Albany, NY---The Sage Colleges' women's volleyball team will open the campaign on September 2 hosting the Wildcats of SUNY-Polytechnic in Kahl Gym at 7 p.m. Leading the Gators this fall will be veteran coach Sandy Augstein-Collins. Now in her 20th season as a collegiate coach, the 1987 Russell Sage College graduate returns 11 players from last year's Skyline Conference Championship Team.
In 2014, Sage went 25-7 overall and earned the program's third Skyline Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. Along the way the Gators won 20 consecutive matches and finished their second straight conference slate of matches unbeaten. The 2015 team brings a Skyline Conference regular-season win streak that has grown to 22matches and dates back to October 3, 2012. The last Skyline Conference setback for Sage in conference play was a loss on Oct. 3, 2012 (3-1 to Mt. St. Mary College).
Among the players Augstein-Collins is expecting to lead the squad this fall are returning Skyline Conference all-star honorees, junior outside hitter Siena Wilder (Ballston Spa, NY/Burnt Hills Ballston Spa) and junior setter Rachel Liebig (Hartford, NY/Hartford). Wilder earned Skyline First Team honors last season, while Liebig was a second team performer last fall.
Wilder led the Gators with her 93 aces, No. 3 all-time at Sage in single-season efforts a year ago, while also adding 39 kills with a team-best 433 digs in 108 sets played. Liebig led the Gators with her 1,006 setting assists and stands No.4 in single-season performances at Sage. She brings 1,450 career setting assists into the 2015 campaign and is already No. 5 on the Gator career list.
Senior middle hitter Mickey Mango (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) racked up 152 kills and also had 55 total blocks. She had 199.5 points in 97 sets played. She moves into the No. 12 spot in career kills (489), while ranking
No. 4 in career total blocks (197). Junior right Morgan Robinson (Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa) performed in 71 sets last season with 89 kills, 22 digs, and 19 total blocks.
Junior Michayla Berard (Binghamton, NY/Susquehanna Valley) racked up 167 kills with 48 digs and 27 total blocks, good enough for 184.5 points which was fourth highest a year ago.
Defensive specialist sophomore Missy Scheiderman (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley) returns after a strong finish to her rookie campaign. Scheiderman tallied 283 digs with 25 aces in 102 sets, while adding an .859 reception percentage on the year.
Junior outside hitter Sara Campolieta (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley) added 33 aces in 94 sets played with 126 digs and will be looked to once again this season, while junior outside hitter Katy Rimawi (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) will use her experience with the team the past two years to serve the squad.
Among the additional returning players expected to serve the team in various roles are senior defensive specialist Maggie Brenenstuhl (Melrose, NY/Hoosic Valley), and sophomores Alyssa Nellis (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown) and Cassidy Arocho (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam).
Liebig and Mango will serve as the 2015 team co-captains, a role Liebig also served in last year.
The pair will find plenty of talent in the pool of newcomers to the program as Sage welcomes four new faces to the roster. The newcomers includes Amelia Taylor (Fort Edward, NY/Fort Edward), a right side hitter who had a great pre-season. Outside hitter Bianca Bustamante (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) is looking extremely sharp after taking a year off to serve in the U.S. Air Force. Rookie setter Alli Bardwell (Whately, MA/Frontier Regional) is taking on a new position and fits into the Gator lineup extremely well.
Sage will participate in four tournaments to open the campaign with stops at Elms College, SUNY-New Paltz, Oswego State, and Skidmore College. Skyline Conference play will open on October 3 for the Gators as they visit St. Joseph's College (LI) for a tri-match with SUNY-Old Westbury.
Home matches will find Bard and MCLA visiting the Neff Center (Troy, NY) for non-conference matches of October 6 and 8, respectively. Vassar College will face Sage on October 21 in Kahl Gym, before a Skyline Conference tri-match also in Kahl wraps the busy week on October 24. October 24 will also mark Senior Day for the Gators, while the busy day will also include a ceremony to unveil the 2014 Sage Women's Volleyball Skyline Conference Championship banner and NCAA Tournament appearance banner.
Augstein-Collins is confident the 2015 Gators have what it takes to not only make a run for a second-straight Skyline Conference title, but make their upcoming season another memorable one filled with new marks for success and record-breaking efforts.
