PROVIDENCE, R.I.-Friday night, the
Providence College Friars volleyball team took the court for a match just as it
has 18 other times already this season. However, unlike any other match in the
program's history, Friday was the first time the Friars played in an America
East Conference match.
When the Friars hosted the
Stony Brook Seawolves at Alumni Hall, they hosted as an associate
member of America East in the sport of volleyball. The match marked not only
the Friars' first match in the America East conference, but also their first match in any
conference since 2002. Since that time, the
program has played without a conference affiliation as an independent.
This new relationship between
America East and Providence volleyball has both sides excited.
"We welcome Providence College
to the America East family," America East commissioner Patrick Nero said. "Many
of our schools have had long standing relationships with the PC Athletic
Program and we are pleased to have them join us as an Associate Member in
Volleyball."
That family has given
Providence a new direction and a new perspective of its program.
"We have an identity," said Providence
head coach Margot Royer-Johnson. "We have somebody to compare ourselves to now,
individually and as a team. Statistically, we can compare ourselves and
obviously wins and losses help us compare ourselves."
The affiliation also brings
with it the opportunity to play a full conference schedule. As Royer-Johnson
puts it, that scheduling gives her team a "fresh start."
As senior defensive specialist
Sondra Snyder sees it, that conference schedule gives the team a new goal. "I
think the team is really excited to have some postseason play. We've never had
anything to work for before besides individual wins. So now we have something
that can be a crowning achievement for our team."
On the other side of the
court, Stony Brook head coach Deborah Matejka-DesLauriers, a former player and
coach at Providence College, sees the Friars as a positive addition to the
conference. "I'm really excited that we got the chance to play here tonight. It
was a very good match, very competitive. I think they are going to be a good
addition down the road."
Matejka-DesLauriers and the
Seawolves left Providence with a 3-0 win, but the trip was more than just a
match for the Stony Brook coach.
"It was actually very
emotional when I first walked in," Matejka-DesLauriers said. "It was definitely
an honor to come back and coach against Providence."
Looking forward, Coach
Royer-Johnson says that the goal for her team is the America East playoffs.
Tonight, the coach said, was a "good start."
It certainly was a start, both
to the Friars' conference schedule and the association between Providence and
America East.