rennie (2.12 kps), Hope Werch (2.37 kps), and Hannah Vanden Berg (2.43 kps). Wolf may return to set alongside Claire Mosher. Katie Schoessow will continue to anchor the backline as the Golden Eagle's libero.
New faces for Marquette will include transfer MB from Oregon State, Anastasija Svetnik. The freshman are led by #67 recruit, OH Jenna Reitsma who is accompanied by DS Jadyn Garrison, MB Hattie Bray, and DS Samantha Naber. S Ella Foti was an early enrollment in spring 2021.
St John's Red Storm (10-4) Big East Tournament Semifinals
St. John's had an up and down season. The Red Storm started the season slow but picked up steam to clinch a spot in the BET, where they fell to Marquette. St. John's fall roster has not been posted yet, but leaders Efrosini Alexakou (reigning Big East POTY, 4.19 kps) and Rachele Rastelli (4.1 kps) will be back for the Red Storm.
There will be four new freshmen on campus. New recruits include Polish S Wiktoria Kowalczyk, Italian MB/RS Giorgia Walther, MB Ariana Robinson and L/DS Bree Martin.
Providence Friars (7-3) Big East Tournament *Had to withdraw due to COVID
20/21 was one of the most successful seasons in recent memory for Providence volleyball. Led by the Big East Coaching staff of the Year, the Friars were supposed to compete in their first Big East Conference tournament, but covid had other plans. The Friars found success in their youth, all but one (Sarah Daneliak) will be returning for the Friars. They were led by All Big East first team selection Allison Barber (S) and Emma Nelson (3.12 kps, OH). Also returning will be Jennifer Leitman (3.10 kps) and 99% of their kills from last season.
New faces for the Friars will include 5 freshman. They include Jillian Lykins (OH), Niah Tucker (MB), Riley Ananias (DS), Shaliyah Rhoden (OH), and Alicja Pokrzyma (DS).
Xavier Musketeers 7-7 (3-3)
2021 was a bit heartbreaking for Xavier. There was a time where they had thought they'd qualified for the Big East Tournament... only for the Big East to have other plans. Xavier were led by All-Big East Setter Carrigan O'Reilly. She averaged 10.71 assists/set and was one of the few players in the NCAA to record a triple-double. Joining Carrigan on the first team was MB Delaney Hogan, who had an outstanding freshman campaign where she was 4th in the conference in hitting percentage. Xavier returns all but 6% of their kills from the spring season. The Musketeers will look to make their push again to the Big East Tournament. New faces on the team will include OH/DS Emma Grace, DS Lucia Corsaro, OH Anna Taylor, and S Logan Flaugh.
UConn Huskies (4-7) (4-4) Big East Tournament Semifinals
UConn's first season back in the Big East was nothing but a success for the team. They qualified for the Big East Tournament (even if it took some help to get there) where they bowed out to Creighton without team leader, Caylee Parker (1st team All-Big East selection). Parker will be back this season to try to lead the Huskies back to the postseason. Also returning for the Huskies will be Kennadie Jake-Turner, who was second to Parker in kills/set and libero Aset Baker-Falealili. The Huskies will only lose one player, Ally Barret who graduated. There will be plenty of new faces for the Huskies including transfers Karly Berkland from Houston and McKayla Wuensch from Wichita State. Freshmen for this season will include DS/S Brooklyn Wiedenheft and MB Carly Furlong.
Villanova Wildcats (4-6) (3-5) Thanks azvolleydad
Villanova looks to bounce back from a disappointing season in which they finished with a losing record (4-6 overall, 3-5 in conference) and failed to make the BigEast tournament for the first time in years. The good news is that there are real reasons to optimism. Nova will miss the loss of All-BigEast MB Sophia Howling and four-year starters OH Mallory Potts and Sarah Allman to graduation, but the Wildcats return all of their remaining major contributors for fall 2021. This includes BigEast Libero of the Year Averi Salvador (4.37 dps) who returns for a second grad-transfer year, and sophomore OH Riley Homer (3.03 kps) who made both the All-BigEast and All-BigEast freshman teams. Other notable returners include seniors RS Sanaa Barnes (who did not play in spring), OH Claire Delaplane, DS Anna Morse (who was injured for most of spring) and S/DS Emily Curtis. Returning juniors include S Belle Morgan, RS/OH Kathleen Johnson (who did not play in spring) and DS Maddie Schieder. Many of the 2020 freshman performed well in significant playing time. In addition to Homer, MBs Maddie Barber and Kiera Booth, and S Andrea Campos all showed they can perform well in the BigEast. Belle Morgan shouldered most of the setting load in the spring, but Nova also worked on a 6-2 which allowed Campos significant playing time. Sophomore DS Taryn Whittingham was injured in the spring but should be healthy for the fall. In the fall, Nova will add five incoming freshman, including OH Rose Crist, S Ellery Gray, MB Ozzie Ozonoh, DS Elizabeth Feczko, and S/DS Dani Ortiz.
Butler Bulldogs (4-10) (1-7)
Butler was unfortunately in the harder division of the regional divisions that the Big East set. The highlight of the Bulldogs season was their 3-2 victory over Marquette. The Bulldogs were led by RS. JR MB Melody Davidson, an All-Big East selection. Melody led the team in blocks and hitting percentage and was second in kills (behind returning OH Brittany Robinson). Libero Jaymeson Kinley also returns, she was second in the Big East last season in digs/set. Every player except for Maria Schorr will return for the Bulldogs. Schorr took over the setting position at the end of the season for the Bulldogs. Madison Friebel should take back control of the offense this season. New faces for the Bulldogs will be MB Grace Boggess, OH Destiny Cherry, and OH Mariah Grunze.
Seton Hall Pirates (4-7) (2-6)
The Pirates will look to utilize their experience to try to gain momentum in the Big East this season. They return every player from last year's team include All-Big East selection, Tsvetelina Ilieva who had an outstanding freshman year. The Bulgarian was second on the team in kills/set and third in digs/set. The Pirates also return Reagan Hopp, who was second in the conf. in hitting percentage and libero Raygan Murray, who led the conference in digs/set. Freshmen for the Pirates include RS Katie Winkler, MB Hanna Tulli, OH Jenna Walsh, S Faith Lamacchia and DS Anna Holland. Transfer OH Madeline Matheny from Hofstra will look to make her mark as well.
DePaul Blue Demons (6-5) (3-5)
DePaul will again try to make a push towards the Big East Tournament after falling short this past spring. They ended their season with wins over Northern Iowa and Iowa State, using that as momentum for the fall. DePaul will lose one of their kill leaders, Avarie Evans-Allen as well as Mariah Robinson and Isabell de la Rosa. Every other player will return for DePaul including kills leader, Emma Price and all Big East Freshman Jill Pressly. Freshmen for the Blue Demons will be DS Julia Nagy, S Ashley Cudiamat, L Avery Horejsi, and MB Aly Kindelberger.
Georgetown Hoyas
New head coach David Heller will try to turn the Hoya's program around after he was not able to lead the team, which did not compete this past spring. Georgetown has no information out yet, so that's all I got for now. lol.