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Clarkson University Athletics

2021 CU Volleyball Preview

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Women's Volleyball | 8/30/2021 2:21:00 PM

More than 21 months have passed since the Clarkson University Volleyball team celebrated a five-set win in the NCAA Potsdam Regional Championship to propel the team to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the fifth time in eight seasons and a lot has changed for the Golden Knights in that time. The only thing that hasn't changed is the team's desire to repeat the feat, but this time move along further in the bracket towards a National Championship.

The Golden Knights boast a roster of 16 players, though many have yet to play their first collegiate match. However, plenty of standouts from the 2019 Liberty League Championship team are back, including grad student Gillian Kurtic, seniors Celestial Barrera-Lopez, Kristen Liu, and Megan McEwen, and juniors Emma Baxter, Isabelle Crow, and Kristin Werdine, the 2019 Liberty League Rookie of the Year.

2021 Clarkson Volleyball Schedule
2021 Clarkson Volleyball Roster
2019 Clarkson Volleyball Statistics

Clarkson lost four contributors to graduation in 2020, including two All-Americans in three-time recipient Kate Isaksen and the 2019 Liberty League Player of the Year Rachel Reusch, but seventh-year head coach Caroline LaMarche and third-year assistant coach Christina Oyawale have reloaded the roster with plenty of talented student-athletes in the past two years.

Back in her junior season, Kurtic ranked fourth in the Liberty League in hitting percentage (.319) and was eighth in the conference in blocks (0.62 per set), enjoying a particularly strong outing against Ithaca College in the NCAA Regional Championship match with 12 kills and three blocks. Werdine and Crow, among others, elevated Clarkson's service game two years ago, with the former leading the conference and the latter ranking third in the league. Crow also helped the Knights greatly improve their team hitting percentage in her freshman year, frequently finding her classmate Werdine, who had 293 kills in 2019.

Both Barrera-Lopez and Baxter were starters and frequent contributors to the team's strong defensive back line, certainly one of the strongest in the country alongside Isaksen. Their normal strong defense will be supplemented by their contribution to the offense, as both provide a strong service game.

Liu and McEwen will be looking for more playing time in their senior seasons, and in the handful of scrimmages last spring and this fall, each have shown that they will supply more offense, with Liu doing so from the outside and McEwen's efforts coming from the middle.

Besides the veterans, nine other student-athletes will be suiting up in the Green and Gold for the first time on Wednesday against SUNY Potsdam. Many are hitters, supplementing the expected strong defense. Sophomores Julia Bennett, Natalie Peacock, Sara Galante, and Olivia Freer each stand 5-10 or taller and have shown plenty of promise over the past year in practice and scrimmages. The first-year student-athletes are a more rounded group with two defensive specialists, one setter, an outside, and a middle. Junior transfer Alexandra Bergantz already has collegiate experience and will join freshman Abigail Spector in the back row for the Knights, while Kayla Gault gives the Knights options on offense should the team decide to employ a 6-2. Outside hitter Annabella Regan and middle hitter Allyson Treichel have each shined in the early going as well. Any one of the nine newcomers, save for Bergantz who wouldn't qualify, could continue the long list of recent Liberty League Rookie of the Year winners at Clarkson, an award that has gone to a member of the Golden Knights six times from 2008-2019.






 
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Players Mentioned

Cel Barrera-Lopez

#3 Cel Barrera-Lopez

L/DS
5' 2"
Senior
Emma Baxter

#2 Emma Baxter

L/DS
5' 5"
Junior
Julia Bennett

#5 Julia Bennett

MH
6' 0"
Sophomore
Isabelle Crow

#11 Isabelle Crow

S
5' 8"
Junior
Olivia Freer

#16 Olivia Freer

OH
6' 0"
Sophomore
Sara Galante

#13 Sara Galante

OH
5' 10"
Sophomore
Gillian Kurtic

#14 Gillian Kurtic

MH/RS
6' 3"
Graduate Student
Kristen Liu

#6 Kristen Liu

RS
5' 9"
Senior
Megan McEwen

#10 Megan McEwen

MH
6' 3"
Senior
Natalie Peacock

#8 Natalie Peacock

MH/RS
5' 10"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Cel Barrera-Lopez

#3 Cel Barrera-Lopez

5' 2"
Senior
L/DS
Emma Baxter

#2 Emma Baxter

5' 5"
Junior
L/DS
Julia Bennett

#5 Julia Bennett

6' 0"
Sophomore
MH
Isabelle Crow

#11 Isabelle Crow

5' 8"
Junior
S
Olivia Freer

#16 Olivia Freer

6' 0"
Sophomore
OH
Sara Galante

#13 Sara Galante

5' 10"
Sophomore
OH
Gillian Kurtic

#14 Gillian Kurtic

6' 3"
Graduate Student
MH/RS
Kristen Liu

#6 Kristen Liu

5' 9"
Senior
RS
Megan McEwen

#10 Megan McEwen

6' 3"
Senior
MH
Natalie Peacock

#8 Natalie Peacock

5' 10"
Sophomore
MH/RS