Aug. 19, 2010
First Volleyball Practice Photo Gallery
As the time winds down on another summer, the UMass Lowell volleyball team opened practice today in the Costello Gymnasium in preparation for the 2010 campaign.
The River Hawk squad is eager to take the court after posting a 22-10 record last season, including a 11-4 mark in conference play, to finish forth in the competitive Northeast-10. UMass Lowell then stormed through the conference tournament, defeating Pace (17-12, 9-6 NE-10), Southern Connecticut (26-10, 9-6) and Adelphi (27-10, 14-1) to claim its first ever NE-10 Championship and a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
"I'm excited to start practice for the new season," said reigning NE-10 Coach of the Year Karen McNulty. "I'm excited for my seniors and for the freshmen joining our program. We do not have the preseason practice time that we've had in the past, but if we've trained over the summer like we did in the spring it will be irrelevant."
The River Hawks will have experience on their side, returning four starters from their championship squad. Highlighting the returnees are 2009 NE-10 First-Team and AVCA All-East Region selection Sarah Coscia (Pittsfield, Mass.) and 2008 Third-Team member Jillian Hadder (Yucaipa, Calif.).
UMass Lowell will also seek contributions from a strong freshman class that includes the Boston Globe Division I Player of the Year, Carolyn Eddy (Dracut, Mass.), local product Olivia Jean Parkins (Dracut, Mass.), middle-hitter Jamie Muntz (West Hartford, Conn.) and outside-hitter Brooke Peterson (Del Mar, Calif.).
The River Hawks have high expectations after being selected to finish fourth in the annual NE-10 Preseason Coaches Poll. UMass Lowell garnered 180 votes, just 12 shy of third-ranked Bentley, in what promises to be a highly contested battle for the conference crown.
The players will have limited time to find their rhythm as the River Hawks host long-standing rival Merrimack in a non-conference match to open the 2010 season in just over two weeks. The new campaign's first served is slated for Saturday, September 4, at 12 p.m. in the Costello Gymnasium.
