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Most of the team is back and better than ever
The Red Hawks Volleyball team has good news and bad news as they enter the 2006 season. The bad news is that they lost three key players to graduation (Jena Kramer, Rose Reichhart, Sara Sanford). The good news is that the majority of the team is back and better than ever. Ripon has just one senior, who will team up with four juniors, five sophomores and a talented recruiting class of eight freshmen. Even though the team is young in terms of years, they now are more experienced after many saw the court a lot last season.
"Hopefully, last year will help build up all these young kids because they're going to have to be the leaders this year. And by having that experience, I'm hoping the rest of them are going to be able to step up," said
Head Coach Kelly Witte.
Ripon dropped their final five games of the season last year, including a Midwest Conference first round match to Lake Forest College, which went five sets. Although it was a loss, the Red Hawks were able to take some valuable experience away from that match.
"I'm hoping the starting experience that the younger players earned last year will help them come through in clutch situations this season," Witte
said.
Ashley Redman (Oakfield, Wis.) will be looked upon as one of the leaders on this season's squad, as she is the lone senior. Redman is coming off a season in which she led the team with nearly nine assists per game. She also led the team with 34 service aces, as she was named Second Team All-Conference.
"Last year was Ashley's first year as the starting setter, and she's really grown as a player," said Witte. "I think
she's ready to step in and do what it takes to assume a leadership
role this season."
Miranda Starbird (Brandon, Wis.) is another player who will be counted on heavily this season. Starbird came on strong towards the end of last season, and once again will look to set the tone for the Red Hawks as she enters her third year with the team.
"Miranda made her mark at the conference tournament last year and really proved that she belonged there," said
Witte.
Ashley Schertz (Embarrass, Wis.) and Jessica Chatmon (Kenosha, Wis.) are two other juniors for whom Ripon has high expectations this season. Schertz finished second and third on the team in blocks and kills, respectively, while Chatmon finished fourth on the team in blocks per game.
Jeni Yaeger (Clintonville, Wis.) is another player who is expected to contribute a lot during the 2006 season. Yaeger finished in the top five on the team in both blocks and kills in her inaugural season. This year, she'll be looked upon to play an even bigger role in her sophomore year.
"Jeni played just about every position at some point last year, and we're looking for her to nail down a starting position at either the middle or rightside this season," said
Witte.
There will be a somewhat of a mystery to this year's team, at least at the start of the season. With eight incoming freshmen, it isn't clear how they will fit in until they've got a few practices under their belts.
"One of the exciting things about this year's freshmen is that they all have a lot of volleyball playing experience, and in this day and age, the more you play the game, the better you get at it," said
Witte.
Although they are in their first year of collegiate volleyball, some play like they've already stepped on a college court, which will only help make Ripon stronger as a team.
"This is a very well-rounded group of freshmen," Witte said. "Their
knowledge and feel for the game is very strong, which will make
our practices stronger, and they're going to push the upperclassmen
to be better players."
The team's players have changed a little from last season, but one thing that hasn't changed is the team goal and what they hope to accomplish this season.
"Our first goal is to get to the conference championship," Witte said. "We
want to be conference champs, which is something we haven't done
yet, But it starts with getting there, and you can't win unless
you're there."
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