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Christian Brothers University Lady Buccaneer volleyball coach In-Sik
Hwang continues to
bring the program back to the prominence it has showed in the past. After
his second-straight 18-win season last year, and the program's first trip
to
the Gulf South Conference Tournament since 2002, he has the Lady Bucs poised
to once again return to postseason play and be a threat in the GSC.
The Lady Bucs return virtually every starter from a season ago and bring in
another talented recruiting class that will see consistent playing time. A
challenging schedule of tournaments to begin the season will prepare the team
for a tough GSC schedule and the Lady Bucs will be back in familiar confines
as they return to Canale Arena after playing last year's home schedule at Rhodes
College while the facility was re-modeled.
Returning GSC West first-team
selections Laura Washington and Nan Kimbrell bolster
what should be one of the best front lines in the conference. Washington again
led the Lady Bucs
in hitting last year with a .313 attack percentage. She was second on the team
in kills with 3.96 per game and led the team in blocking with just under one
block per game. Kimbrell led the GSC West in kills netting 4.67 per game. She
broke her own school records in kills per game and total kills (518).
Hattie Schnacke returns from her most productive season after
finishing third on the team with 3.06 kills per game and was third in
digs and blocks with 2.86 and .49 per game averages. Krista Gyarmati followed
up a stellar freshman campaign that saw her net 475 digs, the most ever in
a season at CBU. She finished second on the team in digs with 3.26 per game
and was second in service aces with 50.
Freshmen Aubrey Pancratz, Jenna Cherry and Stephanie
Parker should help to provide depth up front. Pancratz is a talented
blocker from Chandler, AZ where she was an All-Region and All-State performer
at Coronal del Sol High School helping the team to three-straight region
titles. Her club team (Club Red 18-1) won the Arizona Regional Open Championship
the past two years. Cherry is a blocker from Covington, LA where the team
was a Louisiana State Quarterfinalist this past season and she was named
a first-team
All-District selection. She was a two-time News Banner Player of the Week
and was also a Times Picayune Player of the Week selection her senior
season. Parker is a local product from Collierville.
Lauren Amundson returns to her setter position
where she once again, led the GSC West in total assists with 1,353 last year,
the second-most in a season at CBU. Amundson holds that record with 1,390 as
a freshman
in 2003.
She averaged 12.19 assists per game and will flourish again this year with
plenty of
weapons
on the front line.
Bridget Buckley and Brittany Cochran will
serve as the defensive specialists this season for the Lady Bucs. Buckley played
at Chapparal High School in Parker, Colorado where she was captain of her high
school team and lettered for two years. She led her team in digs with
170 and service aces with 39 her senior year. She is a two-time Junior Nationals
Qualifier and a member of the two-time defending champion team at the Crossroads
Tournament in Denver. Cochran is a local product out of St. Agnes Academy.
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