The Long Layoff

It’s weird to have this blog sitting in neutral, but there’s not much to report until the season begins. If and when there’s something to report this offseason, I’ll make an update. Ideas for offseason content are welcomed.

When the flurry of activity that is NCAA D-III volleyball returns, I plan to be back here as a resource of information and opinion. I hope you’ll join me as the fall season approaches. In the meantime, if you or someone you know played D-III volleyball in the past couple of years, chances are your name is mentioned somewhere on these pages.

-Ricky Nelson

Updated Stats

It took me long enough, but I’m just updating my previous post. These stats are through the postseason.
Complete stats can be found here. The following are Midwest/Central players/teams ranked in the top 50 nationally:

Aces/Set
22. Christina Degroot (freshman, Wisconsin-Whitewater), .76
46. Dominican, 2.49
Assist/Set
1. Emily Foster (sophomore, St. Thomas), 11.39
13. Bridget Burtzel (senior, Gustavus), 10.48
16. Jenny Dziubla (senior, Loras), 10.41
24. Kelly Prunty (sophomore, St. Olaf), 10.11
25. Beth Hanson (junior, Saint Benedict), 10.06
27. Audra Janak (senior, Washington), 10.05
29. Ali Sikic (freshman, Wisconsin-Platteville), 9.97
38. Emily Haese (senior, Wisconsin-Eau Claire) 9.77
41. Karen Carlson (senior, Millikin), 9.71
43. Brittany Cherwinka (junior, St. Mary’s), 9.67
44. Katelyn Vara (junior, Wisconsin Oshkosh), 9.65
45. Tara Christensen (junior, Simpson), 9.65
46. Nicole Jones (sophomore, Bethany Lutheran), 9.65
47. Liz Schlobohm (freshman, Wisconsin-La Crosse), 9.65
49. Nikki Boddicker (senior, Chicago), 9.63
3. St. Thomas, 12.64
13. Washington, 11.85
16. Gustavus, 11.73
22. Loras, 11.58
25. Wisconsin Oshkosh, 11.53
28. Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 11.44
31. Concordia-Moorhead, 11.39
40. Wisconsin-La Crosse, 11.21
42. St. Mary’s, 11.18
44. Saint Benedict, 11.17
48. Nebraska Wesleyan, 11.13
50. St. Olaf, 11.11

Central Region: Who Loses Whom?

The following are the senior losses and potential returnees for all Central Region teams. My benchmarks for key returnees, with a few exceptions, was 100+ kills, digs or assists and/or 50+ blocks. Tis a long post. Figured I’d beat the AVCA site to the punch.

See here for senior losses, key returnees for teams in the final Bison/AVCA Top 25 poll. See here for losses and returnees for Midwest Region teams.

Augsburg (17-12, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)
Senior losses: OH Julie Jenkins (1st-Team All-MIAC), MH Amanda Rueb, MH Laura Harms
Key potential returnees: Junior OH Katie Christensen, senior S Shanna Reed, senior L Dani Tanaka, senior MH Barbara Simmons, senior OH Breann Woelfel, junior DS Jessica Hilk, senior OH Dani Boner
Bethany Lutheran (14-17, Upper Midwest Athletic Conference)
Senior losses: MH Eva Voss (1st-Team All-UMAC), OH Emma Orth (HM All-UMAC), DS Laura Mielke
Key potential returnees: Junior S Nicole Jones (HM All-UMAC), sophomore OH Amanda Edmison, senior L Laura Parochka, sophomore OH Vanessa Harkins, junior DS Kristin Becker, sophomore MH Klea Swenson
Bethel (9-18, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)
Senior losses: MB Jennifer Stoa, OH Chelsea Falck
Key potential returnees: Senior MB Kelly Otto (1st-Team All-MIAC), junior S Betsy Naatjes, sophomore OH Nicole Wriedt, senior L Bethany Shearer, junior OH Hannah Parks, junior DS Casey Fregeau, sophomore S Kate Smith

Midwest Region: Who Loses Whom?

The following are the senior losses and potential returnees for all Midwest Region teams. My benchmarks for key returnees, with a few exceptions, was 100+ kills, digs or assists and/or 50+ blocks. Tis a long post.
I will return later this offseason with the losses and returnees for all Central teams. Figured I’d beat the AVCA site to the punch.
See here for senior losses, key returnees for teams in the final Bison/AVCA Top 25 poll.

Alverno (2-24, Northern Athletics Conference)
Senior losses: MB Rebecca Schmid, OH Liz Malko
Key potential returnees: Junior MB Robyn Rosenthal, senior S Kim Reuter, sophomore OH Ashley Graham, sophomore OH Alicia Kontowski, sophomore DS Mai Kaw Xiong
Augustana (23-12, College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin)
Senior losses: S Jaime Spolum (HM All-Midwest Region, 2nd-Team All-CCIW), OH Lisa Neverman
Key Potential returnees: Junior OH Courtney Jungnickel (HM All-CCIW), senior MH Angela Baumgartner (HM All-CCIW), senior OH Mallory Thelander, senior RS Bridget Reich, junior L Jackie Rust, junior S Jenna Howard, junior MH Jackie Dickens, junior OH Mary Rhoades, senior DS Rachel Uhrig, senior S Maddie Shaw
Aurora (7-23, Northern Athletics Conference)
Senior losses: (None)
Key potential returnees: Senior MB Jill Smart (1st-Team All-NAC), sophomore L Carly Blask (NAC All-Freshman Team), senior S Cortni Ramm, sophomore MB Tanya Wilhoit, sophomore DS Carly Blask, sophomore OH Lauren Fairbanks, sophomore MB Robeska Sanchez, senior S Christine Ozlanski

Top 25: Who loses whom?

