Coming off another successful season, and with the majority of the team returning, the NYU women's volleyball squad will have a new chief roaming the sidelines in 2010.

Following the mid-summer resignation of eight-year head coach Ed Caesar, former assistant Chris Pinto was named the interim head coach of the Violets.

“I'm excited to be taking over the program and continuing to build on the strong foundation we've established,” said Pinto. “I've been a big part of the recruiting efforts here, so I feel like we won't miss a beat.”

Pinto inherits a superbly talented team that has aspirations of a deep postseason run one year after posting a 29-10 overall record and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. With almost every contributor back from that team, NYU's high expectations are legitimate.

“Our goal is to get back to the NCAA Tournament and advance further,” said Pinto. “We will have experience from last year in knowing what it's like to be in the tournament. We hope playing in it will become a tradition.”

Leading that charge will be middle blocker Kendyl Dunn, who returns after a sensational freshman season that netted her Second Team All-America honors.

Joining Dunn as an NYU stalwart is another All-American, junior setter Mina Baban.

“We expect Kendyl to do great things again this year. Coming off of last season, she should be able to take it to another level. She'll definitely be a go-to player for us,” commented Pinto. “And we brought in a lot of firepower for Mina. We wanted to give her more options of people who can put the ball away.”

Other key returnees for the Violets in 2010 include seniors Kasey Estes and Rachel Sawyer.

“Kasey and Rachel are two of our leaders,” noted Pinto. “They will reach out to the younger players and help their development as athletes, students and members of the community.”

In addition to the strong nucleus of returning players, NYU will welcome seven newcomers to the team in 2010, two of whom are transfers from Division I programs. Sally Downs comes to the Violets by way of Stony Brook University, and Beth Fionda joins the NYU program after starting her collegiate career at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

“Both Sally and Beth were scholarship players at Division I programs,” said Pinto. “They both had very successful careers prior to coming here, and we expect them to step in and compete right away.”

The Violets begin their season on Sept. 3 when they host the NYU Labor Day Invitational.