Notre Dame College Volleyball Cleans House at Conference Awards Voting

South Euclid, OH – November 11, 2004 - Sports enthusiasts know the strength of a team can not always be measured by wins and losses, nor do statistics tell the whole story. With the case of the Notre Dame College volleyball team this season, both are true.

A turnaround in the overall and conference record of the program with second year head coach Mark Ridley in charge is quite evident. In his first year, the Falcons went just 9-34 overall and 4-14 in the American Mideast Conference North Division, continuing the under .500 performance streak since the program started in the 1970s. However, the 2004 season took a turn for the better with NDC notching some historical marks along the program's timeline, including a better than .500 regular season record of 19-16, a .500 record in the league at 9-9 and a first time bid to the upcoming conference tournament.

What the records don't show this season however, is the ongoing battle the Falcons caused each match, rarely allowing defeat in only three games, unlike in previous seasons. Perhaps an outsider wouldn't realize the increasing ability of a team usually predicted to finish at the bottom of the conference, but opponents and fellow coaches took note.

When all was said and done with this year's voting for conference honors, it was the Notre Dame College Falcons who took home more awards than any other team in the 10-member North Division. Ridley was voted the division's Coach of the Year by his peers, a first for NDC volleyball. His players also received seven different nods for their efforts, including freshman hitter Rachel Williamson (Painesville Riverside High School – Leroy Township, Ohio) earning All-AMC North Freshman Team honors, the prestigious Freshman of the Year title and AMC North Division Second-Team honors. Hitter Debbie Beatty (Massillon-Perry High School - Massillon, Ohio) was also one of six players voted to the all-freshman team.

Several upperclassmen were also honored, including senior hitter Lindsay Heiden (Ida High School - Monroe, Michigan), who was a second-team pick, and senior setter Maria DelVecchio (Jackson-Milton High School - North Jackson, Ohio) and junior Arisa Angcaco (John F. Kennedy High School – La Palma, California) who were honorable mention selections.

The announcement of the conference award recipients occurred only days before the AMC Tournament is scheduled to begin. The Falcons will take on the South's Ohio Dominican University Friday at noon with the winner advancing to a 4 p.m. match against the North's Saint Vincent University (Pa.). All games will be played at Daemen College (N.Y.).

Here is a look at how Notre Dame College players fared statistically among American Mideast Conference players from 19 member schools:

Kills per Game
Lindsay Heiden – 7th – 4.07 p/g
Rachel Williamson – 11th – 3.54 p/g

Assists per Game
Maria DelVecchio – 6th – 11.28 p/g

Service Aces per Game
Rachel Williamson – 4th – 0.64 p/g
Arisa Angcaco – 9th – 0.47 p/g

Digs per Game
Arisa Angcaco – 13th – 4.62 p/g

Blocks per Game
Lindsay Heiden – 1st – 1.89 p/g

For additional information, please contact Sports Information Director Kristy Booher at 216-373-5319 or kbooher@ndc.edu.