Rutgers-Camden Athletics

Volleyball team picked for sixth in pre-season NJAC Coaches' Poll

8/23/2024 11:05:00 AM

CAMDEN, N.J. (Aug. 23, 2024) – The Rutgers University-Camden volleyball team barely missed the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs last season, ending a three-year streak of reaching the NJAC tournament. If the pre-season poll of the NJAC coaches holds to form, the Scarlet Raptors will return to the six-team playoffs this year.
 
Rutgers-Camden has been picked to finish sixth in the NJAC in the coaches' poll released today.
 
Last year's regular-season NJAC champion Stockton University was picked for the top spot in the NJAC poll, receiving seven of the nine first-place votes from the conference's coaches. Kean University received one first-place vote and finished second in the poll, while William Paterson University was tabbed for third place and listed as the conference's dark horse team.
 
Rowan University received the other first-place vote and was picked for fourth place, followed by Montclair State University and Rutgers-Camden.
 
Ramapo College, which won the NJAC tournament last season, was picked for seventh place, followed by Rutgers University-Newark and New Jersey City University, respectively.
 
The Scarlet Raptors posted a 14-13 record last season, including a 3-5 mark in the NJAC to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place with Rowan and Montclair State. After tie-breaking procedures were applied, the Raptors were the odd team out of the playoffs.
 
Rutgers-Camden featured a pair of all-conference middle hitters last season in NJAC Second Team star Kaliyah Moss and NJAC Honorable Mention player Isabella Choice. Both players, along with star outside hitters Dyamond Free and Erica Nebrich, have graduated.
 
Three-year veteran middle hitter/right side Kaitlyn Parrish is the most experienced returning letterwinner for the Raptors. She finished fifth on the team in kills (113) last season and third in blocks (43). A pair of two-year letterwinners return in junior defensive specialist Sophia LaPorta (111 digs, third on the team)  and senior right side Peyton McGregor.
 
The Raptors return sophomore setter JoAnna Andrews, who led the team with 464 assists and 47 service aces, and junior setter Avery Ang, who averaged 5.30 assists per set in her first year at Rutgers-Camden. Junior middle blocker/right side Jessica Wiemer also returns for her second season since transferring to Rutgers-Camden along with Ang.
 
Sophomore letterwinners include defensive specialist/liberos Mia Owens, who led the team with 311 digs as a freshman, and Madison Snelgrove (67 digs), middle hitter/right side Mia Francis (33 kills, 11 blocks) and setter/outside hitter/right side Sofia Granieri (second on the team with 246 assists, while adding 33 kills, 32 digs and 25 blocks).
 
Three talented freshmen include middle blocker Gabby Gbolahan, outside hitter/right side Maria Theruviparambil and outside hitter/right side Lauren Rich.
 
Head Coach David Gurst returns for his 10th season, with a staff that includes veteran assistant Paul Lano, first-year assistant Lydia Bauer and a pair of former Raptor stars as volunteer assistants, Melanie Kelly and Brinn Hassan.
 
Rutgers-Camden opens its season at the DeSales University Tournament on Labor Day weekend, with its first match scheduled for August 30 at 5 p.m. against Stevenson University. The Raptors' first NJAC match is Sept. 24 when they host Ramapo College at 7 p.m.