The reigning 2022 Region III Volleyball Champions are eager to get back to work for the 2023 season. After coming off an unforgettable 26-6 season and an 8th place finish at the NJCAA DIII National Tournament last season, the Lady Raiders Volleyball team has high hopes for the upcoming 2023 season.
Head Coach Tina Olyer's squad has been preparing for the upcoming season for the last several weeks with an entire new roster. The Lady Raiders are currently ranked 12th in the NJCAA Division III Preseason Volleyball Rankings.
"Practices have been going extremely well. The team is working hard, stated Olyer. We have set goals for ourselves, and we will continue to work on them. With a brand-new squad of athletes, our focus has been working on team building, setting expectations and goals, developing court leaders, communication and instilling focus on maximum effort in everything we do."
The Lady Raiders will open their season on the road on September 2nd at Erie Community College. FMCC will play both Erie and Niagara Community College.
The Lady Raiders will feature an all-new roster with a lot of local talent. Grace O'Brien (Galway), Alaina Diffee (Queensbury), and Lindsey Zawisa (Galway) will play a big role at the net and defensively for FMCC. Amber Cole (Fonda) will look to make a big impact on the floor offensively right away.
Lilia White (Mayfield), Lola Schnettler (Canjo), Jenna Greenwald (Amsterdam) and Cynthia McDougall (Broadalbin-Perth) will be asked to fill several different positions that were lost due to graduation.
"We will be able to move girls around to different positions and feel confident that they will be able to handle those changes. We also have a taller team then in the past, so hopefully that will help us defensively at the net in getting more touches on balls which will help out our back row players," said Assistant Coach Mike Calvello.
The Lady Raiders will open at home when they host Kingsborough Community College on September 6th at 6:00 P.M.
