Nov 18, 2005
ALBANY -- The College of Saint Rose won its first-ever NCAA Div. II Tournament match in women's volleyball, defeating fourth-seed Mercy College 3-0, Thursday, in the first round of the Northeast Regional at Bryant University. And a former Peru standout continued to make a big contribution to Saint Rose's success.
Alyssa Gosnell, a senior libero who has played in every game for Saint Rose this season, had a team-high 11 digs and converted three serves for aces.
Gosnell led the team with 417 digs to go with 37 service aces during the regular season. She was named to the Northeast-10 Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Sept. 12 and ranked among the top 10 conference performers, averaging 4.17 digs per game.
Saint Rose (25-6, 12-2 in NE-10), the no. 5 seed in the Northeast Regional, moves on to play top-seed Dowling in the semifinals today at 5 p.m. The regional winner will advance to the Div. II championships in two weeks.
Saint Rose finished the regular season ranked fifth in the Northeast. The Golden Knights made it as high as No. 3 in the region.
"Three times during the season we were ranked ninth; you have to be in the top eight to make the NCAA tournament," Gosnell explained. "We were really upset because we had beaten some of the teams ahead of us. If anything, that made us more determined."
For someone who knew little about the libero position when she arrived at Saint Rose in Albany four years ago, Gosnell has emerged as an outstanding defensive specialist at the Div. II level.
"When I left Peru, I knew I was too short to be a setter. There aren't any 5-(foot)-5 setters in Div. II," Gosnell related.
"I knew I was going to have to play defense and I naturally fell into libero. The position is still relatively new and evolving; a libero couldn't serve my sophomore year, but has been able to the last two years.
"It's very exciting to play the position, though. A lot of times, you can come in to spark a team."
The libero is pretty much limited to the back row. She can't attack the ball in front of the 10-foot line, she can't set from the front row and her arm can't break the plane of the net.
"Fortunately, I'm short, but there are some liberos who can really get up," Gosnell added.
"The position requires you to know where you are on the court at all times. Usually, the libero is regarded as the best passer and best defensive player on the team and the other team tries to keep the ball away from the (opposing) libero. It gives you a sense of pride knowing they're trying to avoid you."
The position isn't without its knocks, however.
"I have bumps and bruises everywhere," Gosnell admitted. "You're always skinning yourself going for a ball. But in three years, I have not missed a game."
Gosnell found The College of Saint Rose a perfect fit coming from Peru.
"It's a small school in a city setting; it's a perfect transition," she said.
Gosnell is one of several girls from Section VII to go to play college volleyball, which is no small feat, according to the Saint Rose standout.
"It's really hard for Section VII girls to make it because we (Section VII) play in the winter. Most of the state plays in the fall and that's when the college coaches do a lot of their recruiting," Gosnell said.
"Other girls are making early decisions on where to go to school just as we're starting our season. It puts the burden on the athlete to make the contacts and sell herself to a school."
As her collegiate career draws to a close, Gosnell admits to being a little teary-eyed on occasion.
"But it's great to still be playing," she says. "I have some friends who have been done for three weeks."
