Volleyball News Releases
Dudgeon, Paczosa named to all-tournament team at Illinois College
Coming up - Wednesday, Sept. 9, at #25 Simpson, Indianola, 6:30 p.m. (JV), 8 p.m. (varsity); Friday, Sept. 11, at Illinois Wesleyan Tournament, Bloomington, Ill., vs. Illinois Wesleyan, 3 p.m., vs. Benedictine, 5 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 12, at Illinois Wesleyan Tournament, Bloomington, Ill., vs. Beloit, 10 a.m., vs. Milwaukee School of Engineering, 12:15 p.m.; Tuesday, Sept. 15, at Coe, Cedar Rapids, 6 p.m. (JV), 7:30 p.m. (varsity).
Ram rewind - Cornell coasted through the first week of the season with a perfect 5-0 mark and Kristin Paczosa (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) notched her 1,000th career kill.
The Rams swept all five of their opponents, 3-0, with a season-opening victory at Monmouth (25-15, 25-16, 25-17) Sept. 1 and wins at the Illinois College Tournament over Bethany Lutheran (25-21, 25-18, 25-15), Knox (25-22, 25-15, 25-9), Illinois College (25-23, 25-14, 25-15) and Grinnell (25-17, 25-19, 25-23) Sept. 5-6 in Jacksonville, Ill.
Cornell equaled its best start to a season in head coach Jeff Meeker's eight seasons on the Hilltop. The Rams also started the 2004 campaign 5-0.
"We have definitely taken positive steps forward, but we still have a lot of progress that we can make," Meeker said. "Our blocking and defense will continue to get better and will be a big key to continued success."
Cornell senior hitters Laura Dudgeon (Bettendorf/Bettendorf) and Paczosa were both recognized on the all-tournament team at Illinois College. Paczosa finished the tournament with team-highs in kills (42), blocks (7) and service aces (7) to go along with 32 digs. She topped the 1,000-kill mark in the Knox match, raising her career total to 1,030. Paczosa is only the third Ram to reach the milestone, joining Dudgeon (1,065) and Kori Sims (1,151).
Dudgeon posted a whopping .536 hitting percentage in the tournament with 40 kills (3.64 kps). Simone Wright (Beach Park, Ill./Waukegan) and Suzi Enoch (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain) finished with 20 and 19 kills, respectively. Junior setter Hannah Boehmer (Riverside/Mid-Prairie) doled out 118 assists and fired seven aces. Caiti Hladky (Fort Lupton, Colo./Valley) paced the defense with 47 digs.
"Laura was dominant at Illinois College," Meeker said. "Caiti Hladky is off to a very good start and Hannah is playing the best volleyball of her career. Suzi and Simone both put in great performances over the weekend."
Paczosa fueled Cornell's win over Monmouth. She smashed 16 kills with only one hitting error in 30 attempts. She also collected three aces and seven digs. Boehmer handed out a match-high 33 assists and Hladky led all players with 16 digs against the Fighting Scots.
"Kristin played one of the best matches of her career at Monmouth. She was very good offensively, defensively and served and passed well," Meeker said. "It has been a great start to the season for our team."
Starting with the Storm - Cornell begins Iowa Conference play Wednesday on the road against the 25th-ranked Simpson Storm (1-3). Simpson is the clear-cut favorite to win the 2009 conference crown, receiving seven first-place votes in the preseason coaches' poll.
The Rams have beaten the Storm only twice since joining the IIAC, the last win coming in 2005 in Indianola. Simpson has won the last four meetings, including a 3-1 victory last year in Mount Vernon.
"We are looking forward to our first big test of this young season," Meeker said. "Simpson is a very good team with a balanced attack and a great setter. I think we will match up with them well. We'll have to play our best volleyball to win."
League leaders - The Rams lead the IIAC in hitting percentage (.295), kills per set (13.0) and aces per set (2.6). Paczosa tops the conference in kills (3.87 kps) and aces (0.67 aps). Dudgeon is the league leader in hitting percentage (.500).
Unbeatens - Cornell and Dubuque (5-0) are the IIAC's only remaining unbeaten teams after the first week of play. Two other teams have winning records, Luther (4-2) and Central (3-2).
