August 24, 2009

2009 Season Preview: Garnet Volleyball Ready to Rebound

SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The nets are getting ready to be stretched across the gym floor as the Garnet prepare for the 2009 volleyball season. In her eighth season, coach Harleigh Chwastyk and the Garnet are back and ready to hit the court. Swarthmore will look to rebound from last seasons 6-19 record and fight for a spot in the Centennial Conference Championships.

Despite the loss of Jen Wang '09 - who holds the record for most kills (1,171) - the Garnet look strong with several returning letterwinners. Up front,Kearney Bangs '10(Kingston, Wash./North Kitsap), Sarah Lambert '11(Beaver Falls, Pa/Blackhawk) and Genny Pezzola '12(Oakland Calif./St. Mary's College HS) will look to lead the Garnet offense. Pezzola and Lambert will lead the Garnet attack this year after combining for 385 kills last season. In her freshman season, Pezzola had 304 kills for the Garnet. Bangs is looking to improve on her stellar season that included 701 assists while continuing to be the backbone of the offense.

The season promises to be exciting from the start when the Garnet host Moravian (Sept. 1). The schedule will continue to challenge Swarthmore as they travel to the Greyhound Premier (Sept. 4-5), followed by the annual Garnet Classic (Sept. 12-13), where the Garnet will host Albright, Cabrini, Earlham, Wesley and Wheaton. Centennial Conference play begins when the Garnet travel to Bryn Mawr (Sept. 24).