Volleyball continues to rebuild in 2009

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Sept. 2, 2009) – One year after Mike Talamantes took the reigns of the women’s volleyball program at Occidental, the Tigers look to continue making strides at rebuilding a once dominant program. With six returning athletes and the addition of nine new faces, there is sure to be a new look in Rush Gymnasium come the start of the season.

“The key to success this fall will be the development of our freshmen class,” Talamantes shared. “We need to improve our ball control from last season and the incoming athletes can do just that.”

Additionally, the Tigers have a phenomenal group of athletes who, given the right amount of time to adjust to the speed of conference play, could cause some damage later in the season. 

The Tigers’ five returning starters and their libero, coupled with an incoming group that possesses an increased level of  ball control will turn Oxy into a contender. The goal of the Tigers is to play competitive volleyball during the fall and earn a bid to the first ever SCIAC Volleyball Tournament, which will be held at the beginning of November.

A year ago Occidental finished as the No. 1 blocking team in the SCIAC, behind the current lone senior Ashley Rosenbaum, who led the team in blocks per game. Other returning players to watch include juniors Kathryn Bockmon and Ginger Grimes and sophomore Gwynne Davis. Grimes led the team with digs per game while Davis led the team in kills per game. Bockmon was top three in kills and digs while leading the squad in service aces. 

Occidental opens the season at the Pacific Coast Classic hosted by Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Sept. 4-5.  before opening their home schedule on Tuesday, Oct. 8 with a pair of non-conference matches against Chapman (4:00 p.m.) and La Sierra University (7:00 p.m.).  

Article: Tracy Maple