Fresh off their 13^th consecutive winning season, the Roger Williams University Volleyball team entered the 2020 season with the goal of winning their ninth Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship prior to losing their season to COVID. However, entering 2021, the Hawks expectations are the same as they return 13 of 20 players from their roster a year ago headlined by a strong senior class that has visions of a championship.
 
"They have their blinders on and their focused on one goal this year," said Head Coach Danielle Davis. "They are ready to put in the work and effort and not let anything stand in their way."
 
The volleyball squad has seen great success in their six seasons under Davis with an overall record of 90-54 while reaching the CCC Championship Game four times and winning once. This year, Davis believes that a strong team culture will be their X-Factor.
 
"We have a good team and even better team culture this year which I think is going to put us above a lot of teams," Davis said. "We are focused on us and our team and what we need to do in order to be successful."
 
Offense
The last we saw of the Hawks, they were completing a solid 2019 campaign with a rock-solid offensive attack that ranked third in the conference in points per set (15.0), kills per set (11.30), assists per set (10.58), and hitting percentage (.201).
 
Entering 2021, the team is well positioned to continue seeing success offensively as they return multiple key players including senior outside hitter Katherine Pickard. Pickard earned All-CCC Second Team honors in 2019 after pacing the team and ranking second in the CCC with 311 kills and third in the conference with 348.0 points on the year.
 
Pickard projects to lineup alongside fellow senior Tori Melanson who was fourth on the team with 151.5 points in 2019 while also finishing 35^th in the conference averaging 1.8 points per set.
 
Freshman middle hitter Jasmine Babbitt also projects to be a key piece of the Hawks offensive attack.
 
In terms of serving, RWU was middle of the CCC in 2019 averaging 1.8 service aces per set but they do return senior Lauren Burbidge who was second on the team and 13^th in the conference with 0.45 service aces per set.
 
Defense
The Hawks enter the season as one of the best defensive squads in the conference thanks to a strong defensive back row and excellent blocking.
 
In her time leading Roger Williams, a staple of a Danielle Davis-led team has been blocking as the Hawks have paced the CCC in blocks per set in each of her five seasons. That does not figure to change as the team returns the top blocker in the conference from 2019 in Melanson who stifled the opposition with 79 total blocks and averaged 0.99 blocks per set on her own that season. Pickard added 59 blocks for an average of 0.56 per set.
 
When the ball gets past RWU's blockers their veteran back row has proven to be effective at keeping possessions alive. The team returns three of their top six defenders in term of digs per set from 2019 led by senior libero Kate Grabowski. That season she led the team and finished 11^th in the CCC with 3.49 digs per set. Fellow seniors Lauren Burbidge and Jaime Gaffga are also strong defenders averaging 2.01 and 1.76 digs per set respectively.
 
2021 CCC Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll

	Team	Points (First Place Votes)
1.	Endicott	98 (8)
2.	Roger Williams	89 (1)
3.	Salve Regina	73
4.	Wentworth	67
5.	Gordon	59 (1)
6.	Western New England	46
7.	University of New England	44
8.	Suffolk	41
9.	Nichols	18
10.	Curry	15

 
Overall
All told, Roger Williams features a strong and experienced core that should be among the top teams both offensively and defensively in the conference and as a result they have set their goals high.
 
"There are no excuses," Davis said. "This year the team is focused on putting in the extra time and work to win championships. Holding themselves and their teammates to push harder and put in the work."
 
The team's quest for their ninth Commonwealth Coast Conference title begins on Wednesday, September 1^st when they venture to Eastern Connecticut State before making their long-awaited return home to face Wheaton on Saturday, September 4^th. Start time is set for 2:00 PM.