pictured: Elly Gosheva, Dickinson
It was a dream season for Haverford volleyball in 2006 with a first-ever Centennial championship ... a first-ever trip to the NCAAs ... and a first-ever victory at the "big dance." Now the question on the Main Line is what do the Fords do for an encore?
Haverford wears the target as the preseason Conference favorite in a poll of Centennial coaches, outdistancing runner-up Franklin & Marshall by a single first-place ballot and three points. Three All-CC performers are back in the fold, including first-team selection and honorable mention All-America choice
Rebecca Salvo (La Canada, CA / Flintridge Sacred Heart). Twin sister Rachel was an honorable mention All-CC pick and the duo combined for 7.17 kills per game. Second-team All-Centennial setter
Emily Hinchcliff (Ithaca, NY / Ithaca) is the key to the offense.
Franklin & Marshall captured the regular-season title and reached the Centennial final before being blanked by Haverford. Five starters return in a quest to capture the Conference title for the first time since 2000, including 2006 Centennial Player of the Year
Margot Phelan (Ellicott City, MD / Centennial). MH
Susan Taylor (The Woodlands, TX / John Cooper) and OH
Maritza Fair (Bronx, NY / The Nightingale-Bamford School) earned first and second-team All-CC honors, respectively.
Gettysburg's five-year reign atop the Conference came to an end in the Centennial semifinals a year ago. Incentive for 2007 ... you betcha! The Bullets welcome back four All-CC selections, including first-teamers
Lauren Thul (Flemington, NJ / Hunterdon Central) and
Amanda Krampf (Gaithersburg, MD / Gaithersburg) at hitter and setter, respectively.
Katie Heffner (Easton, PA / Easton) and
Meghan McConville (Eldersburg, MD / Liberty) were honorable mention honorees.
Johns Hopkins looks to replace four seniors from a squad that just missed the CC playoffs last season.
Amanda Lewis (San Antonio, TX / St. Mary's Hall) will lead the Blue Jays from her setter position after earning honorable mention All-Centennial honors a year ago.
Dickinson qualified for the Centennial tournament a year ago and looks for its first-ever Final Four berth in 2007. Sophomore
Elly Gosheva (Sofia, Bulgaria) was a second-team All-Conference hitter last season, setting a program record for rookies with 372 kills. McDaniel returns five starters from last season's team that made the CC semis. Senior
Katie Seibel (Finksburg, MD / Westminster) was an honorable mention All-Centennial hitter, while soph
Taylor Herrgott (Derwood, MD / Magruder) could have a breakout season after averaging 3.00 kills per game as a rookie.
Swarthmore welcomes back five starters, including senior hitter
Karen Berk (Havertown, PA / Haverford), a two-sport standout who also excels in basketball. Muhlenberg graduated five seniors but hopes that the experience gained from the seven freshmen on the 2006 roster pays dividends in 2007.
Megan Young (Coatesville, PA / Coatesville) and
Megan Eiser (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks West) will lead the Mules. Washington's
Katherine O'Brien (Severna Park, MD / Severna Park), a second-team All-Centennial hitter, was the first Shorewomen to earn All-CC honors since 1998. She led the Conference in kills per game (4.37).
Ursinus looks to senior
Jill Alspach (Farmington Hills, MI / Farmington) to lead the Bears this fall, while
Bryn Mawr turns to senior
Katie Kronbergs (Austin, TX / Lyndon B. Johnson) and junior
Julia Harris (Newbury Park, CA / Newbury Park) as the Owls look to make noise in the Conference in 2007.
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