Aug. 27, 2008

NEWARK, NJ - Words such as "building" or "rebuilding" get thrown around a lot in sports to the point that they lose some of their meaning. For NJIT women's volleyball, however, "building" is a fitting description as the program enters its third season of NCAA Division I competition.

Back in the 1980's when NJIT was a Division III program, the Highlanders posted 20-plus win records in four out of five seasons. But the Division II era (1998 to 2005) was a difficult one for volleyball. The Highlanders were 9-20 in 2005, their final season of Division II competition and it was one of their best in eight years at that level.

Moving up to face DI teams in 2006, the Highlanders actually upped their win total to 10 in the first year and were 7-7 over the last 14 matches.

In 2007, the building continued and NJIT collected 13 wins, equaling the program's highest total in a 15-year period. Indeed, the 2007 Highlanders overcame a 1-11 start to go 12-10 over their last 22 regular season matches.

The building continues in the 2008 season, which will be the last for the two players--Agnieszka Pregowska and Danielle Thompson-- remaining from NJIT's final Division II team. It also marks the last year of reclassification before NJIT women's volleyball becomes a championship-eligible member of Division I.

Five of the 12 players on the preseason roster are freshmen and they will be asked to contribute immediately as they combine with the two seniors, four juniors and a sophomore, all of whom have contributed to making NJIT stronger against Division I opponents than it was against Division II opponents.

The 2005 season saw the arrival of Pregowska and Thompson, who assumed leading on-court roles as freshmen in NJIT's final Division II campaign. Three more key players-- Kristy Haeckel, Kasha Hornstein and Sabrina Baby --came on in 2006. Transfer Erica Schultz, now a junior, and Baaba Hughes came aboard in 2007.

This year's freshman class has an international flavor, with two players coming from Brazil and one from Canada, along with two New Jersey products.

Pregowska and Thompson entered with a splash 2005 and were solid in 2006. Pregowska, New Jersey's 2004 state high school Player of the Year, was an instant star for NJIT, ranking fourth nationally in NCAA Division II in kills per game for 2005. As a sophomore, with a more diverse attack, she was second on the team in points per game and third in digs per game and attack percentage. Last year, she led in points per game, hitting percentage and blocks.

Thompson, a two-year starting setter, averaged more assists per game in Division I than she had in Division II, stepping up to average 9.56 assists in 2006. In 2007, slowed by injury, she shared setting duties with the transfer, Schultz, and was second on the team at 4.98 assists per game.

Haeckel headlined the strong 2006 freshman class, emerging as team leader in kills, blocks and points per game. She was Female Newcomer of the Year for the entire Highlander athletic program for 2006-07. She, too, had some injury trouble in 2007, but nonetheless led the team in kills per game.

Hornstein, a complete player, played in 136 of 140 games and edged Haeckel for the team lead in total kills. Baby, the tireless libero, led the 2007 Highlanders in digs by a wide margin (nearly double the total of the next player) and in aces, also by a wide margin (71 to 50 for the next-highest player). She led in the same two categories as a freshman.

Pregowska, Haeckel and Baby were each chosen to the all-Division I Independent second team. Erica Schultz, who transferred to NJIT last year, was an honorable mention selection on the same all-Independent team. A defensive specialist at Louisiana Tech, she expanded her role and was NJIT's assists leader (6.36 per game) and also played as a hitter, notching 174 kills.

Hughes, the only sophomore on the squad, showed more and more as her freshman season progressed and wound up starting 10 matches.

Coach Ryan McNeil, who doubles as NJIT's men's coach, can only hope that the added Brazilian flavor on NJIT women's volleyball has a similar impact to what it had for his highly successful men's team. The Highlander men, who extended 11th-ranked George Mason to five sets before losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament, two steps from the four-team national championship field, featured three Brazilian starters.

With assistant coach JR Martins and Baby already having made a positive impact on the NJIT women's program, they are joined by compatriots Renata Pandolfo and Juliana Araujo. Pandolfo even attended the same secondary school as former NJIT men's stars Leonardo Paludo and Eduardo Welter.

McNeil, who is from Canada, crossed the border to recruit another freshman, Chanelle Preradovich, who was a club teammate of Baaba Hughes. Both hail from the Toronto area.

The two New Jersey recruits are setter Audrey Snell from Bogota and Courtney Hughes from Maplewood.

"The program is getting to where we want it to be and we're shooting to have an above-.500 season," said McNeil, who was interim head coach of the NJIT women in 2005 and shed the interim tag in 2006. "I'm comfortable with the mix of new players and experienced players. We'll have more options this year than we've ever had.

"We're looking for team consistency in hitting, setting and serving and we want to develop the attitude that once we're in a close game, we're going to win."

NJIT opens its season in Texas at UTEP's Sun Bowl Invitational, the first of six tournaments for the Highlanders this season, including two they will host at NJIT (Highlanders Challenge, September 12 and 13; and Halloween Classic, October 31 and November 1). The season ended at the Division I Independent Tournament hosted by Utah Valley on November 21 and 22.