2006 Preview
Following a 2005 campaign that saw the team go 6-4 in Centennial Conference play on their way to earning the first playoff berth in the history of the program, the 2006 Swarthmore volleyball team are pointed towards a return to the playoffs with an eye on the conference title.
Led by a pair of All-Centennial outside hitters, Erica George '07 (Phoenix, AZ / Mountain Pointe) and Jen Wang '09 (Palo Alto, CA / Henry Gunn), the Garnet will undoubtedly pack a powerful offensive punch. George, who earned second-team honors, led the team in kills-per-game with 3.14, recording a total of 270 kills on the season. Wang, an honorable mention selection as a freshman, led the team in kills (301), service aces (67), digs (374), and points per game (4.01), and was also named Centennial Player of the Week after leading Swarthmore to the championship at the Moravian Greyhound Premiere Invitational Tournament on Sept. 3-4.
Karen Berk '08 (Havertown, PA / Haverford), along with classmates Katie Gold (Cherry Hill, NJ / Cherry Hill East) and Vanessa Wells (Chicago, IL/ Lincoln Park), returns to patrol the middle for the Garnet. Berk, a middle blocker, led the team with 124 blocks in 2005 and also recorded 202 kills. Fellow middle blocker Gold totaled 166 kills on the year, as well as 65 blocks, while Wells recorded a career-best 71 blocks in the opposite hitter position.
The biggest challenge facing the Garnet in 2006 may be the task of replacing Emily Conlon '06 at setter. Conlon led the team with 938 assists in 2005, averaging nearly 10 assists per game. She reached the milestone of 3000 career assists against Gettysburg on October 18, and ended her career at Swarthmore with a 50-assist performance in a playoff loss to Franklin & Marshall on November 2. Head coach Harleigh Leach (fourth season) will look to first-year players Kearney Bangs (Kingston, WA / North Kitsap) and Monica Joshi (Woodbridge, VA / Washington International School) to step in and run the offense.
The other pieces of the pie - senior opposite Stephanie Koskowich (Pleasanton, CA / The Waterford School (UT)), libero Erin Heaney '09 (Buffalo, NY / City Honors) and defensive specialist Kristin Caspar '09 (Briarcliff Manor, NY / Briarcliff Manor) - aim to make significant contributions by providing leadership and depth to the squad. A talented group of first-years, including Johanna Bond (Pittsford, NY / Pittsford-Sutherland), Michele Perch (Kinnelon, NJ / Kinnelon) and Sarah Ting (Lafayette, CA / Acalanes), will look to make an immediate impact and help propel the Garnet back into conference playoffs.
The Garnet open the 2006 season with Swat Preseason Spikefest on August 27. They will also hosting the third annual Garnet Classic, to be held Sept. 15 and 16 in Tarble Pavilion. The Centennial Conference play begins on September 12th when the Garnet host Ursinus - former Swarthmore assistant coach Diana McNamee is at the helm of the young Bears and will look to get started in notoriously boisterous Tarble Pavilion.