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Posted: Aug 14, 2015

Season In Review: Wells College Women's Volleyball

Throughout the summer of 2015, the Wells College Department of Athletics website will look back at the "year that was". Starting with men's lacrosse on Thursday, June 11, a comprehensive "season in review" for each of Wells varsity sports will be posted, giving fans not only a look back but also a look forward to the upcoming season of play.

In only their third season as a modern-day varsity program, Wells went from a five-win season in 2013 to an outstanding 23-win campaign in 2014 that culminated in the team's first North Eastern Athletic Conference playoff match in program history.

2014
 23-11 | 10-2 NEAC | 6-1 HOME | 4-5 AWAY | 13-5 NEUTRAL
 Schedule and Results | Roster | Statistics | News | Record Book

STATISTICAL LEADERS 

KILLS
Vashti Nettles
322		 ASSISTS
Taryn Heath
590		 SERVICE ACES
Meredith Kadjeski
71		 DIGS
Anuhea Leite-Ah Yo
349

POSTSEASON AWARD WINNERS

 

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
FEMALE STUDENT-ATHLETE
OF THE YEAR
 Vashti Nettles

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
 Anuhea Leite-Ah Yo

 EXPRESS AWARD
Taryn Heath

NOTABLES

  • NOT BAD FOR SEASON THREE!: Wells concluded its most successful season in team history with a 23-11 record after posting a 10-2 record against NEAC competition in 2014. In only the team's third season since the modern day revival of women's volleyball in Aurora after a 30-year hiatus, Wells shattered virtually every offensive and defensive team record en route to racking up the most overall victories amongst all NEAC schools.
  • THAT'S RANK!: Wells was the only NEAC school to rank within the top-three in team kills, team kills per set, team hitting percentage, team assists per set and team digs per set. Wells also tied Cobleskill St. for the best out-of-conference record amongst NEAC squads (10-8) and played a tough non-NEAC schedule that included 20-win squads from Ithaca, Scranton and St. Lawrence.
  • IT'S ACADEMIC: Wells earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for their outstanding prowess in the classroom. The award was issued to any volleyball team that maintained at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average on a 4.0 scale during the 2014-15 academic year. Wells was one of 140 NCAA Division III women's programs to be selected and was also one of two schools representing the North Eastern Athletic Conference (Gallaudet University) on the list. The Express was recognized for the first time in its three-year history by the AVCA, joining 752 teams nationwide across the three NCAA divisions, NAIA, NCCAA and high schools.
  • TARYN IT UP: Senior Taryn Heath (Truxton, N.Y.) picked up Capital One Academic All-District® First Team honors for her strong academic and athletic performance in 2014. At the time, Heath was only the second player in school history to pick up this prestigious award. Graduating from Wells a full year early with a double major in Sociology/Anthrology and Psychology, the two-sport athlete (women's tennis) led the Express with 588 total assists, averaging 7.64 per set to lead the team in that statistic. She also earned NEAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year honors to conclude her athletics career with the Express.
  • THEY'VE EARNED IT: Freshman Anuhea Leite-Ah Yo (Hilo, Hawaii) and Head Coach Richard Gary joined junior Vashti Nettles (Long Beach, Calif.) and sophomore Meredith Kadjeski (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) as award winners on the 2014 North Eastern Athletic Conference Women's Volleyball All-Conference list. Leite-Ah Yo was tabbed as the NEAC Rookie of the Year while Gary was selected as the conference's Coach of the Year following a vote by his peers. Nettles and Kadjeski secured NEAC First Team All-Conference while Leite-Ah Yo also earned a spot on the conference's Second Team for her strong rookie campaign.
  • ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: An offensive and defensive threat for the Express, Leite-Ah Yo was recognized as both the conference's top rookie and a Second Team All-NEAC selection for her two-way play in 2014. The Hawaii native ranked second amongst all NEAC freshmen in total kills (273) and averaged 2.28 per set to rank 12th overall amongst qualifying players. She also had strong defensive contributions for Wells, tallying 2.91 digs per set to rank within the conference's top-20 student-athletes. Posting the team's best reception percentage, Leite-Ah Yo committed only 32 reception errors in well over 550 total receptions. She also led the Express with six out of conference double-doubles in 2014, posting double-digit kill and dig totals against a tough non-league schedule. She also elevated her game against conference opponents, tallying a team-best 117 digs (2.92/set) in those matches.
  • REPRESENTING THE WEST COAST: Nettles picked up First Team All-Conference honors after a stellar regular season where she was the only conference player to rank within the top-three in both kills per set (3.40) and hitting percentage (.393) against conference opponents in 2014. Overall, Nettles registered a single-season program record .316 hitting percentage, hammering home 322 kills while committing only 94 errors while also chipping in with a team-best 68 total blocks. Her 143 kills against conference opponents ranked second overall in the NEAC and her 24 total blocks placed her eighth overall for blocks against league opponents.
