GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Head coach Ryan Campbell and the Cornerstone Volleyball team makes the trek out to the Golden Gate State where they will open the 2017 campaign at the Hope International/Vanguard Summer Slam. The Golden Eagles, which claimed their first WHAC regular season title since 2004 last year, return 11 letterwinners and are the preseason pick to claim back to back league championships. CU opens their slate Wednesday at 5 p.m. EST against Eastern Oregon and will follow with an 11 p.m. EST contest against Northwest University (Wa.). 




Head coach Ryan Campbell - Head coach Ryan Campbell enters his 9th season on the CU sideline after being named the 2016 WHAC and ACVA Region Coach of the Year

Returning All-Americans - The team welcomes back a trio of NAIA All-Americans; Kendra Zwart (2nd Team) and Hope Leppink and Heather (Green) Carlson as Honorable Mention All-Americans.

Senior-laden Roster - Cornerstone's roster features six seniors as Ellie Van Laar is coming off a season in which she was named 2nd Team All-WHAC and she joins classmates - Abby Carlson, Heather Carlson, Paetyn Cummings, Hope Leppink and Maria Ma in their final year in a Golden Eagle uniform.

Seven Newcomers - The team welcomes seven freshman to the school which is the largest class of the four on the 2017 squad - Hannah Dykema, Bailey Cummings, Alexis Angus, Emery Shepherd, Jackie Stanko, Kayla Clark and Brooke Nicholson.

Team Captains - CU has four captains for 2017 - Hope Leppink, Heather Carlson, Abby Carlson and Kendra Zwart.

Home Cookin' - CU will play 11 home matches including their annual "ACC" Tournament October 13-14. Home opener is set for September 6 vs. Rochester. The Golden Eagles went 15-0 last year and have won their last 16 matches in Mol Arena.

Hope International/Vanguard Summer Slam - CU opens their season Wednesday-Thusday at Hope International where they will face Eastern Oregon, Northwest (Wa.), Corban (Ore.) and The Masters (Calif.). EOU finished 6th in the final NAIA Top-25 poll while Corban was 16th and Northwest was receiving votes.

La Sierra Tournament - The competition stays tough next week, CU will face off against four California schools in Vanguard, Westmont (finished 7th in final top-25 poll), Hope International and the host La Sierra.


Volleyball Contact: Aaron Sagraves 
CU Athletics: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Volleyball: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram