GAMBIER, Ohio – A bit of sideline shuffling highlighted the Kenyon College volleyball team's offseason. Former assistant Kendra Mosher earned a promotion to head coach and then made the decision to hire Leanna Schaefer, a former NCAA Division III player, as her assistant.

Mosher helped former head coach Amanda Krampf direct the Ladies to a 15-11 record one season ago. That was the program's third consecutive winning season, a feat last accomplished 25 years ago. The Ladies wrapped up the 2017 campaign with a fifth-place finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament.

The 2018 Ladies return four starters, giving the new coaching staff a solid foundation to build upon. The returnees include seniors Delaney Swanson and Alexi Donnelly, as well as juniors Mackenzie Bruzzio and Maleah Miller. Swanson, Donnelly and Bruzzio are versatile and can play all away around, while Miller does her work from the front row.

In the 2017 season, Swanson ranked second on the team with 207 kills and third on the team with 252 digs. She also had 22 aces, 22 blocks and was selected to the All-NCAC team for the third straight season. Bruzzio was a 2017 All-NCAC honoree, as well. She led the team with 211 kills, posted a .218 attack percentage and contributed 142 digs and 42 blocks. Miller racked up a 136 kills and 51 blocks, while Donnelly put together a season that included 101 kills and 212 digs.

Off the bench, Haley Witschey had a breakout season as a junior. She played in 16 matches and racked up 107 kills and a .248 attack percentage to go along with 25 digs and 13 blocks.

While those five will be counted on to lead the way in 2018, the Ladies have to replace the services of four others. Schuyler Stupica, who had 163 kills and a team-best .279 attack percentage, decided not to return. Additionally, the Ladies graduating class included setter Jensen Shurbert, libero Rachael Thorson and defensive specialist Ashley Martens. Shurbert departed with 2,943 career assists, the second-best total in program history. Thorson exited with 1,485 career digs, also the second-best mark in program history.

As Mosher gets a good look at her freshman class and starts to put all the pieces together, she'll have the Ladies ready to go by the time the season starts with the two-day Marietta College River City Classic, which gets underway August 31.