Mt Olive Volleyball preview

What do you do when you have 11 returning players and you know you have the likes of Mendham and Chatham twice on your conference schedule? If you are 7^th year Mt. Olive Coach Lee Clowers, you get your kids as much live court time as possible. Mt. Olive loaded up on their scrimmage schedule and jumped into early tournaments, in hopes of being ready for the tough season ahead.

Of the eleven returning varsity players, Middle Blocker Amber Mosher will bring the most attention. The senior recorded 194 kills, 53 blocks and 175 digs last season and looks to improve those totals in ’07. Senior Setter Tori DeValve (120 assists in ’06) will be handling most of the ball distribution. Adding to Mt. Olive’s middle presence will be junior Kaitlyn Behrens and senior Devon Paffendorf. The Marauders have a nice bit of serving power, spurred by Alex Day (59 aces in ’06), DeValve and Hannah Ensel. Look for Ensel to be a force at the net with a wicked attack and knack for being in great blocking position. Senior defensive specialists Natalie Franco and Beth Perazzo will add to the Marauder back line.

The entire cast: Christine DiFucci (JR, OH); Brielle Scarano (JR, OH); Nicole Cottrell (JR, OH); Kelly Mitchell (JR, DS); Taylor Kobran (JR, OH); Nicole Mueller (JR, RS/DS); Ashley Kopacki (SO, RS/S); Emily Hines(FR, S)

2006 results: 6-17 overall, 3-11 IHC

Pivotal player: Look for Mosher, but that attention will only open up play from Ensel from the right side and provide daylight for the outside hitters.

What to expect: The tough scrimmage schedule gave Mt. Olive a ton of game experience, a good mix of personnel and time to gel. Mt. Olive looked strong in the pre-season and has has a wealth of experience. They can fire the ball at you and get their hands in you face, but with the likes of Mendham and Chatham in conference, a 3^rd or 4^th place finish in conference is more likely. This should be an NJSIAA qualifying year for the Marauders and visit to the final 8 of the MCT is another strong possibility.

The Conference: Mt. Olive, an Iron Division team in most sports, is in the Hills Division in volleyball. They will match up with: Chatham, Hanover Park, Parsippany , Parsippany Hills, Mendham, Summit and West Essex. Mt. Olive will play Randolph (twice) and Morristown from the other side of the conference.

Tournament Time: Volleyball has this great rule where you can enter tournaments and the round-robin play and tournament set up does not affect your record. It makes for great action and better experience while getting your game legs or preparing for the state tournament. Mt. Olive will take parting two, Roxbury and Clifton. Throw in a Quad-game at Hackettstown and the Marauders add a whole lot of extra of court experience to their season.