Announcement

**dregn** · December 2, 2007, 06:47 PM

My initial thoughts are that we may see Katie slide out right and combine with Amanda Moore to take Sara's spot and McGee getting a chance to share the middle with Angela. I think the hardest thing to fill will be losing Sara in the back row. I'm not sure if any of our other players could step in and play the full rotation in order to keep our number of substitutions a game reasonable. I believe her freshman year that Angela played the full rotation and played in the back row, but doing this would keep McGee off the court and that might be a big defensive weapon that we leave on the bench. It will definately be interesting to watch and see.

**1972Shocker** · December 2, 2007, 07:07 PM

Northern Iowa Panthers

UNI loses 5 seniors all of who played in all of their matches and 3 of which who were key contributors to another good season for the perenially strong Panthers.

Like the Shockers they lose an oustanding setter in Kristin Belzung who was a 1st team All-Conference selection and was 2nd in the league in Assists/Game behind Abby Harsh.

They also graduate 6'1" MB Danielle Brazda and 6'0" OH Laura Rowen who were both 2nd team All-Conference selections. Brazda was 2nd in the league in blocks per game just behind her teammate Ashten Stelken.

5'10" Melissa Schmitz and 5'8" Brittany Bakker, both defensive specialists also graduate and although both played in all 33 of UNI's matches they were pretty much role players that were not necessarily key to UNI's success.

Belzung, Brazda and Rowen were all very solid performers and leaders for the Panthers and were key components of the 2007 Panther team.

UNI does return 3 of their top 4 players in kills led by Seniors to be 6'3" MB Ashten Stelken and 5'11" OH Amy Sampson plus 6'2" Junior to be OH Shannon Aschoff.

Ashten Stelken was a 1st team All-Conference selection. She led the league in Blocks/Game, she was 3rd in hitting %, and 5th in kills.

Amy Sampson was 21st in hitting % and 11th in kills.

Shannon Aschoff was 6th in hitting%, 22nd in kills and 6th in blocks.

UNI also returns its Libero, Sophomore to be Ellie Blankenship who was on the 2007 All-Freshman team. She was 4th in the league in digs just behind the Shock's Kelly Broussard.

No one else really played much for the Panthers so it is difficult to assess who might step up to replace the departing players. Nor do I know anything about UNI's recruiting class.

UNI has two other Setters listed on their roster one is a 6'2" Sophomore to be (who redhsirted her Freshman year) Jessa Benson and 5'8" Freshman to be (who apparently redshirted this year) Bre Payton. And no that is not a typo, Jessa Benson is listed at 6'2".

Among the middles and outside hitters on this year's roster are 6'1" and 6'2" middles and a 6'0" and a 6'1" OH. So no giants, although they may very well be excellent athletes. Not much to go on at this point.

It appears UNI signed two players in the 2008 recruiting class. 6'2" MB Krista DeGeest out of Spencer, IA and 5'10" OH Maddy Hammack out of St. Louis. UNI describes DeGeest as very athletic and physical. They hope to use Hammack as an all-around player and she is also described as a physical player with a "heavy" arm.

Hard to believe that UNI will not be competitive again with their tradition in Women's VB. It would appear that their main concern will be replacing Kristin Belzung at setter. Brazda and Rowen were also very good players but I suspect UNI will be able to re-tool those positions adequately.

**1972Shocker** · December 2, 2007, 07:09 PM

Originally posted by dregn

My initial thoughts are that we may see Katie slide out right and combine with Amanda Moore to take Sara's spot and McGee getting a chance to share the middle with Angela. I think the hardest thing to fill will be losing Sara in the back row. I'm not sure if any of our other players could step in and play the full rotation in order to keep our number of substitutions a game reasonable. I believe her freshman year that Angela played the full rotation and played in the back row, but doing this would keep McGee off the court and that might be a big defensive weapon that we leave on the bench. It will definately be interesting to watch and see.

Good observations and perhaps one big reason why Sara was 2-time MVC POY was her versatility and all-around quality game.

With Sara and Emily both solid back row performers the Shocks probably set the back row as much or more than they have over the past 4-5 years that I have been following the team.

