According to first-year Head Coach Leigh Ann Matesich, the Raiders are hoping to improve their win total and establish her system of play in 2006.

“Obviously, we want to win more games,” she said. “That’s the goal of every coach – improve your win total from the previous year. More importantly, we want our players to gain an understanding of the way we want to play and what we want to achieve long-term as a team. We want to become a real threat in this conference and be respected by other teams.”

The Purple Raiders will be led by a pair of returning All-OAC performers – junior/middle hitter Jessica Ehmer (Massillon/Perry) and sophomore/setter Kayli Tyson (OlmsteadFalls).

Ehmer, who earned Honorable-Mention All-OAC status in 2005, appeared in 111 games and was second in the conference in hitting percentage (.310). She also earned Academic All-Conference status last fall.

Tyson, also a 2005 Honorable-Mention All-OAC pick, played in 113 games, finishing third in the conference in assists (11.46 apg) and eighth in aces (.38 apg).

“Both of these players worked hard in the off-season improving their quickness and strength,” added Matesich. “They also have taken on more of a leadership role. Clearly, they should be key performers for us in 2006.”

Other key returners include junior/outside hitter Amanda Kohler (Uniontown/Hoover), sophomore/defensive specialist Alexi Sawayda (Chagrin Falls/Kenston), junior/outside hitter Morgan McKinnon (New Concord/John Glenn) and sophomore/outside hitter Rachel Phipps (Tallmadge).

Kohler (112) and Sawayda (104) played in over 100 games in 2005 while McKinnon and Phipps each played in 51 games last fall.

“We do return a handful of players with some experience,” said Matesich. “However, we will need to get more players acclimated to in-match play. You need good depth to be successful. We lost three experienced players to graduation. They will be hard to replace, but that gives younger players in the program the opportunity to establish themselves as quality OAC performers.”

The Purple Raiders are also expecting contributions from several newcomers.

“We have a motivated, talented and exciting group of freshmen coming in,” said the coach. “Some of these players will definitely challenge for playing time this coming fall.”

Overall, the Purple Raider volleyball program, which dates back to 1984, has a strong winning tradition. Mount Union has posted seven 20+ win seasons in the last nine years and nine 20+ win campaigns. The Raiders have accumulated 359 intercollegiate wins since 1984.