FLUSHING, N.Y. – The 2023 Queens College Volleyball team season officially gets underway on Friday (Sept.1) as the Knights host the Aline Pascale Lubin Invitational over the course of two days to begin the new season.
Head coach
Stefan Leger enters his fourth season in charge of the Volleyball program and will be assisted by second-year assistant coach
Danielle Naggar and first-year assistant
Paulo Castro on the sidelines.
In 2022, Leger and the Knights made huge strides as a program as they finished with their best winning total of 12 victories
(most wins since the 2008 season) and a record of 6-4 in East Coast Conference play. The Knights would earn the #2 seed and return to postseason play for the first time since the 2008 season.
2023 Rosters
The Knights return 11 players from the 2022 season and have added one newcomer to the roster.
It will be an experienced and postseason tested squad for Leger and his coaching staff as they look to reclaim the ECC crown for the first time since the 2004 season.
Senior Right-Side/Middle Blocker
Alexis Deodat (Tampa Bay, FL) enters the final season of her collegiate career and is coming off of one of her best seasons in Flushing.
In 2022 Deodat notched career-high numbers tallying 210 kills
(second on the team) averaging 2.33 kills per set, 10 service aces, and leads the team with 65 total blocks with 21 block solos and 43 block assists on her way to earning All-Conference honors.
While junior Outside Hitter
Christina Franco (Lynbrook, N.Y.) has been one of the important pieces in the lineup for Leger for the past two seasons. The Lynbrook native has earned All-Conference Honorable Mention for two straight seasons.
Last season Franco tallied 206 kills
(third on the team) averaging 2.54 kills per set, 17 service aces, and 272 digs
(second on the team) with nine double-doubles.
As a freshman, Outside Hitter
Kendall Conrad (Carolltown, PA) notched one of the best seasons seen by a rookie since Arielle Dicoco during the 2012 season. The rookie tallied 230 kills
(first on the team) averaging 2.53 kills per set with 42 blocks.
The Carolltown native notched 12 double-digit kills performances including a career-best 20 kills in the five-setter against Molloy. Her 20 kills were the most by a rookie since Arielle Dicoco notched 19 kills against District of Columbia in the 2012 season.
Expectations will be high for the second year outside hitter to excel once again.
Along with Franco and Conrad, the Knights will depend on
Alicia Cervera Sospedra (Valencia, Spain) who added depth off the bench for Leger and the Knights last season. Sospedra notched 98 kills, and 28 service aces
(second on the team), to go with 152 digs and 17 blocks.
In the middle, sophomore
Lindsay Osterhoudt (Orlando, FL), and
Anjeline Arnakis (Bayside, N.Y.) put on block parties as Queens led the ECC in blocks last season as a team. Osterhoudt finished second on the team with 60 total blocks as she totaled 19 solo blocks to go with 41 assisted blocks and added 92 kills to her tally. While Arnakis totaled 50 kills to go with 34 blocks which included 14 solo and 20 assisted blocks.
At the setter position, junior
Despina Boudouris (Athens, Greece) was a force as she broke out in her sophomore year to help the Knights return to postseason play and entered the record book.
The Greece native tallied 739 assists as she totaled the 13
th most Single Season Assists total in program history while entering the 1,000 Assist club list. With 1,035 assists to her tally, she sits 13 assists away from the eighth spot held by Marianna Megas record of 1048 assists compiled from 2004-07.
Boudouris touched 1,000 career assists in the 3-2 victory over Roberts Wesleyan, the 11th most in program history. On the season she has tallied 10 double-doubles with 707 assists, 18 service aces, and 213 digs.
On Oct. 7 against Le Moyne, she recorded the second 50-assist performance in program history and the first since Jessica Yen tallied 55 assists against Georgian Court University in 2015 as she tallied 52 assists in the 3-2 victory.
Sophomore
Sarah Munn (Torrance, CA) will see an extended amount of time at the Libero position following her freshman year where she was brought in as a serving specialist as she recorded 22 service aces
(third on the team). Last season Munn was one of four rookies to earn ECC Weekly Award honors.
Sophomores
Jayna Marie Lorenzo (Rodeo, CA) and
Elizabeth Cerullo (Saint James, N.Y.) saw limited playing time but would contribute in the Knights' return to postseason play.
Lorenzo tallied 67 assists and 27 digs with one double-double including a career-high 19 assists against Georgian Court University. While Cerullo recorded 29 kills and 15 digs including a career-high 16 kills in the 3-2 comeback victory over Roberts Wesleyan helping the Knights clinch the #2 seed in their return to the postseason play.
Sophomore
Isabella Anzalone (Long Island City, N.Y.) missed last season due to an injury and will be looking forward to making her Knights debut this season.
The lone newcomer on the 2023 squad is sophomore
Elena Leung (Bellerose, N.Y.), a graduate of Bayside High School will look to provide depth and contribute to another successful Knights season.
East Coast Conference Preseason Poll 2023
For the second straight year, Leger and the Knights have been slotted to finish fourth in the Preseason Poll.
While two-time defending champions Daemen University have been slotted to reclaim the ECC crown for the third straight season.
The top four teams will earn a spot to the ECC Volleyball Championship which gets underway on Friday, Nov. 17, and Saturday, Nov. 18. The No. 1 seed will host the four-team tournament in its home gymnasium.
Game Day Preview
For the second straight season, the Knights open their season at home inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium as they host the Aline Pascale Lubin Invitational slated to begin on Friday (Sept. 1) to Saturday (Sept. 2).
On Friday Leger and the Knights will host a doubleheader beginning with a non-regional foe in the University of Charleston Golden Eagles of the Mountain East Conference. It will be the first meeting between both teams in program history. The first serve is slated for 11 a.m.
Game two of Friday will feature the Knights against Post University Eagles, a regional foe of CACC. It will be the seventh match against the Eagles in program history with Queens holding a 4-2 record.
Last season, the Knights earned a 3-2 five-set victory against the Eagles as they ended a two-match losing streak against Post University.
Queens concludes the Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 2) afternoon as regional foe Ravens of Franklin Pierce University comes to town. It will be the eighth meeting against the NE10 foe with Queens holding a 4-3 record.
It will be the first meeting since the 2019 season which saw the Ravens defeat the Knights 3-0 inside Fitzgerald Gym.
Follow the Knights
All home games will be live-streamed on the
ECC Sports Network and fans can follow along on
live stats as well
Next Match
Following three matches at home, Leger and the Knights will hit the road for their first road match of the year on Tuesday (Sept. 5) evening as they travel to Caldwell, N.J. with a matchup against CACC foe Caldwell University.
For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook (Queens College Athletics), X (Formerly Twitter) (@QCKnights), and Instagram (qcknightsny), women's volleyball (qcknightsvb).
