WOMEN'S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL: Red Hawks release 2017 schedule - Hobbs Daily Report

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HICKORY – Road trips to three different states await Catawba Valley Community College’s women’s volleyball team this season.

HUDSON

The Red Hawks, coached by Shannon Hudson, released their schedule on Wednesday for a campaign that begins with two home scrimmages on Aug. 17.

CVCC plays Division II athletics in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

The Red Hawks’ 2017 volleyball schedule includes road trips to three tournaments in three different states. They’ll play in the Owens Community College Invitational in Perrysburg, Ohio on Sept. 1-2, at the Pasco-Hernando State College Bobcat Invitational in New Port Richey, Fla. on Sept. 8-9 and at the Wallace State Fall Bash in Hanceville, Ala. on Oct. 13-14.

“Our schedule this year is very similar to those in the past few years,” Hudson said in a press release. “Our opening tournament will be in Ohio where we face the NJCAA Division II national champions – Parkland College – in our first match of the tournament. We will be traveling to the Pasco-Hernando tournament in Florida and will also head back to Alabama to face several Division I opponents, including host Wallace State.”

CVCC is coming off the best season in program history, including a fourth-place national finish in NJCAA’s Division II.

First up this season for the Red Hawks will be home scrimmages on Aug. 17 against Bob Jones University (3:30 p.m.) and Montreat College (6:30 p.m.).

CVCC will also play host to its annual Catawba Valley volleyball scrimmages on Aug. 26, which includes matches against Lenoir-Rhyne University, Belmont Abbey College, Catawba College, Converse College (S.C.), Meredith College and Queens University.

With five returning sophomores and a plethora of freshman talented added to the mix, Hudson believes the early portion of the calendar will be a great gauge of measuring where her team is at.

Elvent of 14 roster spots are filled by players who played in one of the four area high school conferences (Southern District 7 Athletic 2A, Northwestern 3A-4A, South Mountain Athletic 2A-3A, North Piedmont 3A-4A).

Sophomores are Mallory Bailey (Bandys), Autumn Elder (Patton), Leslie Leonard (Draughn) and Hailey Tatu (Lake Norman).

Incoming freshmen include: Emily Williams (North Iredell), Abigail Dowell (Fred T. Foard), Adair Melton (Fred T. Foard), Mikayla Creswell (Crest), Karsyn Mundy (Bunker Hill), Katie Rupp (North Iredell) and Emilee Webber (North Lincoln).

“Our roster makeup this year is completely different than what we typically have,” she said in the release. “We are much smaller than usual, but the court awareness of this year’s team is phenomenal.

“Ball control is also looking promising, so we are excited to see how the offense comes together. And, we are freshmen heavy, so our busy schedule at the beginning of the fall gives everyone a chance to unify before we hit the meat of our conference schedule.”

For the complete schedule, visit http://gocvcc.com/sports/wvball/2017-18/schedule.

CVCC’S 2017 WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL ROSTER

No./Name/Post./Ht./High school

2, Na Diea Atkins, middle hitter, Fr., Fayetteville Pine Forest

3, Emily Williams, libero, Fr., N. Iredell

4, Abigail Dowell, def. Specialist, Fr., Fred T. Foard

5, Hailey Tatu, outside hitter, Soph., Lake Norman

6, Adair Melton, outside hitter, Fr., Fred T. Foard

7, Mikayla Creswell, middle hitter, Fr., Crest

8, Karsyn Mundy, middle hitter, Fr., Bunker Hill

9, Leslie Leonard, middle hitter, Soph., Draughn

11, Sabrina Pinard, middle hitter, Soph., Lake Norman Charter