POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist volleyball team is back in Poughkeepsie and held its first official practice of the 2019 preseason on Saturday.

All 16 student-athletes finished moving back into Poughkeepsie on Friday, August 9 and immediately began preparations for the upcoming season. The team held its first meeting earlier today, and then began its first practice at approximately 4 p.m. During this preseason, the team plans on not only practicing and training nearly every day, but also attending community service events, as well as participating in team-building activities.
 

We're baaaaaaaaack!#MoveInDay2019 pic.twitter.com/k6TBruuQ7G

— Marist Volleyball (@Maristvb) August 9, 2019

 

THE COACHING STAFF

• An entirely new coaching staff will be leading the Red Foxes into the 2019 season.
• New head coach Sean Byron, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan, brings over two decades of coaching experience which includes winning national championships as an assistant coach with the Ohio State men's team, as well as the head men's coach at Springfield College. He also helped coach Michigan to NCAA Tournament appearances each of the last three seasons.
• New assistant coach Kelsey Lahey returns to Marist after graduating from the program in 2016, following a senior season in which she collected 372 total kills, which was the eighth most kills in a single season in program history. She ended her career at Marist sixth on the program's all-time kills list with 1,014 kills, fourth all-time in career attacks (3,253), and tied for sixth all-time in kills in a single match (25).

 

THE ROSTER

• Marist will be returning 12 of their 14 players from the 2018 season. The team is well-balanced in terms of returning experience, as there will be three seniors, four juniors and five sophomores coming back.
• Four newcomers will be joining the Red Foxes this season: three freshman, and one transfer junior.
• Seniors Megan Fergus, Nikki DeSerpa, and Stephanie Stone are all very close to reaching the program's history books. DeSerpa is just one kill away from joining the top-10 in career kills, while Fergus is 132 kills away from cracking the top-10 on the same list. Stone is just 20 total blocks away from making the top-10 in career total blocks.
• Marist will enter the 2019 season without two key pieces from the 2018 team. Senior captains Taylor van der Biezen and Lauren Waide both graduated and will not be returning in 2019. Both will be missed for their leadership on and off the court. Van der Biezen is 5th in program history in career assists (2,753), and 8th in program history in career service aces (111).

Some ?? from our first practice of the 2019 preseason! pic.twitter.com/BJh13qJX9Z

— Marist Volleyball (@Maristvb) August 10, 2019

 

THE SCHEDULE

• The first match of the season will take place on Friday, August 30. The Red Foxes will take on the University of Alabama as part of the UB Invite. First serve is scheduled for 10 a.m.
• The Red Foxes home opener will be on Friday, September 20. Fairfield will come to McCann Arena, and first serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. This will also be the first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game of the season for the Red Foxes.
• Marist's final match of the year will be on Saturday, November 16 against Manhattan at McCann Arena.

 

WHAT'S NEXT THIS PRESEASON

• The team will be participating in a team-building exercise on Wednesday, August 14. Check in that day for more details.
• The 2019 Preseason Poll and Preseason All-MAAC Team will be announced on Tuesday, August 20.
• Wednesday, August 21 will be a team-service activity day. The Red Foxes will be teaming up with Habitat for Humanity on a community service project.