2006 Volleyball
News

Athletes Commit to Lake Erie College
PAINESVILLE, OH. (May 10, 2007) - Lake Erie College and volleyball head coach Gary VanCauwenberge announces the recent commitments of five student-athletes to play for the Storm beginning with the 2007-08 academic year:

Skylar Corbin - Middle Hitter - Chautauqua Lake Central - Chautauqua, New York
Callie Flensburg - Setter - Mentor - Mentor, Ohio
Brittany Hammonds - Setter/Outside Hitter - Newark - Newark, Ohio
Alison Niedermier - Setter - Seneca East - Republic, Ohio
Rachel Riley - Outside Hitter - Westland - Galloway, Ohio

Storm Has Two Make All-AMCC
PAINESVILLE, OH. (November 10, 2006) - The Lake Erie College volleyball team had two of its players earn All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) this season.

Sophomore hitter Shawnna Sulecki (Rock Creek, Ohio/Geneva) was a second-team selection as sophomore hitter Tiffany Farner (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern) was an honorable mention pick.

Sulecki set the program record for total kills (264) and kills per game (2.51) this season. Farner set three school records in 2006, including total blocks (148), blocks per game (1.30) and block assists (134).

Lake Erie finished the season tied for fourth in the AMCC with a record of 5-4. Overall the Storm went 12-23, improving their win total by four games from the previous season.

Storm Win in First Round
PAINESVILLE, OH. (October 31, 2006) - The Lake Erie College Volleyball team moves on to the second round of the play-offs with their win against Pitt-Greensburg. The Storm beat the Bobcats with a score of 3-1 (24-30, 30-19, 30-16, 30-22).

The Storm came out fired up but dropped their first game. The team was able to pick themselves up and create a spark that allowed them to win the next three games. Tiffany Farner (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern) finished with 12 kills and 10 blocks, while Ashley Piorkowski (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) came up big with 44 digs. With cheers from the crowd, the team celebrated their victory, ready for their next round of play.

The Storm heads to Penn State Behrend on Friday, November 3 to take on the number one seed in the conference, the Penn State Behrend Nittany Lions. Game time is set for 6:00 pm as the Storm looks to pull off an upset and continue their trip to the AMCC championship.

Sulecki is AMCC Player of the Week
PAINESVILLE, OH. (October 23, 2006) - Sophomore hitter Shawnna Sulecki became the first Lake Erie College volleyball player to earn Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Player of the Week this season. The honor was announced for the week of October 16. Not only did she become the first LEC player to be recognized this season, but she is the first Storm player to earn the honor since head coach Gary VanCauwenberge took over the program five years ago.

Sulecki (Rock Creek, Ohio/Geneva) earned the honor after playing in all 12 games in which the Storm earned three match victories against Medaille College, Pitt-Greensburg and Ursuline College. She totaled 42 kills (3.5 pg), 42 digs (3.5 pg) and five service aces. She was the team leader in kills and had a reception percentage of 1.000 in 31 attempts.

She is the current team leader in total kills (249) and kills per game (2.62). She ranks second among Storm players in service aces (47) and third in digs (236).

Game Change
PAINESVILLE, OH. (October 16, 2006) - The Lake Erie College volleyball game scheduled against Hilbert College for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17 has been moved to Thursday, October 19 at 7 p.m. The game will still be played at Hilbert.

Storm Wins Third in a Row
PAINESVILLE, OH. (October 14, 2006) - The Lake Erie College volleyball team earned their third consecutive victory Saturday afternoon while hosting a tri-match against Pitt-Greensburg and Ursuline College. The two wins put the Storm two notches ahead of their previous year's victory total.

In the first match-up, the Storm earned an Allegheny Mountain Collegeiate Conference (AMCC) win against Pitt-Greensburg in three games (30-25, 30-23, 30-24). Lake Erie then went on to defeat Ursuline in five games (22-30, 30-27, 30-28, 19-30, 15-13).

Senior Crystal Limpert was honored before the final series for her contribution to the volleyball program the past five years. Today was the last regular season game for the Storm, who could end up hosting a match in post-season play for the AMCC Tournament.

LEC is now 10-18 overall and 4-2 in the AMCC.

Storm Picks-Up Another Conference Win at Home
PAINESVILLE, OH. (October 11, 2006) - The Lake Erie College Volleyball team defeated AMCC rival Medaille College (3-1). LEC played three close matches before running away with the fourth match. The scores were 30-28, 27-30, 30-28, 30-19.

