The Behrend volleyball program has had much success in years past, including last season's team reaching the AMCC Championship match and earning their third ECAC bid to finish with a 22-11 overall record. Always in the hunt for the AMCC title, the Lions have not accomplished the feat of capturing the crown since 2005. Behrend, the AMCC preseason coaches' poll favorite this year, will look to seven returning letterwinners and six new faces to win the conference championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

"After graduating three seniors and losing two other starters, we have a much different look to our team this year," said head coach Phil Pisano. "While we don't boast a ton of experience heading into the season, we're extremely athletic and I sense this group of players is excited for the opportunity to make a big mark on the program."

The experience and leadership for the upcoming season will come from lone senior Danielle Woods and junior Stefanie Kelley. Woods, the 2009 Team MVP, showed her versatility and unselfishness by switching positions and playing libero last season. She led the team with 454 digs and tied for second with 42 aces. She currently ranks ninth on the program's all-time list with 1,216 career digs and 144 aces.

"Danielle has quietly put together an outstanding career at Behrend," said Pisano. "She is one of the best all-around athletes we've ever had, an extremely hard worker, and last year she pushed herself to become more of a leader."

Kelley has the potential to step into a bigger role in her third year with the squad. Her two first years were productive on the court, including 319 digs, 73 kills, 20 aces and six blocks in 2009.

"Stefanie has always possessed an ability to make the big play, especially on defense, but during our spring season she really showed a huge improvement in her consistency and confidence," said Pisano. "I'm very excited to see what kind of impact she can have for us this fall as libero or as an outside hitter."

Alongside Woods and Kelley are five returning sophomores, including All-AMCC honorable mention and Team Rookie of the Year, Mary Sperry. One of four players to compete in all 33 matches, she ranked second in digs (377) and was third in kills (199). Sperry paced the squad with 43 aces.

"Mary made an immediate impact last season as an outside hitter and will be one of our workhorses again this year," said Pisano. "She is tough, athletic, and driven to succeed."

The remaining sophomores Jessica Woods, Alyssa Pears, Carly Higham and Lexy Weissinger all got a taste of collegiate competition last season. Woods had 54 kills and 35 blocks, while Pears was voted the team's Most Improved Player after finishing with 19 kills in 22 games played.

 "The rest of our sophomores will need to grow into taking on a larger role more quickly than typical because of our overall youth as a team," said Pisano. "But I like the steps they've taken so far to prove they are ready for the task."

Coach Pisano realizes the five freshmen are a key factor to the future success of the team and feels many are ready to make an impact this season.

"Our freshman class has as much potential as any incoming class we've had," said Pisano. "The key to realizing this potential will be developing confidence while grinding through the sometimes challenging process of daily improvement."

The Lions will travel to Ohio for the Marietta River City Classic to open the season before returning back home to the Junker Center for their first home match against Allegheny on Sept. 7. Behrend then hosts its own invitational and begins the conference slate on Sept. 29 against Pitt-Bradford.

"Our league is wide open this year with Pitt-Bradford, Medaille, and Penn State Altoona as the strong contenders to capture a title in 2010," said Pisano. "We hope that a strong non-conference schedule will prepare us for some key conference matches, help to accelerate our growth throughout the season, and ready us for a run at the AMCC championship in November."