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Red Hawks Hope Experience Pays Off
The Red Hawk volleyball team had several ups and downs during the 2006 season. Their season ended on a down, when needing a win in their final conference match of the season against St. Norbert to make the conference tournament, Ripon lost in three sets. With that 4-5 conference record hanging over their heads since then, the Red Hawks have only gotten hungrier and more motivated as the off season has wore on.
"We had several games at our fingertips last year and if we had just pulled out a couple of those close games, it would have been a whole different season. Instead of rising to the occasion, we just played volleyball," said head volleyball coach Kelly Witte. "That is going to be the difference this year. We're going to be aggressive and take the match because we can't expect for it to be given to us."
In order to do that, the Red Hawks will look no further than their three seniors, all of whom rank in the top ten in at least one career category at Ripon. Jessica Chatmon (Kenosha, Wis./Kenosha Tremper) and Ashley Schertz (Embarrass, Wis./Clintonville) rank ninth and tenth in career blocks, respectively, while Mary Friend (Waterloo, Wis./Waterloo) enters the season with the seventh most assists in school history.
"You can't say enough about the three seniors," said Witte. "Ashley has an incredible desire to win and towards the end of the season last year, she really brought out a new level of intensity and leadership on the court that I hope she continues to play at. We need to keep Jessica in attack mode and keep reminding her that she's six-feet tall and is a dominant force at the net. Mary will also be a huge part of what we're trying to do. I'm hoping that her experience from last year will give her the confidence to be a better leader because she knows she is capable of doing it."
The Red Hawks return all but one starter from last year's team, as Ashley Redman was lost to graduation. With such a young squad, several freshmen were forced into action last season, which can do nothing but help the team this year in their sophomore campaign.
"This is a definitive team already. They've played together, and know how to work hard together and they really want to pick up where they left off," said Witte. "The upperclassmen are going to be good example for the young kids, which will make for a good team bond and motivate everybody."
Sophomores Sara Heim (Wabasha, Minn./Wabasha), and Christy Looker
(Rochester, Minn./Mayo) are two players who received a lot of playing time in their inaugural season, both playing in every one of the team's 32 matches. Heim had an outstanding year, and was a key to Ripon's defense, recording 633 digs, which ranks second in Ripon College history for a single season.
"Sara is a fantastic player who is very intense and motivated," said Witte. "Once a player gets that first year of playing experience under their belt, they're going to be ready for the speed of the game and are going to want to improve their skills and take their game to the next level."
Sophomore Bethany Patten
(Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West) was also thrown into the mix during her first season of collegiate volleyball because of injuries, playing in 26 matches. She'll be looked upon to contribute once again this year, along with fellow sophomore Sharyn Jordahl (Portage, Wis./Portage).
Yet another major part of the team's nucleus will be the play of the three juniors, Amy Patton (Galesburg, Mich./Galesburg-Augusta), Emily Nichols (Janesville, Wis./Craig), and Jeni Yaeger (Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville).
"Amy and Emily saw playing time at the outside hitting positions last year and could come in and challenge again. Jeni is intense and aggressive and we're looking to see good things out of her. I hope she literally jumps out of her shell this year because her vertical jump has improved each season," Witte said.
In addition to the returning players, the Red Hawks also have a group of talented freshmen coming in, who will all look to contribute in some way or another. Alison Ernst (Lemont, Ill./Montini Catholic) may share some time at the setter position, while Ashley Kirst
(West Bend, Wis./West Bend East) and Anna Alvin (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) will line up at Libero and Middle Hitter, respectively. Laura Yundt (Horicon, Wis./Horicon) will also do whatever it takes to contribute to the team.
"Each of the freshmen bring their own special talent to the team." said Witte. "Alison, Ashley, and Anna all have extensive club experience, which means that they're playing volleyball for most of the year and that's going to carry them far at the collegiate level because they have that feel for the game already."
The thing that was missing from last seasons team was explosiveness on the offensive side of the ball, which is an area that the newcomers are expected to help improve.
"We need to get a few more big, intimidating kills than we had last year," said Witte. "With the freshmen coming in and the experience that they have, we'll be ready to challenge other teams and we have to do that if we're going to be successful and have the season we want to have."
The kind of season the Red Hawks are hoping for, as always, is one that culminates in a championship, but in order to achieve their first winning season in three years, the Red Hawks must first put all the skills together that they've learned to make their goal a reality.
"We're going to go into the season thinking that we will be in contention for a conference championship, but our first goal is always to make it to the Midwest Conference tournament because you can't win the conference if you don't make the tournament," said Witte. "With the improvement of our team and how many times we were one big hit away from changing a match last year, I think we can challenge for a conference championship this season."
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