 VCU VOLLEYBALL ANNOUNCES 2007 SCHEDULE
2-12-07
Schedule
RICHMOND , Va. – The Virginia Commonwealth University Volleyball Team has announced its schedule for the 2007 season. This year’s slate includes matches against perennial national powerhouse Penn State and defending Colonial Athletic Association Champion Hofstra. In all, the Rams will face up to eight schools that participated in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
Penn State finished the 2006 season ranked fifth in the final CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Rams head to the State College, Pa. Sept. 7-8 for the Penn State Classic and will face the host Nittany Lions, St. John’s and Colgate. Penn State’s season ended in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament after they defeated CAA Champion Hofstra in the second round. St. John’s also received votes in the final CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll.
The Rams will host George Washington, Liberty, South Carolina and the ACC’s Maryland Aug. 31st-Sept. 1st in the VCU/3 rd Degree Sportswear Invitational at the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.
Other NCAA qualifiers from last season on the schedule include Long Island, The College of Charleston, Arizona State and Albany.
The CAA schedule also includes a rematch of the CAA Championship match with Hofstra Oct. 26 at the Alltel Pavilion. The Rams will face CAA regular season runner-up Towson on two occasions. The Rams will meet the Tigers in Towson, Md. Oct. 6 and will play host to TU Nov. 8 at the Alltel Pavilion.
VCU is coming off a 16-18 season, including 8-10 in the CAA. The Rams reached the CAA Championship Match for the second season in a row before bowing to eventual-champion Hofstra. The Black and Gold will return several of their top players for 2007, including setter Cat Juson. Juson, a rising junior, set a VCU single-season record for assists with 1,390.
FRANCESCATTO EARNS CAA SCHOLAR ATHLETE AWARD
1-2-06
RICHMOND, Va. – VCU senior Ludmila Francescatto (Fraiburga, Brazil) (pictured) has been named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Fall Scholar Athlete for Volleyball, the conference has announced.
Francescatto, a 5-11 outside hitter, recently enjoyed the most prolific offensive season in Rams’ history, while also excelling in the classroom.
The biology major is a two-time recipient of the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award. On the court, Francescatto earned First Team All-CAA and First Team VaSID All-State honors for the second year in a row and also received honorable mention on the AVCA All-East Region squad for the second time. She shattered the VCU season record for kills (549) and kills per game (4.46) in 2006 and led the CAA in points per game. Francescatto hit .210 this season and also averaged 3.05 digs per game.
The CAA honors a Scholar-Athlete in each of its 21 championship sports. Nominees for the award must be a starter or important reserve on their team and must meet the Academic All-America minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.20. The winners were selected by a vote of the sports information directors at each CAA institution.
FISCHER ELEVATED TO ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH
12-20-06
RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University Head Volleyball Coach James Finley announced Wednesday that the program has promoted top assistant Andrea Fischer (pictured) to Associate Head Coach.
“This is a great time for the VCU Volleyball Program, with Andrea Fischer’s promotion,” Finley said. “She has become an invaluable asset to our program through her vision for the future. This partnership will enable VCU Volleyball to continue its rapid growth.”
Fischer, who recently completed her fifth season with the Rams, joined VCU in 2002 as Peri Hankins top aide and assumed the same role upon Finley’s arrival in 2005.
A native of Santa Barbara, Calif., Fischer starred as a player at the University of Virginia from 1997-2001. She left as one of seven Cavaliers with 1,000 career kills and is the school’s all-time leader in service aces.
In addition to her duties with VCU, Fischer is actively involved with the Richmond Volleyball Club as a player and a coach.
FRANCESCATTO GARNERS AVCA ALL-REGION HONORABLE MENTION
12-6-06
RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University senior Ludmila Francescatto (Fraiburga, Brazil) earned her second AVCA Division I All-East Region Honorable Mention citation Wednesday.
The 5-11 outside hitter shattered VCU single-season records for total kills (549) and kills per game (4.46). She hit .210 in 123 games and was second on the Rams with 3.05 digs per game. Francescatto led VCU with 46 service aces and added 60 blocks. She led the Colonial Athletic Association in points per game and was named to the league’s first team for the second straight season.
Francescatto is one of six in the region to gain an honorable mention and is joined by fellow CAA players Allyson Halls and Jena Pierson of James Madison. Hofstra’s Elizabeth Curley, the 2006 CAA Player of the Year, was named to the All-Region Team.
