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The 2010s for Quinnipiac volleyball could be described as a slow start with a stronger finish.

Starting out in the NEC, followed by switching over the MAAC in 2013, the program struggled to find victories. From the start of the decade to 2015, the Bobcats failed to reach a single season of more than six wins.

In 2016, Quinnipiac found success in a major way. Under head coach Kris Czaplinski, the program had its best regular season in the decade with a record of 21-13, finishing at third place in the MAAC.

This team would take down Niagara and Marist in the 2016 MAAC Tournament to reach the conference finals. The Bobcats would ultimately lose to a Fairfield Stags team that didn’t lose a single game in the conference that year.

Quinnipiac would then make the playoffs for three straight years after that, where in 2019 the Bobcats would have a similar postseason run to its 2016 campaign.

Under first-year head coach Kyle Robinson, the 2019 Bobcats battled to find consistency. Despite the up-and-down play, Quinnipiac was able to clinch the final spot in the MAAC Tournament with two games left in the season.

Once the playoffs began, Quinnipiac was able to find its stride. Sparked by the hitting of transfer students Olga Zampati and Georgia Tselepi, the Bobcats took down the #3 seed Rider and the #2 seed Canisius earning their second MAAC tournament final appearance in a memorable Cinderella story.

However, it was Fairfield yet again who ended Quinnipiac’s glory run, a 2019 Stags team that only lost once in conference play.

With all the awards and accolades surrounding Quinnipiac volleyball the past 10 years, it is only right that the best of these players should be honored for their performances.

Introducing the Quinnipiac Volleyball 2010s All-Decade first and second teams.

Each team features a list of six players consisting of four hitters, a setter and a defensive specialist. The teams were organized based on their accolades, awards and accomplishments with the Quinnipiac volleyball program from 2010-2019. With each player, stats and notable achievements are listed providing the details for why each player made the specific team.

Quinnipiac Volleyball 2010s All-Decade First Team

Kat Miller (Outside Hitter)

• MAAC All-Tournament team (2016)
• All-MAAC First Team (2018)
• Program record for kills in a single game (34)
• Over 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs (First player at Quinnipiac to do so)
• Team leader in service aces (2018; 47)
• Team leader in kills (2018; 366)

Alejandra Rodriguez (Libero/Defensive Specialist)

• Program leader in career digs (1,478)
• MAAC Libero of the Year (2019)
• All-MAAC Second Team (2019)
• 3x team leader in digs
• MAAC All-Rookie team (2016)

Maria Pansari (Setter)

• 2x 1,000 assist seasons
• Set single-season record for most assists at Quinnipiac (2015; 1,358)
• MAAC All-Rookie team (2016)
• MAAC All-Tournament team (2016)

Allison Leigh (Middle Hitter)

• All-MAAC First Team (2015)
• 3x team block leader (2012, 2013, 2015)
• Team leader in kills (2012)
• MAAC leader in total blocks and blocks per set (2012)
• Set Quinnipiac single-season record in blocks (2015; 184)
• Led MAAC in hitting percentage (2015; .321)
• Played just three games her junior year before being sidelined with an injury

Jen Coffey (Outside Hitter)

• Did not play her senior year
• Started Junior year but was injured
• All-MAAC First Team (2016)
• Team leader in kills (2016; 404)

Natalie Alechko (Outside Hitter)

• All-MAAC Second Team (2017)
• MAAC All-Rookie team (2016)
• Team leader in kills (2017; 334)

Quinnipiac Volleyball 2010s All-Decade Second Team

Katie Urycki (Outside Hitter)

• 2x team leader in kills (2014, 2015)
• 2x team leader in service aces (2013, 2014)
• Offensive specialist, could also pass
• Named Quinnipiac assistant, 2019

Logan Riker (Libero/Defensive Specialist)

• 2nd-highest career dig total in Quinnipiac history (1,078)
• 2x seasons with over 400 digs
• 3x dig leader (2009, 2010, 2012)

Aryanah Diaz (Right-Side Hitter/Setter)

• Team leader in assists (2019; 667)
• Team leader in aces (2019; 33)
• Leader in MAAC in triple doubles (2019; 3)
• More than 10 in kills, assists, digs, blocks or service aces
• 2nd on team in digs (2019; 333)

Elizabeth Kloos (Middle Hitter)

• Team leader in blocks (2015; 111)
• 2x seasons with over 200 kills (2015, 2016)
• Preseason All-MAAC selection (2017)
• Battled injuries, played a small number of matches her senior year

Morgan Sherwin (Right Side Hitter)

• 2nd on team in kills (2018; 352)
• 3rd on team in kills (2019; 217)
• 160 kills and 180 assists in her freshman year (2017)

Kaleigh Oates (Middle Hitter)

• MAAC All-Second Team (2019)
• Team leader in hitting percentage (2019; .373)
• Team leader in blocks (2019; 78)
• 2nd on team in kills(2019; 225)

If Katie Urycki wasn’t injured her senior season during 2016, would she have earned a MAAC first-team award that would have placed her into the Quinnipiac 2010s first-team?

Would Aryanah Diaz still earn her spot on the second team, or move up into a first team spot if she had an additional season of playing under Czaplinski?

Would Kaleigh Oates earn a first team spot if given more opportunities to play her junior season?

There are many “what ifs” that can be discussed with the making of these teams. Based on the events, awards and storylines that occurred with each of these players in this decade, there is no doubt that these 12 players deserve their recognition.