FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                         
September 13,  2004

First-year coach Mike Holden hopes he can get
Corsair volleyball back on the winning track

(Dartmouth, MA) – With five returning starters back on the roster for the 2004 women’s
volleyball team at UMass Dartmouth, at least on the floor, the Corsairs will look similar to
last year’s team.

The biggest difference will come on the Corsair sidelines where new head coach Michael
Holden has taken over the volleyball program. Holden is a very successful high school coach

and was the men’s volleyball coach at Roger Williams University for six seasons.

Holden brings a long coaching resume to UMass Dartmouth which includes a 110-63 record at

RWU and eight straight conference titles at Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech where he started the

boy’s program in 1995. Holden’s high school teams made annual appearances in the state tournament,

earning him Boston Globe Coach of the Year honors. 

No one is happier to see Holden on the UMass Dartmouth sidelines than the five returning starters

back from last year’s 5-23 team. 

Holden has plenty of talent to work with for the 2004 season led the Corsairs’ top player senior outside

hitter and captain Nicole Verroneau (Fairhaven, MA). Joining her will be junior libero and defensive

specialist Damara Moses (Dartmouth, MA), along with sophomore setter Lauren Daly (Brockton, MA),

junior libero and defensive specialist Jen Goodwin (Milford, MA) and junior middle hitter

Kerrie Mandeville (Walpole, MA).

“With a few talented newcomers and a good core of returners, the coaching staff hopes to get the Corsair

volleyball program back to its winning ways, “ said Holden, who will be assisted in his coaching duties by

Jocelyn Costa. “We have been ranked low in the preseason poll so we have no where to go but up.”

In the LEC coaches’ preseason poll released a few weeks ago, the Corsairs were picked to finish seventh in

the eight-team league.  Western Connecticut and Plymouth State were the coaches’ pre-season choices for

the top spot in the LEC.

In the first two weeks of the season, the Corsairs got an early look at the LEC competition, facing Western

Connecticut at the Johnson and Wales Invitational on Sept. 10-11.   According to Holden, Western Connecticut

got more than they expected as a feisty and determined UMD squad ran them to a fifth game and almost an u

pset. UMD had a 2-1 game lead but fell in the fifth and deciding set. The match was scheduled to be a WCSU

romp, but UMD's new upbeat tempo and playing style had them push the 2003 LEC league champs to their limit.

WCSU won the match 23-30, 30-25, 16-30, 30-21, 15-11.

In other action at the JWU Invitational, the Corsairs first multi-team event of the season, UMass Dartmouth got

Holden his first win of the season, a 3-1 win over Wheaton College.  The Corsairs played well at JWU but came a

way with a 3-2 loss to Wesleyan and a 3-1 loss to Eastern Nazarene.

But one of the bright spots for the Corsairs was the play of senior outside hitter Meghan Fenton (Dartmouth, MA). 

A member of the Corsair volleyball team in 2002, Fenton’s return to the program coincided with Holden’s addition

as head coach.  Fenton worked her way into the starting rotation for UMass Dartmouth and was rewarded for her

efforts at the JWU Invitational by being named to the All-Tournament Team.

“The enthusiasm and energy level is looking positive and I think we can finish near our goal of reaching

.500.” said Holden.

Although he didn’t have much time to recruit for this year’s team, Holden was pleasantly surprised with a pair

of newcomers to the program for the 2004 season.  Nazareth Cardoso (Brockton, MA), a first-year outside hitter

and Alyssa Dearani (Wollaston, MA) a first year middle hitter have looked sharp in the early going.

After a match with Salve Regina at home on Sept. 14, UMass Dartmouth will get its first serious look at its LEC

competition this Saturday when the Corsairs host a four-team round of action Sept. 17-18.  UMass Dartmouth

will face Eastern Connecticut on Sept. 17 and both Rhode Island College and UMass Boston on Sept. 18.  Among

the Corsairs’ other highlights this season will be playing host at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Oct. 15-16

at the Tripp Athletic Center.

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