Volleyball Season Preview: With Just Four Returners, Triceratops Seek a Fresh Start

Tri-C aims to improve on last year’s 15-19 campaign

New year, new name, new uniforms and a new outlook with a nearly new roster.

Welcome to the 2019 Cuyahoga Community College volleyball season. Returning just four sophomores from last year’s team that finished 15-19 (6-10 in the OCCAC), the Triceratops hope a newfound focus on defense will help them stomp through the conference and region.

“When you have as much turnover as we’ve had on our roster, it makes it more difficult in that you have to kind of start from scratch,” said Mary Colovas, Tri-C’s head coach. “But it’s an opportunity for our second-year players to step into leadership roles on and off the court.”

The four returners are K’Mari Dates, Shanyla Johnson, Chassidy Smedley and Maddy Rice. Dates led all returners in kills last year with 107, along with 31 errors in 316 total attempts.

The Triceratops will rely on Dates, along with incoming freshmen Emily Garapic and Annaiya Ruffin, for much of the offense.

“They’re three of our strongest hitters,” Colovas said. “I’ll be looking to them.”

Above all, Colovas expects to see good defense from her 2019 squad, anchored by freshman libero Mary O’Reilly.
 
“She’s fast and reads the ball very well,” Colovas said.

Tri-C will open the home portion of their schedule against Walsh University, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. All home volleyball matches take place at the Eastern Campus. Admission is free.

Visit the Tri-C volleyball homepage for a complete schedule.

August 27, 2019

Erik Cassano, 216-987-3577 or erik.cassano@tri-c.edu