The following are the senior losses/top potential returnees for the Top 25 teams in the final poll. My benchmarks, with a few exceptions, for key returnees was 100+ kills, digs or assists and/or 50+ blocks. Tis a long post.
I will return later this offseason with the losses and returnees for all non-Top 25 Central and Midwest teams. Figured I’d beat the AVCA site to the punch.

No. 1 Emory (35-6, University Athletic Association)
Senior losses: MH Dani Huffman (1st-Team All-America, NCAA Tournament MOP), RS Maggie Baird (HM All-South Region), MH Lulu Kaiali, S Madison Robelen
Key potential returnees: Senior OH Alysse Meyer (1st-Team All-America), sophomore S Natalie Schonefeld (2nd-Team All-America, South Region Freshman of the Year, NCAA All-Tournament Team), sophomore L Brannan O’Neill (2nd-Team All-UAA), junior OH Amelia McCall (HM All-UAA), sophomore MH Alexandra Wright (NCAA All-Tournament Team), senior DS Vista Murphy
No. 2 La Verne (27-3, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)
Senior losses: OH Brianna Gonzales (two-time 1st-Team All-America, NCAA All-Tournament Team), RS Madison Bradley
Key potential returnees: Senior MB Crista Jones (1st-Team All-America, NCAA All-Tournament Team), junior RS Anna Calmer (1st-Team All-SCIAC), senior S Yesenia Lopez (2nd-Team All-SCIAC), senior MB Ashley Morgado (2nd-Team All-SCIAC), junior L Chelsea Sleight, junior OH Rebecca Villanueva
No. 3 Juniata (35-5, Landmark Conference)
Senior losses: OH Amber Thomas (two-time National Player of the Year, four-time All-America), S Beth Kozak (two-time All-America, three-time All-Region), MH Erin Albert (NCAA All-Tournament Team, 2nd-Team All-Landmark), MH Cassie Dickmann (1st-Team All-Landmark), DS Jessica Ritchey
Key potential returnees: Senior L Megan Sollenberger (two-time All-America, three-time All-Region), junior S Steph Strauss (2nd-Team All-America), senior RS Paige Johnston (2nd-Team All-Landmark), senior OH Michelle Morchesky, senior DS Molly Sollenberger, sophomore MH Amanda Schmidt, sophomore OH Collin Wallace, sophomore OH Drew Barnhart

D-III Regular-Season Stat Leaders

Complete stats can be found here. The following are Midwest/Central players/teams ranked in the top 50 nationally:

WIAC Championship Replay

If you missed it live or want to relive it again with added production value, FSN Wisconsin will broadcast the white-knuckle, back-and-forth, five-set WIAC Championship match between UW Oshkosh and UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 18 @ 7 p.m. Set your TiVo accordingly.

FYI: If you didn’t already know, a complete broadcast schedule of all WIAC sporting events on FSN Wisconsin can be found here.

-Ricky Nelson

Jenny McDowell: National Champ, National COY

After leading her Emory team to its first national title last week, Jenny McDowell has been named the 2008 AVCA National Coach of the Year. Congrats to Coach McDowell and to the entire Eagles roster and coaching staff on an incredible season. I found the news here. The AVCA site didn’t have the 2008 National Coach of the Year link updated.

Thank you for stopping by this season. I hope I assisted your interest in D-III volleyball this year, if only a little. I also hope to do it again next year. Thanks for your feedback, and with any luck you’ll be back with me in 2009. Any suggestions for next year would be appreciated.

I’ll continue to update throughout the offseason, but, as we all know, D-III volleyball news is sporadic until season openers near.

-Ricky Nelson

Final D-III Bison/AVCA Poll Released

No more than two minutes after I posted the item below, we have our final rankings. The top seven are chalk, in my opinion. It’s basically conjecture after that, although it’s nice to see the voters finally give Wisconsin-Eau Claire some credit in the end.

-Ricky Nelson

On Deck: ACVA National COY, Final Poll

The AVCA is expected to announce its National Coach of the Year later today. Emory’s Jenny McDowell seems like the obvious choice, but the nominees (Regional Coaches of the Year) are:
Jenny McDowell, Emory (South)
Don Flora, La Verne (West)
Brian Schaefer, Wisconsin Oshkosh (Midwest)
Rich Luenemann, Washington (Central)
Amber Warners, Calvin (Great Lakes)
Margie Knight, Salisbury (Mid-Atlantic)
Joel Dearing, Springfield (New England)
J.J. O’Connell, Stevens (New York)

The final 2008 Bison/AVCA is also due out later today. It should read something like this: No. 1 Emory, No. 2 La Verne, No. 3 Juniata, No. 4 Ohio Northern … just a hunch.

-Ricky Nelson