  • THE VETERAN: Kadjeski, who was named Second Team All-Conference last year, joined Nettles on the First Team. One of the conference's top servers, Kadjeski ranked third in the NEAC with 71 total service aces, averaging .58 per set in 2014. Offensively, she placed 15th in the conference with 260 kills for the Express en route to her second-straight 200 kill season in 2014. At the net front, she chipped in with 42 total blocks for Wells. She elevated her game not only against conference opponents, but during tough non-conference matches during the season. She notched double-digit kill totals in four straight matches from Oct. 17 to Oct. 25 and posted 23 kills and 11 kills against Ithaca and Scranton, respectively, as both teams were in the midst of 20-win seasons. In arguably the most important conference match of the year, Kadjeski's double-double against the Wolfpack of Keuka College helped the Express to their first-ever win against their Finger Lakes-rival.
  • THE SKIPPER: Richard Gary, in his third season working with the women's volleyball team, was selected as the NEAC Coach of the Year for his work with a young program. Hired to create both the men's and women's volleyball programs from scratch in late 2011, the Express endured growing pains in 2012 and 2013 that saw the team win three and five matches, respectively. In 2014, the Express posted the conference's most dramatic improvement in overall and conference record after a 5-25 record in only their second season as a modern-era varsity program last season. The team tallied a 23-10 overall record alongside a 10-2 mark within the conference to qualify for the postseason for the first time. Steadily improving the team since a three-win season in 2012, Gary's team led all NEAC squads in service aces (318) and service aces per set (2.79).
  • THE FIRST OF MANY: On Oct. 27, Kadjeski and Leite-Ah Yo picked up the team's first-ever Student-Athlete of the Week awards from the NEAC. Later in the year, on Nov. 3, Nettles picked up the first of her career.
  • THE CAYUGA CUP: For the first time in team history, Wells posted a 3-2 road victory over Ithaca on Oct. 22. With the win, the Express will take home the Cayuga Cup, a newly-created trophy that is awarded to the winner of the yearly match between the Cayuga Lake rivals.
  • 1,500: With 28 assists against Utica on Oct. 10, Heath recorded her 1,500 career assist in a Wells uniform. Far and way the program leader in helpers, Heath was also a perfect 6-for-6 on attack attempts against the Pioneers, picking up six kills on six swings without an error.
  • TAKING ON THE CONFERENCE: Dropping only one set the entire weekend of NEAC play, Wells posted a 4-0 record on Saturday, Oct. 4 and Sunday, Oct. 5. Despite dropping the first set of Sunday's action by a 25-17 margin to SUNYIT, Wells rallied to dispatch the Wildcats by set scores of 25-10, 25-13 and 25-18. In the final match of the afternoon, Wells edged Cazenovia in straight sets by scores of 25-19, 25-12 and 25-20. The opening set loss to SUNYIT was Wells' first on the weekend after posting back-to-back 3-0 wins against Morrisville State and SUNY Cobleskill on Saturday.
  • SWEEPING THE DOUBLE-DIP: In only the second week of their third season, Wells posted back-to-back 3-0 victories in a doubleheader after defeating Alfred University and Bard College on Sept. 13. Exiting play with five victories on the season, Wells has tied the modern day record for single-season wins that they set last season (5-25, 2013). Wells had never posted back-to-back 3-0 wins in a doubleheader.
  • SECURING THE HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: Recovering from a 25-15 opening set loss, Wells opened their third modern-day season of volleyball with a 3-1 win against D'Youville on Aug. 29 at the Farenthold Athletic Wing. The Express, who revived their women's volleyball program in 2012, secured their first home court victory dating back to Oct. 20, 1977, a 3-2 win against Roberts Wesleyan. Wells also picked up their first victory over D'Youville in over 36 years, last edging the Spartans on Nov. 9, 1977 in a neutral site match at Nazareth.
  • QUICK HITS: Kadjeski and Nettles each posted 23 kills in single matches on the year, tying the former's single-game program record...Leite-Ah Yo posted 24 digs against Ithaca on Oct. 22, setting the all-time mark...Heath threw up 50 assists against Keystone on Sept. 5 at home, breaking her own program record...With eight total blocks against Gwynedd Mercy on Sept. 27, Nettles broke the previous record of four set by Leilani Yasutake (Penn St.-Harrisburg, 09/23/12) and current teammate Zakarra Butts (Cortland, N.Y.) (at Cazenovia, 10/06/12).

QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH RICHARD GARY

  • "This season was a really special culmination of all our efforts these past three years. So many matches could have gone either way, and the drive, competitiveness, and passion for the sport from this group helped us find our best performances in the biggest moments."