Women’s Volleyball Team falls short in NJAC semi-finals after strong season
By Stephen Strom | Published by December 8, 2019
It was a tremendous season for the Women’s volleyball program after their season ended in the semi-final round of the NJAC tournament against Rowan. The Cougars finished 26-9, had an All-American and will bring a ton of positives into next season.
The All-American selectee was junior Zoe Strozewski. Strozewski was also named 2019 NJAC Player of the Year and a first-team selection after totaling 445.0 points, 376 kills and 118blocks over 33 matches. She’s now the fourth All-American in Kean’s program history.
“2019 Kean Women’s volleyball team” Photo courtesy of
Larry Levanti
“It’s a huge honor to be named an All-American and to the all-conference team. There’s been so many unbelievably talented players in this conference and to be apart of it is something truly special,” said Strozewski.
Strozewski wasn’t the only one taking home hardware this year. Freshman Sedona Gaard was named NJAC Rookie of the Year as the Kean University women’s volleyball team had four girls selected to the All-Conference squads. Senior’s Jesse Larkin and Brianna Calvano were named to the second team while senior Kortnee Nelson was listed as an honorable mention.
“Kean Women’s volleyball poses with silly faces” Photo courtesy of
Larry Levanti
“I appreciate the NJAC recognizing mine and my teammates’ hard work and dedication throughout the season,” said Larkin. “This is something I’ll never take for granted.”
With every great team, the reflection of the team’s success lies within its head coach. For the Women’s volleyball team Head Coach Don Perkins creates the perfect environment. Perkins wrapped up another successful season in his 11th season with the Cougars.
“Coach Don is not only supportive and helpful on the volleyball court, but he is also the same way off the court,” said Calvano. “It goes beyond volleyball with him and that’s something unique nowadays.”
Strozewski added on to that by saying how great a job Perkins did of creating an environment for the team that’s both supportive and challenging. Next year, Strozewski will be returning but Kean will lose Larkin and Calvano.
“I think the biggest thing the team needs to improve on is consistency,” said Strozewski. “When we played our best, I think there were very few teams that we couldn’t compete with. We’re gonna have a great offseason and build off this year.”
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