Last season, Francescatto became the first VCU player ever to gain AVCA recognition when she was also named All-East Region Honorable Mention.
In just two seasons Francescatto has rewritten the Black and Gold record books and hauled in an impressive number of awards. A former Junior College All-American at Arizona Western College, Francescatto has also was also named First Team All State by the Virginia Sports Information Directors and captured CAA-Tournament MVP in 2005. She also hauled in numerous All-Tournament selections in addition to her two all-conference and AVCA awards.
2006 AVCA Division I Women’s Volleyball All-East Region Team
Jeannette Abbott, Clemson University, OH, So.
Allison Anderson, Boston College, DS/Lib, Sr.
Elizabeth Curley, Hofstra University, MB, Sr.
Carrie DeMange**, Duke University, MB, Jr.
Katie Esbrook, Virginia Tech, MB, Sr.
Ali Hausfeld***, Duke University, S, Jr.
Danielle Hepburn, Clemson University, MB, So.
Tealle Hunkus, Duke University, OH, Sr.
Emily Kirkwood, University of Virginia, S, Sr.
Katherine Oakes, University of Virginia, MB, Jr.
Ulrike Stegemann, Georgia Tech, RS/Opp, Jr.
Makini Thompson, Florida State University, OH, Jr.
Region Freshman of the Year: Rachael Moss, Duke, OH
Honorable Mention:Ludmila Francescatto ( VCU, OH, Sr.), Allyson Halls (James Madison, MB, Jr.), Sarah Kirkwood (Virginia, OH, Jr.), Jena Pierson (James Madison, DS/Lib, Jr.), Taryn Surbaugh ( Winthrop, MB, Sr.), Elif Unlu (UNC Asheville, OH, Sr.)
JUSON SETS ASSISTS MARK AS VCU LOSES TWO IN LONG BEACH
11-25-06
Box Score vs. Western Michigan
Box Score vs. UC Irvine
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Virginia Commonwealth University sophomore setter Cat Juson (Long Beach, Calif.) (pictured) recorded a total of 77 assists in two matches, establishing a new school single-season record, when the Rams dropped a pair of contests, 3-0 to Western Michigan and 3-1 to UC Irvine Saturday at the Long Beach Invitational.
Juson set the record in VCU’s first match of the day, handing out 32 assists in a 3-0 (30-26, 30-22, 30-28) loss to WMU. She surpassed Suzanne Dawson’s mark of 1,314 assists, established in 1995.
Senior Ludmila Francescatto (Fraiburga, Brazil), who a day earlier shattered the Rams’ single-season kills mark, added 12 against the Broncos.
Juson piled on 45 more assists against UC Irvine, which downed VCU, 3-1 (26-30, 31-29, 30-24, 30-22). Juson, concludes her season with 1,390 helpers.
Francescatto had 16 kills against the Anteaters, while Rams’ sophomore Elisa Kuehnel (Dresden, Germany) led VCU (16-18) with 18 kills.
FRANCESCATTO SETS VCU KILLS RECORD, RAMS FALL TO LBSU, 3-0
11-24-06
Box Score
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Virginia Commonwealth University senior outside hitter Ludmila Francescatto (Fraiburga, Brazil) recorded 11 kills to break the school’s 16-year-old single-season record, but Long Beach State claimed a 3-0 (30-16, 30-21, 30-18) win Friday at the Walter Pyramid.
VCU slips to 16-16 with the loss. LBSU, listed 26 th in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, improved to 23-5.
Francescatto, who entered the match with 510 kills, eclipsed Jonnie Stone’s mark of 513, set in 1990. Francescatto is averaging 4.49 kills, second best in the CAA, and is hitting .210. During Stone’s record-setting year, she averaged 3.56 kills.
Senior middle blocker Melissa Peterson (Ganado, Ariz.) also had 10 kills and six total blocks for VCU.
Alexis Crimes had a match-high 15 kills and hit .440 for Long Beach State, which out hit the Rams .298-.042.
Meanwhile, Peterson and sophomore setter Cat Juson (Long Beach, Calif.) moved closer to milestones of their own. Peterson’s six blocks moved her to second place on the Rams single-season list with 133. Stone holds the VCU high-water mark with 147. Juson needs two assists to set the Rams season mark, currently held by Suzanne Dawson, who handed out 1,314 in 1995.
VCU closes out its season on Saturday, Nov. 25 with matches against Western Michigan at 4 p.m. and UC-Irvine at 8 p.m. at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid.
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