A new era of volleyball is about to begin at Iona College.  Coming off a 20-win season, the 2010 MAAC finalists will look to build off of last year as new Head Coach Jon Killingbeck takes over.

Killingbeck will bring his west coast style of play to New Rochelle coming all the way from Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington.

The road back to the championship game will not be easy, however, since the Gaels have lost All-MAAC players Colleen Genett and Alison Nieters to graduation. Genett led the MAAC in hitting percentage at .346, while Nieters finished third in the MAAC in digs per game. The Gaels will look to a core of upperclassmen to replace Nieters, who ranked fifth in NCAA history with 2,682 digs.

Even though the team lost seven seniors there are many eager players willing to step up.

One Gael willing to fill that role is junior Theresa Harvey. She made All-MAAC Second Team and was the team’s top offensive performer in kill output with 327 last year. She finished second on the squad with 269 digs while also recording 33 blocks and 26 aces.

Coming off a strong 2010 campaign, Harvey will look to show leadership as an upperclassman, and look to be an example on defense.

“Despite losing almost the entire starting line up from last year, our goal this year isn’t to rebuild, but it is to play hard and win conference. I feel that the team this year complements each other very well,” Harvey said. “We are very close and respect each other, so we have a ton of fun together on the court playing the game that we love. I think we will go very far this year and will shock many teams in the wins.”