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Women's Volleyball

Men’s soccer and women’s volleyball trip to Milan, Italy 2009

August 30, 2010
Cyclones start season by topping COD tourney

The Cyclones wasted no time kicking their season into high gear by winning the College of DuPage Volleyball Classic Tournament Aug. 27-28. Going undefeated in the competition, the ’Clones played hard, especially Rachel Levitt (Lyons Township/Kishwaukee College) who was named to the All-Tournament team.

On Aug. 27 Moraine Valley started strong by defeating Harper College 25-18, 25-18. Donna Killeen (Marist) led the team with nine kills followed by Levitt with eight kills and two blocks. Adding to the offense were Bianca Hull (Bremen) with four kills and two blocks, and Carli Immordino (Richards) with four kills and two service aces. Shannon Ott (Oak Lawn) was also productive with three kills and two blocks. The Cyclones’ 29 kill assists were delivered by Katie Yacko (Oak Lawn).

In their next game, Moraine Valley defeated Illinois Valley 25-13, 25-10. Levitt led the offense with eight kills out of 10 swings and three service aces with Killeen adding five kills of her own. Yacko distributed 17 assists as setter. Kelly Stack (Sandburg) was tough on defense with 12 digs and two service aces.

The Cyclones continued pool play on August 28, defeating St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley 25-15, 25-16. The offense was balanced in this match with four kills each from Hull, Levitt, Immordino, and Killeen. Ott and Stack both added two kills. Yacko dished out 20 assists and Stack was solid as libero with eight receptions and seven digs.

To finish out pool play the Cyclones played a great match with previous three-time tournament champions Lake Michigan College for a win in two sets: 25-13, 25-20. Levitt was huge in both front and back row with 10 kills in 14 attempts. Killeen added five more kills with Yacko setting for 22 kill assists. Immordino added three kills and had nine digs.

A semi-final match with Highland Community College was just another win for the Cyclones: 25-20, 25-19. Levitt got tougher as the day went on leading the team with 11 kills, no errors in 20 swings along with her two blocks and five digs. Another balanced offense backed her up with Immordino’s four kills as well as two each from Hull, Ott, Killeen, and Stack as libero. Yacko dished out 23 assists. Tough serves gave the Cyclones points on five service aces and forced poor passes by Highland. The defensive players also were critical in this win with digs by Immordino, Stack and Danielle Donahue (Lockport Central). Highland will be ready for revenge when they play at Moraine Valley on Sept. 25.

The Cyclones then moved into the championship match against Madison Area Technical College. This was a true competitive test for the Cyclones, but they came out on top 25-20, 25-22. Moraine Valley responded well both offensively with 31 kills and four blocks, and defensively with 55 digs and 28 perfect serve receptions. Levitt and Killeen both had nine kills and the middle hitters Hull and Ott were significant with four kills each. In the back row, Stack was a force with 13 perfect receptions and 17 digs. Yacko added 10 digs along with her 31 kill assists as setter.

“Madison Area Tech is an excellent team with a dominant left side hitter that we contained enough to get the win,” said coach Gloria Coughlin. “This was a truly awesome start for the Cyclones, not to mention fun.”

Within this winning weekend, Coughlin racked up her 400th win as coach of Moraine Valley women's volleyball team.

August 27, 2010
Cyclones set for a winning season

The Cyclone volleyball team looks to the 2010 season with strong recruits and standout returners on board, ready to improve upon last year’s performance.

Nine new faces are joining the four sophomores, giving a very different look to the season. “We have some talented young women on this squad, many of whom bring top high school and club experience to the court,” said coach Gloria Coughlin. “We have one goal this year—winning. Whatever it takes. This will be a fun season watching this team and the many options the players bring to the court.”

Returning this year is NJCAA All-Region first team player Alicia Krupa (Oak Lawn) in the critical libero role along with standouts Carli Immordino (Richards) and Isabel Reyes (Eisenhower) at the left and right pins. This year Shannon Ott (Oak Lawn) will move to middle blocker where her athleticism will have an immediate impact.

Aiding the Cyclones this season are some strong additions, including 6-foot left side hitter and second-year transfer Rachel Levitt (Lyons Township/Kishwaukee College). Levitt brings several years of experience and an elite level of play at Kishwaukee, which has won three of the last four NJCAA National Championships. She brings a variety of offensive weapons, as she is versatile in all three hitting positions along the net. Another experienced player joining the troupe is Kelly Stack (McAuley/Sandburg) who brings her excellent passing, defense and smart attacking at both the left and right sides and can fill in as libero. Also making their debuts this year with the Cyclones are setters Katie Yacko (Oak Lawn) and Molly Duckwall (Bremen), who will dish out sets to middle hitter Bianca Hull (Bremen), outside hitter Donna Killeen (Marist) and Allison Pytko (Stagg) at middle/right side. All these players are expected to contribute right away in the offensive system.

Joining the defensive unit are freshmen Danielle Donahue (Lockport Central) and Katie Fitzer (Queen of Peace), both of whom also add tough serving to the Cyclone repertoire of attacks.

“We are very excited to have a big group of athletic players this season that allow us to have all types of options in our matches. Having options means we are not limited to any one offensive system or one defensive system. We can move players around in different spots to obtain good matchups,” Coughlin said. “With so many versatile players, we can adjust to opponents more so than we have in the recent past, and that generally translates into more points scored and more wins.”