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Stony Brook, N.Y. – After playing seven matches on the road to start the season, the Stony Brook volleyball team returns to Pritchard Gymnasium for its home opener vs. Fordham Tuesday at 7 p.m. Admission is FREE.

Palace at Pritchard

Seawolves volleyball is the only Stony Brook team to play in Pritchard Gymnasium, which is known for its raucous atmosphere and intimate setting. Last season, SBU held an impressive 7-2 home record and enjoyed appearances by the band, dance and cheer teams and Wolfie Seawolf himself.

Last Time Out

Stony Brook (3-4) recovered from an early straight-set loss to Columbia to sweep Bucknell and end the Columbia Invitational on a high note Saturday. Junior outside hitter Melissa Rigo recorded a match-high 17 kills to go along with nine digs, and junior setter Nicole Vogel dished 38 helpers. Redshirt senior middle blocker Evann Slaughter hammered home nine kills and hit .333 on her way to All-Tournament honors.

Series History

The Seawolves own a dominant 18-5 record in the all-time series and won the most recent meeting, 3-2, on the road last year.

Scouting the Rams

The Rams (0-6) are searching for their first win of the season after falling to Fairleigh Dickinson, Rider and Northeastern at home in the Rose Hill Classic last weekend. Junior setter Abigail Konovodoff is averaging 7.36 assists per set, and graduate student outside hitter Lisa Hipp paces Fordham offensively at 2.41 kills per set. Rookie defensive specialist Grace Muller has headed up the Rams’ defensive efforts and is averaging 2.50 digs per frame.

Go Rigo

Melissa Rigo has recorded double figures in kills in five of Stony Brook’s first seven matches, including a 17-smack performance Saturday vs. Bucknell. She notched her third double-double of the year on a match-high 16 kills and 14 digs vs. Fairfield Friday night. The 2013 America East All-Academic selection and 2012 Rookie of the Year paces the Seawolves in kills (3.20/set) and is second in digs (2.16/set).

Perfect 10

Evann Slaughter has performed well in her return to the court after missing the 2013 season with a torn ACL. After reaching double figures in kills in two of Stony Brook’s first three matches, she averaged 0.9 blocks per set at the Columbia Invitational and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Slaughter, who has led Stony Brook in blocks in all three of her seasons, currently sits fifth in school history with 215 career block assists and seventh with 292 total stuffs. She needs four blocks to tie Amy Oleksiej (2004-07) for sixth in program history in career blocks.

Get Lo

Redshirt junior libero Lo Hathaway broke the single-season school digs record last season with 553 digs and finished fifth in single-season program history in digs per set at 4.29. She had a match-high 16 scoops Friday vs. Fairfield and tallied 11 digs in a win over Bucknell Saturday.

Happy Homecoming

West Chicago Ill., native Kathy Fletcher was named to the DePaul Invite All-Tournament Team for her efforts during Stony Brook’s opening weekend. Playing in front of a hometown crowd, Fletcher tied for a team best with 2.75 kills per set and was second in digs at 1.92 digs per set. She led Stony Brook in kills in both contests Saturday, Aug. 30 with 11 vs. Hampton and a match-high 18 vs. Bradley.

Fresh Faces

Stony Brook welcomes six promising freshmen to the fold as the program continues to grow under Coley Pawlikowski. Click on the bio links below for more on the newest Seawolves.

Melann Amory (Fr., OH/DS, 5-10)...................Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh

Cydney Bowman (Fr., MB/OH, 5-11)………..Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary

Emily Costello (Fr./OH/6-2)……………………Webster, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy

Abby Hickey (Fr., DS/OH, 5-6)…………………Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb

Dani Nizich (Fr., DS/S, 5-4)……………………..Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown East

Courtney Scanlan (Fr., MB/OH, 6-1)………...Salamanca, N.Y./Ellicotville

Fearless Leader

A rising star in the collegiate volleyball coaching ranks and a tenacious recruiter of student-athletes, Pawlikowski is a three-time recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 award. She was hired on January 16, 2013.

In her first year at the helm, Pawlikowski guided to Seawolves back to the America East Championship and mentored a pair of all-conference picks in Kaitlin Costello (first team) and Stephanie McFadden (second team). Stony Brook consistently ranked near the top of the country in aces per set, finishing the year 10th at 1.69. The Seawolves are also excelling off the court under her watch and were honored with their first AVCA Team Academic Award.

A tenacious recruiter, Pawlikowski added six promising Seawolves to the roster in her first full recruiting class as she looks to build a championship program. She served as the defensive position coach at Wisconsin, helping the Badgers lead the Big Ten in digs per set as a team and boast the individual digs champion. 

Pawlikowski previously worked as the top assistant coach for her alma mater, Northern Illinois, from 2009-12, where she helped guide the Huskies to a 2011 Mid-American Conference regular season title and an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Up Next

Stony Brook hits the road again to take part in the Razorback Invitational Friday and Saturday. The Seawolves play SMU Friday at 5 p.m., Arkansas Saturday at 12 p.m. and South Dakota Saturday at 5:30 p.m.