A young but determined UB volleyball team will look to make great strides this fall as they try to battle back from a 9-23 overall record (1-17 MAC). With the hiring of two new assistant coaches during the off season and the signing of new recruits the team will have a different look to it on the bench but will have familiar faces on the court.
Head coach Sally Kus announced the hiring of Erin Holahan and Katie Michaelski as assistant coaches to aid Kus.
Lindsay Matikosh (Team MVP), Katie Weekly (Top Newcomer) and Molly Schrantz (Coach's Award) bring experience to this young and energetic team.
The Bulls did suffer a blow, however, in the loss of Kathryn Henry (Most Improved Player), who transferred to Cornell.
Matikosh was named MVP for the second straight year as she became the fourth player of all-time, and only the second junior, to reach the 1,000 mark in both career kills and digs during the 2002 campaign. Matikosh also became the third player in UB history to have over 400 kills and digs in the same season. Her 441 kills are third all-time and her 450 digs are fourth all-time in UB's single-season record book.
Weekley led the Bulls with a .201 hitting percentage and ranked second on the team with 110 blocks during her freshman campaign, while also averaging 1.77 kills per game. She recorded a single-match high of 10 blocks versus Bucknell at the UB Hampton Inn-vitational at the beginning of the season
Schrantz finished the season with 2.31 kills per game, 3.44 assists per game, 2.05 digs per game and 0.49 blocks per game. She was named to the All-Tournament Team at both the UB Hampton Inn-vitational and at the WNY Holiday Inn Invitational.
Henry's presence will be a factor for next year's team. Henry had a great freshman year, which was bettered by a great sophomore year in which she improved in kills per game (1.21) and digs per game (3.21). Her 3.21 digs per game ranked second on the team, and she recorded a career-high 18 digs against Bucknell at the UB Hampton Inn-vitational.
The 2003 season will be entertaining as the team hosts along with Canisius and Niagara, the Western New York Tournament. The team will also travel to Duke, Maryland Eastern Shore and Central Florida for tournaments.
