By Edgar Rivas, Jr. —
The 2013-2014 season marks Ray Vance’s second year as NJCU’s first ever full-time head coach for men’s and women’s volleyball. So far it has been a slow start for NJCU Women’s Volleyball team (1-7) but they have a chance to improve from last year’s 7-20; they were also 0-8 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) record. Vance says he has a good feeling about his second season as coach.
“I am very confident in the foundation we laid last season for the team to have more success this season,” he said. “We have a great group who is committed to the program and university, and in building a successful program here.”
This year’s roster will not include Kiara Martinez, 22, from Newark and Brittany Erezuma, 22, from Kearny. Martinez and Erezuma were seniors last season, and are huge losses to the team.
“Losing Kiara hurts a lot in the energy and leadership department. She was a very dedicated and hardworking player,” said Vance. “Brittany hurts us since she was a middle blocker, and middle blocker is a hard position to learn as a new player. But our returning and new players will do well.”
With the second half of the 2013 schedule being all NJAC games, Vance recognizes that the competition is going to be more intense than before.
“Our conference schedule is very important. I enjoy the extra energy that comes with playing a conference team and since we have had limited success in recent years, it will be a challenge to start winning in conference play. I feel that with the team that we have, we will be able to be much more competitive this season,” Vance said.
Like with any team, chemistry is essential to the success, and Vance believes the way the 2012-2013 schedule is set up will give the team an opportunity to synergize.
“You get to maximize your number of matches and play teams from other regions. They generally allow you to play more players, and playing multiple matches on consecutive days challenges the best trained athletes,” said Vance. “It also provides additional team bonding since they spend so much time together. Lastly, tournaments allow the coaches to teach the players to scout opponents on the fly which increases the team’s volleyball IQ and helps them to be better players mentally, which is a significant key in success in sports.”
Despite losing 20 out of 27 matches last year, Vance doesn’t expect to change his approach to coaching.
“We are trying to build the program from the ground up,” Vance said. “We want to improve a little at every practice and match so that by season’s end, we will be the best team we can be.”
The first half of the season includes two in-season tournaments. The Sarah Lawrence Invitational was held from Sept. 21-22 at the Campbell Sports Center in Bronxville, NY. The Cazenovia College/Dig Pink Tournament will be held from Oct. 11-12 at the Cazenovia College Athletic Center in Cazenovia, NY.
