Women's Volleyball To Join BIG EAST Conference

    Friars will begin competition as BIG EAST members in the fall of 2014.




    April 7, 2014

    PROVIDENCE, R.I. -

    The Providence College volleyball team will rejoin the BIG EAST Conference for the 2014 season. The announcement was made by the Athletics Director, Bob Driscoll on Monday, April 7.

    “We are pleased to see our volleyball program return to its roots as members of the BIG EAST Conference,” Bob Driscoll said. “The program has celebrated its most successful seasons as members of the BIG EAST and we embrace the opportunity to make an impact on the league moving forward.”

    The program was an associate member of the America East Conference for the past four seasons (2010-13), and will return to the BIG EAST, where it competed from 1977 to 2001.

    From 1977 to 2001 while playing in the BIG EAST, the Friars had 16 winning seasons and captured three BIG EAST Championships in a five-year span (1983-1987). During that five-year stretch, Providence advanced to the BIG EAST Championship game each season.

    “We are excited to rejoin the BIG EAST Conference, where our program enjoyed great success in the past,” Head Coach Margot Royer-Johnson said. “We look forward to renewing old traditional rivalries and creating new ones among our membership. This is an exciting time for Providence College volleyball.”

    NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
1983, 1985

    BIG EAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
1983, 1985, 1987

    BIG EAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT RUNNER-UP
1984, 1986, 1992

    BIG EAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
1983 - Lori Derentiis
1985 – Karen Ferreira
1987 – Barbara Prehatny

    ALL-BIG EAST SELECTIONS
1982: Trisha O’Brien, Lori DeRentiis
1983: Judy Barnes
1984: Trisha O’Brien, Lori DeRentiis
1985: Sandi Reda (Northern Division Freshman of the Year)
1986: Joan Dever, Karen Ferreira
1987: Debbie Matejka (Northern Division Freshman of the Year)
1988: Debbie Matejka
1989: Debbie Matejka
1990: Debbie Matejka
1991: Aileen Koprowski (Freshman of the Year)
1992: Aileen Koprowski
1993: Aileen Koprowski (Second Team)
1994: Aileen Koprowski (First Team), Becky Loftus (Second Team)
1996: Becky Loftus (Second Team)
1998: Sarah Katinger (All-Rookie Team)
1999: Colleen Lee (First Team), Sarah Katinger (Second Team)
2001: Sarah Katinger (Honorable Mention)

    BIG EAST ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM SELECTIONS
1982: Lori DeRentiis, Trisha O’Brien
1984: Lori DeRentiis, Trisha O’Brien
1987: Debbie Matejka
1988: Debbie Matejka
1989: Debbie Matejka