**1972Shocker** · December 2, 2007, 08:51 PM

Missouri State Bears

MSU loses 3 very good Seniors not the least of which includes their outstanding 1st team All-Conference setter Katelyn Panzau. Katelyn always seemed to play outstanding matches against the Shocks. When she was on Katelyn also had one of the nastiest serves in the MVC.

Also, 1st team All-Conference MB/OH Sara Thomas and 2nd team All-Conference OH Jamie Adams graduate. Thomas was 12th in the MVC in kills and 4th in blocks and Adams was 4th in kills. Thomas and Adams were MSU's top 2 players in kills.

Top returning players include 6'0" OH, Junior to be Sara Staubach who was a 2nd team All-Conference selection, 6'0" MB, Sophomore to be Shayla Patrick, 6'0" MB/OH Sophomore to be Cara Hackmann, 5'10" OH Junior to be Addie Foley and 6'3" MB Sophomore to be Bethany Fuller, 5'7" Libero Senior to be Nikki Vandepopulier and 5'5" DS Senior to be Terri Del Conte.

Ashley Kell a 5'9" Senior to be is probably the heir apparent to Panzau at setter as she replaced Panzau when she went down with an injured ankle for a few matches earlier in the year.

MSU signed 4 recruits. Kelley Michnowicz a 6'2" OH from the same Althoff Catholic HS in Belleville, IL that produced Sara Thomas and is expected to have an immediate impact both offensively and defensively.
Calli Norman is a 6'1" MB out of St. Charles, MO and is considered a diamond in the rough. Christina Buckner is a 5'5" DS from Springfield. Kayla Rosenboom (Kerry Rosenboom's daughter) a 5'6" DS from Bishop Carroll.

MSU appears to be returning a solid core of players, although they are losing their 3 best players from this year's team. MSU usually has a stable of good athletes so you expect them to be competitive most years and I suspect next year will be no different. The key may be how Ashley Kell handles the setting duties as Katelyn Panzau's replacement. The also lost a decent amount of firepower in Adams and Thomas.

**lemuel777** · December 2, 2007, 09:03 PM

Does the team start back up in January or February?

**1972Shocker** · December 3, 2007, 11:18 AM

Originally posted by lemuel777

Does the team start back up in January or February?

I think NCAA rules allow them to work out between January 1 and the date of the last final exams for the Spring Semester.

Competition (matches vs other teams) is limited to 4 days.

Two off days per week required.

I'm sure there are other limitations that apply in terms of hours per week, etc. and some conferences have voted on their own limitations.

Not sure what the Shocks off-season practice schedules are like. Generally has not been anything that has been publicized in the past.

If you are intereste in more details you probably should e-mail Coach Lamb.

**SpanglerFan316** · December 3, 2007, 11:31 AM

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**1972Shocker** · December 7, 2007, 04:39 PM

Creighton Bluejays:

Creighton loses 3 seniors to graduation.

Kelly Goc, a 6'2" Middle, was 1st team All-Conference and was one of two MVC Players (Sara Lungren was the other) named to the AVCA All-Central Region Team. She led the MVC in hitting % and was #2 in kills just behind Shocker Emily Stockman.

Abby Bauman a 5'11" OH was 4th in kills for the Bluejays and 5'7" DS Katie Mehal who was 3rd on the team in digs also graduate.

Returning Seniors to be include:
Korie Lebeda, 5'8" Setter, was a 1st team All-Conference selection. Was 3rd in the league in assists. Korie and ILS's Erin Lindsey will be the 2 top setters returning next year.

Bianca Rivera, 5'3" Libero, was second in the MVC in digs and had a very fine 1st year after transfering from Western Nebraska CC.

6'3" MB Amanda Cvejdlik, 6'1" OH Carolyn Decker and 6'0" MB Jessica Houts. Houts went down for the season with a torn ACL in the Bluejays 8th match of the season. At the time she was leading the Bluejays in kills per game and in blocks per game. She was ranked #11 in the nation in blocks per game when she went down. If she comes back at full strength next year, that will go a long way to filling the hole left by the graduation of Kelly Goc.

Returning Juniors To Be Include:

6'0" MB Lauren Bloemke who was 3rd on the team in kills, 1st in blocks and 2nd in service aces.

