Posted: Nov 05, 2013

Parsons coach of year; five Seahawks on All-CCC

(Left to right) Clare Adams, Dianna Tauro, Taylor Violet, Jennifer Duggan, Katelyn Beauregard, and head coach Lauren Parsons.

NEWPORT, R.I. - Second-year Salve Regina University women's volleyball head coach Lauren Parsons earned the honor of her peers as the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Coach of the Year for 2013. Parsons is joined on the all-conference squad by five of her players - first-team honorees Clare Adams (New Concord, Ohio) and Jennifer Duggan (Merrimack, N.H.) and honorable mention selections Katelyn Beauregard (Dartmouth, Mass.), Dianna Tauro (Melrose, Mass.), and Taylor Violet (Tiverton, R.I.).

Parsons, who guided the Seahawks to the championship match in her first season last year, is being recognized as CCC Coach of the Year for the first time. Under Parsons' tutelage, the Seahawks enter the upcoming CCC Tournament as the No. 2 seed, after concluding the regular season with a program-best 25-3 record, including a 7-1 CCC mark which tied for first place in the conference. The 25 victories eclipses the program record set last year in Parsons' first year at the helm. The Seahawks concluded the regular season ranking among the conference's top statistical teams in league-only play, as Salve Regina led the league in blocks per set (1.93) and placed second in hitting percentage (.251), kills per set (12.43), assists per set (11.29), and digs per set (16.32). Salve Regina enters the CCC tournament ranked seventh in the most recent NCAA Division III New England Regional Poll.

"It's an honor to be recognized by the conference and the other head coaches," says Parsons. "This award is more about the team than me. The players are the ones performing on the court and as a coach you just hope that you're doing the right things to help your team be successful. As a head coach if you think this award is about you, then you have lost sight of what got you there. So this award goes to the 15 players on my team and I couldn't be more proud of them!"

Adams, a senior outside hitter, enters the postseason ranking sixth in the league in kills per set (2.96). She is the school's all-time kill leader (960) and one of only four Seahawks to amass over 1,000 career digs (1,239), ranking third overall. The versatile player has the second-most digs this season of any player in the conference ranking in the Top 10 in kills per set. Adams, who has played in every set of her 27 matches, is also featured in the Commonwealth Coast Conference series "Someone You Should Know" (October 25 - http://cccathletics.com/sports/general/2013-14/Someone_You_Should_Know/ClareAdams).

"Clare has worked so hard and it has finally paid off for her. I'm so proud of her and her determination to prove to the conference that she is a top player in the CCC. She worked very hard at becoming a smarter player for us and I'm so happy for her that her senior year has been the best in program history."

Duggan, a junior outside hitter, ranks fourth in the league in kills per set (3.50) while leading the Seahawks in that category. Three times she has earned CCC Player of the Week honors and once garnered the ECAC Player of the Week honor for New England. Duggan returns to the All-CCC team for the second time in her career, earning second-team honors in 2012 as a sophomore. She currently ranks fourth all-time in total kills (838) for the Seahawk program and has the highest kills per set average (2.74 in 306 sets) in school history. She has the most service aces on the team in 2013 (49) and ties two former Seahawks for the single-season mark of 0.55 service aces per set (Elspeth Dana - 2004; Catherine Lippincott - 2003). This year, both Duggan and Adams have the two highest, respectively, season kills per set averages since the program's inception in 2002.

"Jenn has been an outstanding player for us this year, her awards/honors can prove it. Like Clare, Jenn is never satisfied and always wants to improve. She has worked hard from the start and has been rewarded for it, but she doesn't let that get in her way of raising her level of play."

Both Adams and Duggan have produced 20-kill matches this season; the former in three sets against Suffolk (8/31/2013) and the latter in four sets against Endicott (10/9/2013).

All-conference honorees on court together. Beauregard, a junior opposite side hitter, wins points and sets up points from her front-line position. Her second-straight season on the All-CCC team, she ranks third on the Seahawks in kills per set (2.30) while also totaling the third-most assists (29). Beauregard has the second-most blocks on the team this season (39), behind sophomore teammate Emily Lipinski (Hampden, Mass.). Her 36 block assists tie for sixth-most all-time in a single-season for Salve Regina.

Tauro, a junior libero, joins the all-conference team for the first time while anchoring a Seahawk defense with 333 digs in 88 sets. Her 3.78 digs per set ranks seventh in the league.

Violet, a junior setter, became the school's all-time leader in assists in just two seasons. She returns to the All-CCC squad for the second-straight year while establishing personal and program highs in assists (821) and assists per set (9.33). Proving just as lethal on the attack, Violet also registered career highs in kills (84), kills per set (0.95), and attack percentage (.307). In conference games only, she is most efficient with a .424 attack percentage.

"Katelyn, Dianna, and Taylor are three starters for us. All three of them are no doubt threats in the conference in their positions. Katelyn is a dominate right-side hitter for us. She is smart, crafty and gets us the point in do-or-die situations. Taylor is one of the smartest setters in the conference and crafty as well. She knows when and where the set needs to be, and on the service line she has one of the toughest serves. Dianna is a great libero; she is loud and runs the back row. She is quick and is not scared to sacrifice her body to the ball. With all three of these players returning next year, they will continue with Jenn to lead this team to another successful season."

Salve Regina will host a conference semifinal match at the Rodgers Recreation Center on Thursday (7 p.m.). Tickets are $5 (adults) and $2 (children) while Salve Regina and visiting students with valid ID will be admitted free of charge.