The Storm Volleyball team now matches its total wins from last season with six matches left. LEC is in action again on Saturday, October 14th in a Tri-Match at home. The Storm will be taking on Pitt-Greensburg at 11:00am and Ursuline College at 3:00pm. This event is also Senior Night for Crystal Limpert (Cleveland, Ohio/John Marshall).

Storm Splits at Grove City
PAINESVILLE, OH. (October 7, 2006) - The Lake Erie College volleyball team split at the Grove City Tri-Match this afternoon, winning in three games against Pitt-Greensburg and losing in as many against the event host.

Against Pitt-Greensburg, the Storm won by the scores of 30-25, 30-26, 30-21. Tiffany Farner (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern) recorded six kills, four blocks, five digs and two service aces to help lead LEC to the win.

Against Grove City, LEC was defeated by the scores of 30-23, 30-13, 30-19. Shawnna Sulecki (Rock Creek, Ohio/Geneva) had six kills, while Ashley Piorkowski (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) and Crystal Limpert (Cleveland, Ohio/John Marshall) contributed 14 and 13 digs, respectively.

Lake Erie is now 6-17 overall and will host D'Youville and Oberlin in non-league action on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.

Storm Streak Stopped at Four
PAINESVILLE, OH. (October 1, 2006) - The Lake Erie College volleyball team's winning streak was stopped at four with Sunday afternoon's loss to Keuka College.

Coming into Sunday's non-conference action, the Storm were on a four-match winning streak earning victories against Chatham College and La Roche College just one day earlier. The opening of October could best be described as a battle after it took another Storm from New York to stop the Stom of northeast Ohio.

Keuka led most of the way in game one only to have Lake Erie claw their way back to a showdown for game point. Trading points back and forth, Keuka managed the eventual 33-31 win.

Game two had Keuka out on top 30-15, but an unwilling to be defeated in three Lake Erie fought back to take the third installment 30-21. In game four, Keuka edged out their hosts 30-23.

Sophomore Tiffany Farner (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern) had nine blocks on the day to lead LEC who drops to 5-15 overall.

Storm Earns AMCC Win
PAINESVILLE, OH. (September 27, 2006) - The Lake Erie College volleyball team improved to 1-1 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) with Wednesday night's win against Pitt-Bradford.

Sophomore hitter Shawnna "The Hammer" Sulecki (Rock Creek, Ohio/Geneva) hit hard leading the Storm to the three-game victory (30-25, 30-23, 30-17). She totaled 10 impressive kills on the night, including the match-ending smash that brought Pitt-Bradford to the floor and the Storm fans to their feet. Sophomore hitter Tiffany Farner (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern) racked up 13 kills and four blocks. Junior setters Megan Price (Greensburg, Pennsylvania/Greensburg) and Autum Smith (North Baltimore, Ohio/North Baltimore) recorded 12 and 11 assists, respectively.

Lake Erie is now 3-14 overall heading into Saturday's tri-match at Grove City College.

Storm Picks-Up Win in Tri-Match
PAINESVILLE, OH. (September 23, 2006) - At the Lake Erie College tri-match the Storm played Penn State-Altoona and Thiel College. In their first match against Altoona the Storm lost in five games, 30-21, 19-30, 30-26, 19-30, 12-15.

Putting the loss behind them, the Storm took on Thiel College. With a surge of energy, the volleyball team pushed the match to five games. In the fifth game the Storm dominated to take home the win, 30-24, 27-30, 21-30, 30-26, 15-9.

The Volleyball team looks to continue this success as they take on Pitt-Bradford at home on Wednesday, September 27th. The match is set to begin at 7:00 pm.

Lake Erie Earns First Win of the Season
PAINESVILLE, OH. (September 16, 2006) - Lake Erie College earned their first win of the season, defeating LaRoche College in three games in the Westminster Tournament. Scores of the match were 30-11, 30-8, 30-12. The Storm lost in earlier games to Grove City College 30-13, 30-17, 30-15, Penn State Behrend 30-16, 30-14, 30-20 and Pitt-Greensburg 30-20, 30-22, 30-17. Lake Erie is now 1-12 overall heading into Tuesday's match at Oberlin College at 7 p.m.

