(Editor's Note: This week we catch up with the junior leaders of the 2012 volleyball team which produced the finest season in program history as the Ravens reached the NCAA Division II Tournament.)

By Morgan Miller
Athletics Student Feature Writer

The 2012 season was a historic year for the Franklin Pierce University volleyball program, as the team reached the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time ever.

This year’s squad came a long way following the previous two seasons which saw the Ravens fail to produce an above .500 record either time. Despite the less-than-favorable outcomes, the team did not lose focus during those years and knew that it was building towards big things in 2012 and beyond.

Unfortunately, the Ravens were defeated, 3-1, by fourth-seeded New York Tech in the quarterfinal round of the East Regional, but the loss did not stunt the Ravens from laying the foundation for an even brighter future for the program.

“Last season (2011) we were less experienced,” said co-captain Natasha Ray. “This year the returners came back with more knowledge of the game and a greater understanding and higher expectations for ourselves and the eight freshman we added. Our team was also much larger this year which I feel helped push everyone to do their best, seeing as how we knew there was someone right behind us fighting for our position.”

The larger squad enabled the team to conduct more intense and competitive practice sessions, which paid off when the matches counted.

 “Coach Dragan recruited a lot of new players to fill the positions that we were lacking in last season,” junior Katie Jackson said. We finally had more than 12 members on the team, which created tremendous depth. Up until this year, we never had more than 12 girls so we could never scrimmage each other in practice, which I think is one thing that helped us a lot this year.”

Victories over regional powers such as Adelphi and Pace were major confidence boosters for the girls early in the season.

“This season was more exciting because we started off strong and beat a lot of good teams early in the season. Our confidence level grew higher and we became very successful,” said co-captain Lauren Miller. “This carried over into the final three months and really good things came out of it.”

The 2012 squad did not feature a single senior, so the juniors had to step up into the leadership roles, which they had no problem doing. Ray, Miller, Jackson and classmate Ashley Bruce helped shape the young squad as it navigated the rough waters of the Northeast-10 Conference.

“I have always been a very vocal leader and person in general so I definitely contributed in that aspect,” said Ray. “I am also a very passionate person and always try to leave my heart out on the court no matter who we are playing.”

Jackson also expressed that she did her best to be a leader that her young team could look up to.

“I wasn't necessarily the loudest girl on the court because I am never in at all times, but in practice and in games I strived to always work my hardest and stay positive,” said Jackson. “It is so easy to become frustrated and down on yourself in this sport, so I always tried to keep a positive attitude no matter how hard it got.”

Despite the end of 2012 season being just a few days old, the team has already set it sights on the 2013 campaign and the goals it hopes to accomplish.

“Next season I think that our goals will be to place in the top three in our conference again, and to make it farther in the NE-10 tournament,” said Bruce. “I want to make it back to the NCAAs again and make a run deep into the tournament to test ourselves against the best teams.”

Bruce feels strongly those goals will be met.

“I absolutely see a bright future for this team especially because Coach Dragan has kept her word on rebuilding the program. She has done such a wonderful job to get us where we are today, and if she keeps working as hard as she has and the team keeps working as hard as it has, then I think that we will reach those goals we have set.”