2009 Millsaps Volleyball Preview
Third-year head coach \#Jaime Burns\# is anxious to send the Majors back out on the court for the 2009 season after finishing a disappointing 15-24 overall and 4-11 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play a year ago. Things are already looking up though after a solid spring season and the return of five starters and seven letterwinners.
“In addition to returning five starters with tons of experience, we're bringing in six new faces that will bring a lot of good competition during practice and help raise the level of our play,” Burns said. “I have high expectations about the season and hope to have us in the top half of the conference.”
Millsaps opened the first half of the season at 6-4 overall, including a 3-1 weekend in the Rhodes College Tournament, before dropping six straight in eight days in conference-opening action to fall under the .500 mark. The Majors, however, got back on track with a 3-0 win over Dillard on Sept. 26 and rallied to win 6 of 9 to move to 12-13, but wouldn't get any closer to the .500 mark the rest of the way.
Playing in one of the premier volleyball conferences in all of Division III with four ranked teams on a yearly basis, Millsaps ended the year with a sour taste in its mouth after dropping 11 of 14 to finish 10th in the league standings.
The Majors return most of their key hitters in \#Kate Hall\# and \#Maggie Tumminello\# on offense, with \#Hailey Miranda\# setting up the plays. Hall was a Third Team All-SCAC selection a year ago, the first Major in four years, and will have high expectations on her shoulders to keep Millsaps on point. Sophomore \#Heather Keenan\# will also return after missing last year with a torn ACL, and will provide another all-around consistency and leadership for the team.
Defensively, Millsaps returns \#Erica Cook\# and \#Dixie Krauss\# at the libero spot, who have improved steadily each season and provide a solid one-two combo. Krauss was also sixth in the SCAC a year ago in total digs (616) after a breakout junior campaign.
The Majors added a pair of transfers in \#Kasey Laird\# (Louisiana-Lafayette) and \#Camilla Rincon\# (Mississippi College), while also back for Millsaps in 2009 are senior defensive specialist \#Amanda Cain\#, junior setter \#Mallory Clark\# and junior outside hitter \#Victoria Romano\#.
The 2009 schedule will provide a challenging obstacle for Millsaps to reach its ultimate goal of a Top 5 finish in the SCAC and 20-win season, with only seven matches in the friendly confines of the Hangar Dome and five SCAC Cross Divisionals on the road.
Millsaps will play four of its six matches at home in its opening weekend, hosting the Third Annual Millsaps Invitational on Sept. 4-5, and will look to get a few wins under its belt to gain momentum.