Lake Erie Loses Home Opener
PAINESVILLE, OH. (September 13, 2006) - Playing at home for the first time this season, Lake Erie College was defeated by Bluffton University in three games (30-16, 30-16, 30-20). The Storm falls to 0-9 overall. The team will have a chance to bounce back this Friday when they travel to Grove City College at 4 p.m.

Volleyball finishes OWU Tournament
PAINESVILLE, OH. (September 4, 2006) - The LEC Volleyball team finished out the OWU Tournament in their seventh place game against Oberlin. The Storm lost to Oberlin with scores of 30-26, 30-21, 30-22. The Volleyball team will play again in the Baldwin-Wallace Tournament on September 8th. They begin against St. Mary's at 3:00pm.

Lake Erie Volleyball loses a tough two at OWU Tournament
PAINESVILLE, OH. (September 2, 2006) - The Lady Storm took on both Transylvania and Grove City at the OWU Tournament. The team lost their first match to Transylvania with scores of 30-15, 30-24, 30-18. Against Grove City the team lost with scores of 30-17, 30-20, 30-27. They will play Oberlin in the seventh place game at 3:00pm.

The Lady Storm are back in action at the Baldwin-Wallace Tournament on Friday, September 8th against St. Mary's at 3:00pm.

Lake Erie Volleyball opens at Ohio Wesleyan Tournament
PAINESVILLE, OH (September 1, 2006) - Lake Erie College Volleyball opened at the Ohio Wesleyan Tournament with a loss to the host OWU, 30-26, 30-15, 30-18. The Storm is back in action tomorrow at the OWU tournament versus Transylvania at 9:00am and Grove City at 1:00pm.

Fall sports begin; LEC hosts AMCC Golf and Cross Country championships
(Painesville, OH, August 25, 2006) - Lake Erie College will host the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference golf and cross country championships for the first time, highlighting LEC's 2006 fall sports schedules. Contests begin on Friday, September 1 with the men's soccer, women's soccer and volleyball teams all in action.

Lake Erie's men's soccer team, coming off a best-ever 10-8-2 season, finished as league runner-ups in 2005, earning a bid to the post-season ECAC Tournament. Picked second in the AMCC preseason coaches' poll, the team begins its 18-game, 2006 season at the Oberlin Tournament against Wooster. Other key non-conference contests include games against area foes John Carroll, Mount Union, Hiram and Case Western Reserve. The home opener is set for September 6 versus Bluffton. The nine-game conference slate begins at Frostburg State on September 23 and concludes with a rematch of last year's AMCC championship game at Medaille on October 24.

The women's soccer team, which posted the second-best mark in team history at 8-9-2 last year, starts its 19-game schedule at Waynesburg and winds up the regular season at Ursuline on October 26. The team, picked for sixth place in the AMCC preseason poll of coaches, placed fifth last year and earned an AMCC playoff spot for the first time in five years. The home opener is set for Labor Day, September 4, when Myers visits LEC for a 12 Noon kickoff.

Three in-season tournaments, the season-opener at Ohio Wesleyan and events at Baldwin-Wallace and Westminster, will help prepare the Lake Erie volleyball squad for its nine-match AMCC slate, which begins on September 23 against Penn State-Altoona at LEC's Athletic Center Arena. A strong finish last year qualified the team for the AMCC Tournament for the first time ever. The squad's eight wins were one more than the team had totaled in the previous six seasons combined. The team is picked to finish fifth in the league in this year's preseason coaches' poll.

In golf, the AMCC championship will be played on October 7-8 at LEC's home course, Fowler's Mill in Chesterland. The top-rated public course in Ohio, it will also serve as the site for the Lake Erie Invitational on September 29. This year will mark the first season that the AMCC golf championship will be a 36-hole, two-day event.

The AMCC men's and women's cross country championship races will be held back-to-back at the Lake County Outdoor YMCA course in Perry on October 28. LEC will also host a dual meet on that course against Hiram on September 28.

Lake Erie fall sports wrap up with record-setting seasons
(Painesville, OH – Dec. 13, 2005)- A solid showing by Lake Erie College’s 2005 fall sports teams has generated an unprecedented number of individual award winners for the Storm.

