With just five returnees and nine newcomers, the 2011 Hofstra Volleyball team will be short on Division I playing experience. But fourth-year Head Coach Kristina Hernandez feels that what her team lacks in experience will be made up for with its overall talent.

Hofstra is coming off a 10-24 season a year ago, but the won-loss record was skewed due to the absence of Anissa Whitney (Norwood, NJ) and Taylor Moore (Redondo Beach, CA) due to injury as both were expected to play prominent roles. But both seniors are healthy entering 2011 and, along with junior Kylee Maneja (Kapolei, HI) and sophomores Nikki Kinnier (Elkton, MD) and Caity DeCoster (Crystal Lake, IL), form a solid nucleus to build around.

Preseason practice will be important as the new players will need to learn Hernandez' system and the team will have to develop chemistry on the court in a short period of time.

OUTSIDE HITTER
Kinnier will anchor an outside hitting position after leading the Pride with 363 kills in 2010, her first full season with the team after missing most of the 2009 campaign due to injury. Freshman Kelsie Wills (Matamata, New Zealand) will also see a great deal of time at outside hitter. A four-time Most Outstanding Player selection at Matamata College, Wills was also a member of New Zealand's U17 and U19 Indoor and Beach Volleyball teams.  Fellow freshmen Kainoa Ocasek (Waipahu, HI), Emily Burke (Staten Island, NY) and Adama Aja (Columbia, MD) will also be in the mix for playing time at outside hitter. Ocasek as an All-Hawaii selection and named to the Volleyball Fab 15 Honorable Mention team as a senior at University High School. Burke was the Staten Island Player of the Year at Wagner High School after averaging 10 kills per set as a senior in 2010.  Aja was team Most Valuable Player and a two-time conference all-star at Seton Keough High School.

RIGHT SIDE HITTER
Moore returns to her right side hitting position, but will be pushed by freshman Anna Kitlar (Kiel, Germany) and junior Alexa Borresen (East Meadow, NY).  Moore played in just three matches in 2010 before suffering a season-ending injury. As a sophomore in 2009, Moore contributed 218 kills and 126 digs. Kitlar, who began her scholastic career in New Zealand, was the Most Valuable Player at the Canterbury Secondary Schools Championship in 2009 while attending Avonside Girls' High School.  Borresen joins the Pride after two seasons at Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York, where she was a first team NJCAA All-American and the Region XV Player of the Year in 2010.

MIDDLE BLOCKER
A trio of players will be looking to earn playing time at the middle blocker position with Whitney, senior Erika Charry (Cali, Colombia) and freshman Sonya Bray (Phoenix, AZ). Whitney missed the entire 2010 season, but was a third team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection in 2009 after compiling 251 kills, and 107 blocks. Erika Charry, a transfer from Salt Lake Community College in Utah, was a first team Junior College All-American in 2009 after leading Salt Lake to a fourth place finish at the NJCAA Nationals. In 2010 she posted 222 kills and 108 blocks. Bray was an all-region performer at Aracdia High School and tallied 171 kills and 51 blocks as a senior.

SETTER
Junior newcomer Catalina Charry (Cali, Colombia), the sister of Erika Charry, will compete for the starting setter spot with DeCoster.  Catalina Charry, earned all-tournament accolades at the NJCAA Tournament, NJCAA Regional and Region XVIII Tournament in 2009 as she helped Salt Lake Community College to a fourth place finish at the NJCAA Championship. As a sophomore in 2010, she posted 956 assists and 211 digs. DeCoster saw limited action at setter as a freshman, tallying 33 assists and 32 digs on the season.

LIBERO
Maneja enters her junior campaign as Hofstra's all-time leader in digs per set at 4.0 after compiling 965 in her two seasons at libero. She is coming off a 2010 season that saw her pick up 506 digs, which is the third-highest single season total in program history. Maneja, who was the only member of the team to play in all 127 sets last season, also contributed 24 service aces. Ocasek could also slide into the libero role from her outside hitting position if necessary.

SCHEDULE
The Pride's 2011 schedule features four in-season tournaments and a pair of teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament (Missouri State and Delaware) a season ago.  "We are excited about being able to host two tournaments at the beginning of the season this year," commented Hernandez. "With all of our new additions to the team it will help us get acclimated before we hit the road. This schedule has a great mix of opponents for us, and our nonconference tournaments will help prepare us for the Colonial Athletic Association portion of the schedule."