Cunningham takes over Roughies
Abby Cunningham got a call from her former coach Sue Ardnt about taking over the Catasauqua girls' volleyball program and thought it would be a good fit.
Lindsay Ardnt, Sue's daughter, recently resigned from the program and moved out of the area. As a result, it was a flurry of activity that lead to Cunningham taking over the program.
"When I took over, I really didn't have a lot of time to get everything organized," said Cunningham, who played for the Roughies from 2005 through 2009. "But we have 20 girls in the program and we have split them between varsity and JV.
"We lost a number of players from last year's team and a lot of senior starters. We have a group of girls who came out for the first time, but they have been working very hard."
Cunningham will look to senior captain Hope Golden to lead the way as a young club matures throughout the season. Freshman Hannah Smith has been among the younger players who have been impressive. Cunningham envisions more players developing further in the next few weeks.
"We have a number of freshmen and sophomores on the team," said Cunningham. "But they all have picked up very quickly on everything. They just need o keep working and moving forward."
Cunningham hopes her experience can be transmitted to her players. She was a four-year letter winner at Division III powerhouse Roger Williams College in Rhode Island. During her time there, the team was a four-year conference champion and an NCAA entrant in the postseason.
Although it may take some time, Cunningham has faith her club soon can produce a similar situation.
In their opening match against Lehigh Valley Christian, Catty dropped a 3-0 decision, but Cunningham was pleased with the effort.
"We played a team that was close to us in several ways," said Cunningham. "But we improved in every phase of the game. I believe we took a step further as a team. The girls were a little nervous at the start, but they settled down as the match moved along.
"We'll see how they react as they season goes along. They will grow as a team and should get better."