New additions to the Women's Volleyball team (26-8 overall) might be the difference between playing in the NCAA Tournament and winning in the NCAA Tournament.
Head Coach Barry Goldberg and his team ended the 2002 season undefeated in Patriot League action, 14-0. The team received their fourth NCAA bid in six years, but fell to University of South Carolina, 3-1, in the first round.
Between five and seven incoming freshmen will be added to the roster for the 2003 season. One high school standout in particular is expected to add depth to the team.
New Jersey native Kaitlin DeTroia is expected to fill the forward position on the team. In her senior year of high school DeTroia earned a spot on the Second All-American Team for the nation, as well as the First Team in the Regional Conference.
One missing link this season is senior Natalie Hand. She has decided to concentrate on her academics and maintain her 4.0 GPA, an extremely rare accomplishment both in and out of Athletics. Hand is majoring in Middle Eastern Affairs, International Studies and Political Science.
The returning powerhouses this season will be senior Karla Kucerkova and sophomore Cutrina Biddulph.
Kucerkova was a member of the First-Team All-Patriot League and was named the 2002 PL Player of the Year. She will be a fifth-year senior fulfilling her fourth year on the team at the outside hitter position.
Biddulph was one of the top recruits for AU as an incoming freshman last year. After one season, she was honored as the PL Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the Second-Team All-Patriot League. This summer she participated in the European Spring Cup in the Czech Republic with the USA Select Team.
The Eagles have an intense schedule this season with three big tournaments involving many of the top 10 teams in the nation. For the season opener the team will visit the Florida Gators in a tournament against Brigham Young University, Florida and Rutgers on Aug. 29-30. Then, on Sept. 5-6 AU travels to Akron to face Penn St., Pittsburgh and Akron. One week later the team enters the Arizona Classic to battle New Mexico St., University of California-Santa Barbara and Arizona.
One of the most important matches this season will be against hometown nemesis Georgetown University on Oct. 18. Last year's match became the fourth year in a row AU and GU stretched to a five-game match with AU defeating the Hoyas. The Eagles have come out on top each of the last three meetings.
