Volleyball Looks to Build From 2017

by The Cowl Editor on August 30, 2018


Friar Sports


By Meaghan Cahill ’20

Sports Co-Editor

Coming off their first winning season since 2007, which included a five match win improvement in Big East play, Providence College’s Volleyball Team is looking to improve those numbers this year.

Returning player Addison Root ’20 will be looked at as a key player for the upcoming season. The only Friar to be named to the All-Big East Second Team, Root concluded her rookie season by leading the team in kills (416), service aces (36), and points (416). She was third on the team in digs with 258. In overall Big East play, Root, who is an outside hitter, ranks third in service aces per set (.31), fifth in kills per set (3.59), and fifth in points per set (4.01). A big part of the team’s success last season, Root recorded 21 kills in a single match twice and recorded double digit digs and kills in the same match on nine different occasions.

Aside from Root, Allison Impellizeri ’19 is another key player to be on the lookout for. Starting in 17 of the 20 matches she played in last season, Impellizeri tallied 152 kills and 45 blocks. Her sophomore season consisted of her starting in 33 matches and leading the team in blocks (80), ranking third on the team in kills (246), and setting a season high for kills in a single match (16).

Allison Barber ’21 is a returning player that turned many heads during her freshman year alongside Root and Impellizeri, and will definitely be a player to watch this upcoming season.

Allison Barber providence college volleyball
Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

As a freshman, Barber started in all 33 matches and played in all 116 sets. Her breakout season concluded with her leading the team in assists (1,162) and she recorded a season-high 54 assists against the University of Alabama, Birmingham.

The incoming freshman class consists of four new players; Katie McLellan ’22, Mackenzie Taylor ’22, Emma Fink ’22, and Nina Askew ’22, to join 11 returning players, including two sophomores, five juniors, and four seniors.

The season started for the Friars on Aug. 24, when they appeared in the Boston College Invitational. Coming out of the tournament, the team went 1-2, dropping matches 0-3 against both Sacred Heart University and Boston College. The tournament ended on a high note for the team as they swept Hartford University in all three matches.

Impellizeri started the match off strong as she collected 6 of her 10 kills in the first set and finished the match with a team-best 10 kills for PC and hit .471. Along with Impellizeri, Jenae Alderson ’20 and Root both notched nine kills in the win and Mackenzie Taylor ’21 recorded a season-best 24 digs.

The Friars will play next in their 14th Annual Friar Volleyball Classic, which kicks off on Friday, August 31 against University of Massachusetts, Lowell in Mullaney Gym.