Fresh new faces will be seen on the Charger volleyball team this fall. Coach Laura Taube will need those newcomers to be effective early and often.

The Lady Chargers lost four very talented seniors, including leading scorer and record holder Ellen LaFiore. Also gone is the UAH floor general Jane Baumgartner, and hitters Lindsay Dunham and Erin Denny.

In addition to the five new players, the Lady Chargers have nine returning players with a great deal of experience and ability. “It will be a exciting to see this team develop the chemistry that has helped this program to be successful the past nine years,” said Taube. “I expect to remain competitive in the Gulf South Conference as well as in the South Central Region.”

A pair of freshman will be vying for the opportunity to quarterback the UAH offense at setter. Returning redshirt freshman Samantha Polkowski, and incoming freshman Heather Grumke are both are very talented players who have the capability to lead the team on the court. Polkowski has the upper hand in that she has had training in our program during the past year. She will also give the team a very big block at her position, which is something that the Lady Chargers haven't had in the last eight years. Grumke on the other hand is a very good defensive setter and can run an offense very well. The competition should be fierce for the starting nod.

Junior Melissa Feldmann and sophomore Ajai Cribbs return as possible starters in the middle. Cribbs has recovered nicely from a knee injury which sidelined her in 2001. Meanwhile, Feldmann is recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. Last season, she averaged 2.74 kills per game. Feldmann was also strong on defense averaging 2.73 digs and 0.60 blocks per game. Both players are hungry to play and return to full strength.

Giving Feldmann and Cribbs some competition will be junior college transfer Daniella Bragg and freshman Bethany Holder from Indiana. At 5'10" and 6'0", Bragg and Holder are very strong players ready to make an impact.

Returning outside hitters are seniors Cathryn Sterling and Whitney Mock, along with sophomore Kristian Kleminsky and junior Mary Beth Key. Kleminsky had a great freshman season averaging 2.47 kills per game. Mock is anxious to step in and compete and with her vertical, should be able to get some kills for the Lady Chargers.

Adding to the mix on the outside will be incoming freshmen Emily Miller and Kristen Henley. At 6'0" each, Miller and Henley will give the Chargers a tall set of bookends on the front line. That should make the Lady Chargers tough on the net. Key has been a great "all-purpose" player for UAH. Coach Taube is hoping she can fill a bigger role.

Filling in the right side could be redshirt freshman, Molly Healy. At 5'10", Healy is a tremendous blocker and can hit many angles. However, Bragg could give her some competition. Taube believes the two youngsters are interchangeable and defense would remain strong with either on the floor.

Finally, competing for the libero position will be Sterling and returning junior Ashley Otwell. Sterling is an outstanding outside hitter, but over the last three years has shown just how talented she is on defense. Last season, she led the team in digs averaging nearly 3 1/2 per game. Otwell can hold her own as well, giving everything she has for the team on defense. It will be interesting to see how the Lady Chargers respond to the new libero position and how its affect will have on their success.

The experience and maturity of the returning players along with the talent that the new players bring, could make for a very exciting year for the Lady Chargers. Coach Taube plans to stick with the same gameplan that has made UAH one of the most successful programs in the Gulf South Conference. “We will continue to run a quick offense and play with reckless abandon on defense. I expect our blocking statistics to improve as we will field the tallest team in my tenure here at UAH,” she said.

“It will be a new and exciting year for UAH volleyball. A new era has begun.”

Final 2001 Statistics

First Week's Matches: UAH Invitational Tournament, Aug. 30-31, Spragins Hall