The men’s soccer team, which advanced to the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship game and earned a bid to the ECAC post-season tournament, saw four of its players honored. Junior Justin Daly (Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard) and freshman Joe Starvaggi (Lyndhurst, Ohio/Brush) were both named to the all-AMCC first team squad. Starvaggi also was tabbed as the league’s Newcomer of the Year. Junior Brad McFadden (Niles, Ohio/Niles McKinley) and sophomore Brent Bleasdell (Plano, Texas/South Plantation (Fla.)) were chosen as second team all-AMCC choices. The Storm posted a 10-8-2 overall mark under third-year coach Dale Sheptak, setting the team record for wins in a season.

In women’s soccer, LEC also provided the league’s Newcomer of the Year as freshman Angela Bethel (Beavercreek, Ohio/Miami Valley) took that honor. She was also named a second team all-AMCC selection. Two other players, senior Keri Cameron (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) and sophomore Loni Sargent (Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard) were honorable mention choices on the all-AMCC team. The team finished 8-9-2, its best record since 1998, and qualified for the AMCC tournament for the first time since 1999. Sixth-year coach Lauren Ferullo was named co-winner of the league’s Coach of the Year award.

The volleyball team, under fourth year coach Gary VanCauwenberge, qualified for the AMCC tournament for the first time in team history with a playing roster made up exclusively of freshmen and sophomores. Two of the freshmen, Shawnna Sulecki (Rock Creek, Ohio/Geneva) and Tiffany Farmer (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern), were honorable mention all-AMCC choices. The team’s eight wins were more than in the previous four seasons combined.

Golf, with Milt Johnson at the helm for the fourth season, saw two players earn all-AMCC honors. Senior Travis Hardman (Cheektowaga, N.Y./Maryvale) earned a second team designation, while sophomore Justin Brown (Kenston, Ohio/Kenston) was an honorable mention choice.

Men’s and women’s cross country, under interim coach Bryan Harmon, did not garner any individual laurels. The teams did, however, each registered the first-ever victories in program history, winning the season’s lone dual meet competition at La Roche.

Veterans and new players put Storm back on the volleyball radar
Several key Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference wins and the best season in conference (1997) play was part of a record-breaking year for the Lake Erie College volleyball team. The women finished 8-23 overall and 4-5 in the AMCC.

Since being a charter member of the AMCC in 1997, the team had seven seasons with no conference-game wins. This year the team picked up four and finished sixth in the regular-season standings, exceeding expectations of a ninth place finish from the preseason coaches poll. This year also marked the team's first entrance into the conference playoff tournament.

The team started off with a 1-3 record at the Oberlin Tournament in Oberlin, Ohio. The team hit a win over Oberlin College before a 13-game losing streak, but caught up late in the season with a few key AMCC wins and a five-game winning streak. Victories over La Roche, Medaille and Hilbert sealed the deal for the team's first-ever playoff berth. A tough five-match game against the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford started, and ended, the playoffs for the Storm as the team fell 3-2.

With no seniors on the team, several younger members stepped up the game. Freshmen Shawnna Sulecki and Tiffany Farner were named to the Honorable mention all-conference team. Sulecki led the team, setting several school records with 289 digs, and 252 kills. Farner earned 33 solo blocks and 90 assisted blocks for a record-setting total of 123 blocks for the year and had 123 kills. She also finished first in AMCC standings in blocks. Freshman Mary Jo Kerrigan contributed 155 kills and 271 digs. Freshman Ashley Piorkowski showed strength as a defensive specialist, with 233 digs and averaging 4.02 digs per game.

Sophomore veteran Autumn Smith set the bar with 343 assists and had 202 digs while fellow sophomore Rachel Gursky contributed 84 blocks and 116 kills and finished seventh in conference standings. Sophomore Megan Price followed Smith with 274 assists and led the team with 32 service aces.

Nov. 1, 2005
Volleyball team closes season with best AMCC record, falls in first round
(Bradford, Pa.) - Lake Erie's volleyball held on tight to its match against the University of Pittsburg at Bradford, but fell 3-2 in the first round of Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament action. The team finished 8-23 overall and 4-5 in AMCC play, its best conference record ever and best overall record in at least five years.
Freshman Shawnna Sulecki (Rock Creek, Ohio/Geneva) led the team with 15 kills and 22 digs. Freshman Ashley Piorkowski (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) and sophomore Autumn Smith (N. Baltimore, Ohio/N. Baltimore) both had 12 digs with Smith adding 25 assists.
Freshman Tiffany Farner (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern had seven blocks, 11 digs and 10 kills for the Storm effort.