5'11" OH Sarah Schulze who was 5th on the team in kills and 3rd in digs.

Returning Sophomores To Be Include:

Only one, but a good one. 6'1" OH Allie Oelke is the reigning MVC Freshman of the year. She was 2nd on the team in kills behind Kelly Goc, 1st in service aces, 2nd in digs and 4th in blocks. She was 9th in the MVC in kills and 4th in service aces. A very good all-around player.

Incoming Freshman:

Creighton signed 3 incoming Freshman. 6'2" OH Karisa Almgren out of Edmond, OK. Almgren was the Gatorade Oklahoma Player of the Year as a sophomore.

6'0" Setter Megan Bober out of Murdock, NE. She qualified for the Nebraska state track meet in the high jump, 800 meter, 1600 meter and 3200 meter run as a sophomore.

6'0" MB Laurel Sanford from Eagan MN. She is from the same high school that produced Jessica Houts and Allie Oelke so the Bluejays have a nice pipeline going there. Ranked as a Top 60 player by one recruiting service.

Sounds like a nice recruiting class.

Motivation:

The Bluejays no doubt felt left out after finishing in a 3 way tie for 2nd in the MVC last year, but left behind on NCAA selction Sunday with 5th place Illinois State making it in as the 4th MVC participant.

The BlueJays will be tough again, especially if Jessica Houts makes a full recovery from her torn ACL injury.

**1972Shocker** · December 7, 2007, 05:52 PM

Illinois State Redbirds

The Redbirds are losing only 2 seniors to graduation. 6'2" MB Kari Staehlin will be the big loss. She led the Redbirds in kills at 3.48/Game (6th in the MVC), in hitting % at 0.312 (4th in the MVC), in blocks at 1.11/Game (9th in the MVC) and she was a solid server. Kari was a 1st team All-Conference selection.

They also graduate 6'1" MB Kristin Dziubla who played in about 1/3rd of the Redbirds games with moderate contributions.

Returning Seniors To Be:

5'11" RSH M.C. Richmond also was a 1st team All-Conference selection. She was 7th in the league in kills per game and 17th in service aces per game.

5'7" Erin Lindsey, a 2nd team All-Conference selection returns at setter. She was 4th in the league in assists and is one of two of the leagues top 5 setters (the other is Creighton's Korie Lebeda) returning next year. She is a very good setter.

Returning Juniors To Be:

5'4" Libero Kasey Mollerus who finished 5th in the league in digs in 2007.

5'11" OH Peggy Riesen led ILS in total attacks and averaged 3.12/game. She was also 16th in the MVC in service aces and also averaged 3.6 digs/game.

6'0" MB Katie Seyller played in about 2/3rds of the games and averaged 1.42 kill/game and was second in the league with 0.40 service aces per game.

Returning Sophomores To Be:

6'0" OH Mallory Leggett played in 115 of 117 games and averaged a very solid 3.10 kills/game (15th in the league), 0.30 aces/game (also 15th in the league), and 3.53 digs/game (16th in the league). Another good all-around player and a member of the 2007 MVC All-Freshman team.

The Redbirds had 4 other Freshman on their roster who played sparingly. 6'3" OH Katie Culbertson, 5'5" DS Elly Kaiser, 6'2" MB Halley Kelley, and 5'9" OH Jagoda Pstras.

Incoming Freshman:

The Redbirds signed two players.

5'8" Setter Kristin Stauter a highly regarded setter our to Bloomington (IL) High School. Her AAU coach said her bigtgest attribute is her ability to make amazing plays.

6'1" MB Tabitha Visk out of Westosha (WI) Central High School. She is reported to be very athletic and to be a natural blocker.

Illinois State has a very good VB tradition and they will continue to be a formidable opponent next year. They have defeated the Shockers late in the year both of the last 2 years, including in the 1st round of this year's MVC Tournament after knocking off MSU earlier in the day. Which probably earned them an invitation to the NCAA Tournament this year over Creighton.

