WILMINGTON — The UNCW volleyball team opens the 2012 season this weekend as it hosts Delaware State, High Point and LIU Brooklyn in the UNCW Courtyard Marriott Beach Bash at Hanover Hall.
Tournament Format and Schedule
The UNCW Courtyard Marriott Beach Bash will feature six matches with all four teams playing each other once in a round-robin format to determine the tournament champion … The two-day event gets underway Friday with Delaware State and LIU Brooklyn squaring off at 5 p.m. before the host Seahawks entertain High Point in a 7:30 contest … Saturday’s action begins with a morning session that features the Blackbirds and Panthers at 10:30 a.m. followed by the Seahawks and Hornets at 1 p.m. … Saturday’s evening session will bring the tournament to a close with Delaware State and High Point at 5 p.m. to be followed by UNCW and LIU Brooklyn at 7:30 p.m.
Seahawk Notes
UNCW welcomes back nine letterwinners and five starters from last season’s squad that posted a 12-19 overall record and recorded the program’s most Colonial Athletic Association victories since 1988 … Junior right side hitter Christi Laite, a Second-Team All-CAA and NCCSIA All-State selection in 2011, returns to the lineup after ranking sixth in the league in kills per set (3.28) while pacing the squad in attack percentage (.233) a season ago … Laite also pitched 83 total blocks and 27 service aces to finish the 2011 campaign fifth in the CAA in points per frame (3.92) … Defensively, Junior libero Haley Collins is back after a sophomore campaign that saw her rank fifth in the league in digs per set (4.17) … Collins finished the season second on program’s single-season chart for total digs (496) … Senior setter Natalie LaHaie will begin the 2012 campaign as the program’s primary setter after splitting setting duties with graduated senior Kelsey Bendig last season … LaHaie averaged 5.97 assists per set in 2011, good for 10thin the league in that category … Fourth-year Head Coach Amy Bambenek also welcomes four newcomers into the fold for the 2012 campaign … freshmen Kaitlyn Cobb, Lindsay Hartmann, Meredith Peacock and Victoria Phillips will all make their collegiate debuts this weekend.
UNCW In Season Openers
Since 1978, the Seahawks are 14-19 in season openers … UNCW has lost its last two season openers, suffering 3-1 setbacks on the road to High Point (2010) and Winthrop (2011) during tournament competition … The Seahawks last victory in a season opener came in 2009, when it posted a 3-1 triumph over UNC Asheville in the Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball Tournament … The win over the Bulldogs served as Head Coach Amy Bambenek’s first collegiate coaching victory.
Record Watch
Setter Natalie LaHaie begins her senior season with 1,028 assists, good for 12th place on the program’s all-time list … She enters the weekend needing just 116 assists to match former setter Lacey White (2003-04) for 10th place … Junior libero Haley Collins enters her junior campaign with 804 career digs, good for 12th place on the program’s career chart … Collins opens the season needing just 99 digs to equal Heather Kimble (1987-90) for 10th place.
Laite Named To CAA Preseason Squad
UNCW junior right side hitter Christi Laite was named to the Preseason All-CAA Volleyball Team on Tuesday … A Second-Team All-CAA and NCCSIA All-State Team selection in 2011, Laite played in 29 matches for the Seahawks last season and ranked sixth in the league in kills per set (3.28) while pacing the squad in attack percentage (.233) … She also pitched 83 total blocks and 27 service aces to finish the season fifth in the league in points per frame (3.92) … Defensively, the Severna Park, Md., product averaged 1.42 digs per set as she recorded three double-doubles during her sophomore campaign.
