2024 Alfred University Women's Volleyball Season Preview - Alfred University Athletics (2024)

Women's Volleyball 8/30/2024 11:09:00 AM

ALFRED, NY – Following a historic championship season, the Alfred University women's volleyball team is prepared to build off their success as the fall campaign approaches. The Saxons will welcome a variety of returners, along with first-year student-athletes.

Alfred University will be led by Head Coach Mike Honeycutt, who enters his third season as the head coach of the program.

"When we started last season, I thought we could compete for an Empire 8 title," Honeycutt said. "As the season progressed, our confidence grew. We came together as a team and played for each other."

The Saxons finished last season with a 14-14 overall record, clinching the No. 5 seed entering the Empire 8 Championships Tournament. From there, Alfred University won three consecutive road matches over Nazareth University, St. John Fisher University and Keuka College to secure the program's first-ever Empire 8 Championship. The team was the first in Empire 8 history to win as the No. 5 seed and was the first to hand Keuka a home loss during the 2023 season. The Saxons later appeared in the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball National Championship against #19 nationally-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Among the returners, Delaney Sims (Bogart, GA/George Walton Academy) previously enjoyed a breakout sophom*ore season, climbing up the AU program records as the team's primary setter. Sims is currently fifth in program history with 914 career assists, posting 814 during the 2023 season. Last season, Sims was honored as part of the All-Empire 8 Third Team.
"Delaney is going to be an amazing returner for us this season," Honeycutt said. "She is a great 'quarterback' for this team. She has so many skills outside of just being a setter, which helps bolster everything we are hoping to accomplish this fall."

Taylor Malone (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) and Jamie Chun (Hilo, HI/Hilo) will also be among the veterans on the court for the Saxons, with Chun transitioning into a defensive leadership role. Last season, Malone finished second in the Empire 8 conference in both kills and points. Malone was later named as a member of the All-Empire 8 First Team, All-ECAC Second Team and was a AVCA All-Region III Honorable Mention. Chun will be returning for her fifth-year season with the Saxons, accumulating 909 career digs and 120 career service aces to this point.

"Taylor really showed out last year, and she is coming back hungrier this season" Honeycutt said. "She worked hard over the course of the offseason and during preseason. We will be looking to her for leadership on and off the court. Jamie has been asked to do a lot over the course of her four years with the program. She is now being asked to fill in some big shoes to fill Darian's place, but she is capable of handling that responsibility. She is a natural captain, and we look forward to her evolving as a defensive floor captain."

Cara Bratthauar (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg Area) is coming off an impressive first-year season with Alfred University, totaling 124 points to go with 25 total blocks. As a middle blocker, Bratthauar was named as the Empire 8 Rookie of the Week on three occasions last season.

"Cara is enjoying the transition to being a middle blocker," Honeycutt said. "She has embraced it and constantly puts in work outside of practice to fine-tune her skills. We are going to rely on her ability to take the pressure off others."

Anjoeline Armstong (Simi Valley, CA/Bishop Alemany) will be among those featured in the back row for AU this season. In 2023, Armstrong was one of six Saxons to eclipse 130 digs by the end of the season. Entering her senior season, Alfred University will look to Armstrong to lead both on and off the court.

"Anj is going to help anchor our defense," Honeycutt said. "Her confidence in knowing the game will help us in the back row. She can see certain things on the court and play with ease."
Kristin Finley (Kenyon, MI/Kenyon-Wanamingo) will be joined by Armstrong and Chun as designated team leaders for the 2024 season. Finley is a three-year member of the women's volleyball program, leading by example for the Saxons.

"Kristin originally joined our program as a walk-on and has solidified herself as a leader both on and off the court. She is tireless and a hard-working individual that makes things so easy for everyone else in our program."

Alfred University will begin their season the road at the SUNY Morrisville Invitational on August 30 against SUNY Cobleskill. The first home match for the Saxons will take place on September 25 against Pitt-Bradford. Empire 8 competition for AU is scheduled to begin on October 4 at Elmira College. The Empire 8 Championship Tournament is slated to run from November 12-16.

"One of my goals for this team is to get them to understand how the life skills that I'm teaching on and off the court will be skills they will forever use as they on from our program," Honeycutt said. "The biggest lesson is that I want everyone on our team to be a good human."