Aug. 20, 2010

Allendale, Mich. - With the opening week of the fall sports season underway and the 2010 Grand Valley State volleyball team reporting for preseason practices, here is the first look at this season's Lakers. The four-day series concludes with the nine players that form the team's freshman class.

In 2009, GVSU finished with a 16-13 overall record (11-5 GLIAC), posting a winning record for the 17th consecutive season. The Lakers advanced to the GLIAC Tournament and earned a berth in the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament for the 10th straight year.

Determining the success of a freshman class is a tricky experiment, as success can be defined by either immediate impact or the role the athletes play throughout their entire careers. Take, for example, the following statistic: Grand Valley State has totaled 13 different AVCA All-Americans in the program's history, yet the Lakers have had just three GLIAC Freshman of the Year award recipients. Current senior Rebeccah Rapin was named the conference's rookie of the year in 2007 and was the first such winner at GVSU since 1991.

Judging by that tally, perhaps the success of a freshman class cannot be fully computed until the freshmen become seniors. However, the 2010 class appears to be one of the top rookie classes in recent years, with potentially three starters coming from these nine Laker student-athletes.

"This group of freshmen is really a good mix of players that played a high-level of volleyball at either the club or high school levels," noted head coach Deanne Scanlon. "So far, we've been able to hit the ground running and the older kids have really incorporated the freshmen well. If someone came into the gym and saw us practice, they probably wouldn't be able to tell the freshmen apart from the rest of the girls. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, but some of the freshmen we have will see significant playing time, if not be starters for us when the season begins."

Here is a quick glimpse at each of the nine freshmen at GVSU for the 2010 season:

- Grace Burns, a 5-10 libero/defensive specialist from Geneva, Ill.

"Grace tore her ACL and had surgery in March or April and had been rehabbing well," said Scanlon. "She played for a great club in the Chicago area and has played at a high level of volleyball. We're playing it by ear with Grace, as to whether or not she'll be able to go all-out all year long. It could possibly be a redshirt year for her."

- Stacey Catalano, a 6-0 outside hitter from Macomb, Mich.

"Stacey is a girl that we recruited with the mindset that she would be playing all six rotations for us," Scanlon explained. "She has definitely positioned herself in contention for a starting role during that first weekend of the season."

- Abby Ebels, a 6-1 middle blocker from McBain, Mich.

"The redshirt year (in 2009) for Abby really helped her," Scanlon pointed out. "She's very physical and jumps well. Abby had a good spring season and she'll be fighting for court time with our other middle blockers."

- Sacha Gill, a 5-8 libero/defensive specialist from Muncie, Ind.

"Sacha makes the sport of volleyball look easy," Scanlon declared. "She played for the Munciana volleyball club team that has won a bunch of national championships and is always very competitive. Having Sacha in the libero position puts us in a better situation than we've been in for several years."

- Andrea Hyames, a 5-5 libero/defensive specialist from Kalamazoo, Mich.

"It's beneficial to have someone in our gym like Andrea on the defensive side of the ball, as we haven't had someone like her in a couple of years," said Scanlon. "She is one of the best serve-receive passers we've had in a long, long time. Strong ball control from her will be crucial to getting us into our offense."

- Brittney Jackson, a 5-9 outside hitter from Cleveland, Ohio

"Brittney is the best athlete we have - in any of our classes," Scanlon explained. "She can touch over 10 feet, her feet are so fast. Brittney doesn't have a lot of club experience, but like Eno (Umoh), she does things on the court that other girls can't do. It could possibly be a redshirt year for her and she could come back and compete at outside hitter next year. But Brittney is an incredible athlete."

- Cailie Johnson, a 6-0 right side from Rockford, Mich.

"Cailie is a really good athlete with some good club experience," noted Scanlon. "She's had a really good preseason, but she's also competing against girls like Rebeccah (Rapin) and Eno (Umoh). We're thinking of looking at a redshirt year for Cailie this year and she could come back and compete next year and really hold her own."

- Mackenzie Mitzner, a 5-10 outside hitter from Castle Rock, Colo.

"Mackenzie is that all-around player that every team needs," Scanlon said. "She might not be dynamic in the front row, but she's very mature in how she plays the game. Mackenzie might go a little bit unnoticed, as she doesn't stand out in any one particular thing, but she is just very solid all around and can play multiple positions."

- Sam Phillips, a 5-11 middle blocker from Vicksburg, Mich.

"The redshirt year was really helpful for Sam, as she played middle blocker in high school and we're turning her into maybe a right side here," Scanlon mentioned. "We want her to continue to develop, as she is competing in camp with some of our other top players. We look for her to keep getting better and put herself in a good position for the future."

Grand Valley State begins the 2010 campaign at the incredibly competitive University of Tampa Tournament in Tampa, Fla. on Sept. 3-5. The Lakers were ranked just outside the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) Top-25 in its preseason poll, which was released on Wednesday (August 18).

In the poll, GVSU was slotted at #27 as the second team listed in the "Others Receiving Votes" category. The Lakers open their season against #1 Concordia-St. Paul on Sept. 3, followed by matches against #5 Central Missouri and #13 Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 4 and finish up the weekend against #3 Tampa on Sept. 5.

Tuesday: Senior Class

Wednesday: Junior Class

Thursday: Sophomore Class