**1972Shocker** · December 7, 2007, 06:23 PM

Southern Illinois Salukis

SIU loses only two seniors. Both were part time defensive specialists. Therefore, they pretty much have everyone of consequence returning from a 6th place team that on occassion would give the upper division teams a real battle.

Returning Seniors To Be:

SIU returns both their starting and backup setters. 5'9" Brook Robbins finished 6th in the league in assists at 11.21/game. Backup setter, 6'0" Erika Bartruff also returns.

6'1" OH Kristie Berwanger averaged 2.97 kills/game (17th in the league) and 1.03 blocks per game (11th in the league).

5'5" Libero Kristy Elswick who averaged 4.36 digs/game in 2007.

Returning Juniors To Be:

5'10" MB Chandra Roberson who averaged 2.83 kills/game while hitting 0.297 and 1.12 blocks per game (8th in the league). A very athletic 2nd team All-Conference selection.l

6'0" MB Marina Medic who averaged 2.55 kills/game and 1.26 blocks per game (3rd in the league).

6'1" OH Kelsie Laughlin who averaged 2.46 kills/game and 0.42 service aces per game (which lead the MVC in 2007).

Returning Sophomores To Be:

5'10" OH Jennifer Berwanger who averaged 2.26 kills/game and 0.32 service aces per game (8th in the league) and as a member of the 2007 MVC All-Freshman team.

6'1" MB Jasmine Conner and OH Sydney Clark (height not listed) both played in about 1/2 of SIU's ganes and each averaged about 1 kill/game.

5'10" OH Paris Leonce played only very sparingly in 2007.

Early Signing Class:

SIU signed 6'0" Setter/OH Amanda Arnold out of Toledo, OH. Led her high school team, Central Catholic, to the Division II State Championship and appears to be a very versatile player.

**1972Shocker** · December 7, 2007, 06:59 PM

Evansville Aces

The Aces are losing 5 seniors to graduation including Julie Walroth the MVC digs leadear, a 1st team All-Conference Selection and 2-time MVC Libero of the Year.

They also graduate 5'11" RSH Megan Spurlock who lead the Aces with 3.00 kills/game.

6'2" MB/RSH Daniel Diehl, the tallest player on the Aces roster, averaged 1.94 kills/game.

Also graduating is Elaine Walroth a 5'7" DS and backup setter, 6'1" MB/OH Anne Tegardin a part time player with modest stats.

The returning Seniors to Be include:

Both the starting and backup setters 5'7" Katie Kincaid who was injured for part of the year and 5'9" Emily Whitney.

6'1" MB/RSH Katie Sylvestor who averaged 2.29 kills/game while hitting 0.256 and also had 1.01 blocks per game.

5'11" OH Sally Kulupka who averaged 2.72 kills/game but only hit 0.141

The Aces have one Junior to Be: 6'2" Ginta Gabruseva who averaged 2.40 kills per game in 67 games while hitting 0.144

Sophomores To Be Include:

6'1" OH Viera Rajcan who played in about 1/2 the aces games averaging 1.21 kills while hitting 0.156

5'10" MB/OH Emily Wandersee who averaged 2.05 kills per game while hitting 0.205 and 0.79 blocks per game.

5'5" DS Julie Sylvestor who averaged 2.18 digs per game.

Despite losing 5 seniors to graduation the Aces have signed only 2 incoming freshman (so far):

6'0" Setter and RSH Kaisi Nixon out of Jasper (IN) High School and 5'11" OH Brooke Maher our of Mason, Ohio. Maher missed part of her senior season with knee surgery.

Evansville does return it's setter and top 4 in kills per game behind 2007 leader, graduating senior Megan Spurlock.

**rrshock** · December 7, 2007, 07:04 PM

Way too much time on your hand 72. Unless you're doing scouting reports?

**1972Shocker** · December 7, 2007, 07:25 PM

Originally posted by rrshock

Way too much time on your hand 72. Unless you're doing scouting reports?

I'm hoping Lambo offers me a job. Is a little too much isn't it.

:D

**1stThings1st** · December 9, 2007, 07:36 AM

Lambo tells the Eagle the future looks very good

http://www.kansas.com/250/story/249987.html

Announcement

An Initial Look Forward to Next Year

An Initial Look Forward to Next Year

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