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Monday, Oct. 31, 2005
THREE GAIN WEEKLY LITTLE EAST HONORS
Siranko third-time volleyball pick; Barber, Ryczek first-time selections
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Senior volleyball player Chrissie Siranko (DANBURY) has been named Offensive Player-of-the-Week in the Little East Conference for the third time this year and freshmen Juliet Barber (MINEOLA, NY) and Meghan Ryczek (EAST HADDAM) have been recognized with Rookie-of-the-Week awards in the sports of volleyball and women’s soccer, respectively, for the week ending Oct. 30.
At right: Meghan Ryczek
The honor is the third this year and second one in three weeks for Siranko, a 5-foot-11 inch right-side hitter while the 5-foot-6 inch Barber and Ryczek gained honors for the first time in their careers. Barber is a defensive specialist, Ryczek a midfielder.
Siranko and Barber helped the Warriors win five of six matches last week, with four of the triumphs coming in five matches when they took second place in this past weekend’s Brandeis University Judges Classic at the Gosman Center. Ryczek played 48 minutes off the bench to help the Warriors to a pair of 1-0 wins and improve their record in the last 13 matches to 10-1-2.
Siranko, the team’s only four-year letterwinner, attacked at .303 last week, averaging 3.0 kills. In a four-game win over Gordon College, she had ten kills without an error and attacked at .435; in a three-game sweep of Plymouth State University, she added 11 kills and a .286 attack percentage. This year, Siranko has appeared in 35 matches for Eastern, which amassed a 26-10 regular-season won-loss record and a share of the Little East Conference regular-season title and No. 1 seed in this weekend’s conference playoffs. She leads Eastern with 354 kills (2.72 per game) and a .258 attack percentage and is second on the team with 90 blocks.
A defensive specialist, Barber has played an important role in recent weeks, helping offset the loss of freshman Sandra Jaques (MILFORD), who has been sidelined with health issues. Barber appeared in all 20 games last week, totaling 35 digs (2.33 per game), serving 61 balls with just three errors (.951) and contributing a .935 attack percentagae on 77 receptions. This year, she has seen time in 28 matches and is averaging 2.55 digs in 74 games and has a .944 reception percentage on 301 attempts.
Against Rhode Island College Saturday, Ryczek came off the bench to score the game-ending goal four minutes into overtime as the Warriors completed an undefeated (6-0-1) regular season in the Little East Conference to win outright their first conference regular-season championship. The point was the first in the career of Ryczek, who scored on her only shot when Rhode Island keeper Krissie Pyzynski was unable to hold onto an initial shot by Eastern senior forward Jenn Orme (CENTEREACH, NY). This year, Ryczek has seen action in 15 matches with one start for Eastern, which brings a 10-5-2 overall record into this weekend’s conference tournament as the No. 1 seed and host for the semifinals and final. Ryczek, one of three freshmen midfielders to see steady work this season, has taken eight shots and averages 25.7 minutes per match.
Eastern athletes have been honored with weekly awards by the conference six times in volleyball and eight times in women’s soccer this season. It is the first time in either sport that an Eastern athlete has been chosen as Rookie-of-the-Week.
