Wayne State Ready to Take on NSIC Murderers’ Row
WAYNE – Hey, not even the New York Yankees win the World Series every year. But, every year you know they are going to be right in the mix of things.
That’s kind of the way to look at the Wayne State volleyball program. After leading the Wildcats to 20-plus wins in each of his first 12 years at Wayne State, Scott Kneifl’s team went 19-12 a year ago, losing its final two matches in five sets, including to national power Concorida-St. Paul in the first round of the NSIC Tournament. In fact, five of the Wildcats’ 12 losses came in five sets.
In the offseason, Wayne State suffered just two losses to graduation – defensive specialist Bree Ackerman and right side Erin Gross. Otherwise, the Wildcats return a significant part of last year’s team as they look to get back into national-title contention.
“The Cats stayed in Wayne all summer preparing for this fall and have come into camp in great condition. The energy level at practice has been very intense and I'm very pleased with the first week of the pre-season,” Kneifl said. “With only two seniors on this year's roster, we are still extremely young, but have players that played in some big NSIC matches last season, which will pay dividends as the season progresses.
“We have a mixture of upper classmen and talented under classmen who have created a very competitive culture in our gym. We’re excited about how this team can grow throughout this fall. We have an extremely tough Northern Sun Conference schedule, so we will have over a dozen opportunities to play Top-25 competition.”
Wayne State was picked fifth in the 16-team NSIC preseason coaches’ poll. Just how competitive is the NSIC in Division II? Well, in the AVCA preseason Division II poll, NSIC teams Concordia-St. Paul, Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota-Duluth are ranked first, second and third, respectively while Northern State comes in at ninth. Those are the four teams picked ahead of Wayne State in the NSIC poll. Augustana, which was picked sixth in the NSIC, is ranked 23rdand Wayne State came in at 27th.
Here is a position-by-position look at Wayne State for 2018.
Setters
Megan Gebhardt, 5’8, Sr., Norfolk, Neb.
Hope Carter, 5’9, Soph., Milliani, Hawaii
Rachel Walker, 5’9, Fr., Lincoln, Neb.
Gebhardt returns after starting each of the last two years at setter for the Wildcats and was a preseason “Player to Watch” in the NSIC. She had 1,133 assists a year ago (9.6 per set) and also ranked fourth on the team with 237 digs. Gebhardt, however, faces a stiff challenge from incoming freshman Walker. The all-state setter from Lincoln Southwest could force her way onto the court with her all-around skill set. Or, perhaps she could be looking at a redshirt season in which she would then have four years as a starter along with a loaded 2019 recruiting class. Carter is likely to make more of an impact in the back row where she played in 27 matches last year, averaging 2.08 digs per set.
Pin Hitters
Lauren Jacobsen, 5’10, Fr., Wisner, Neb.
Alyssa Ballenger, 5’10, Soph., Ankeny, Iowa
Allison Timmermans, 6’1, Soph., Orange City, Iowa
Jacee Weber, 5’8, Soph., Dorchester, Neb.
Gabby Sullivan, 5’10, Jr., Allen, Neb.
Katie Stephens, 5’9, Jr., Omaha, Neb.
Ballenger and Stephens each return after both started a year ago. Stephens was third on the team with 273 kills (2.35 per set) and Ballenger was fourth with 181 (1.63). The pair were both six-rotation outsides with Stephens getting 2.97 digs per set and Ballenger 2.24. Finding a right side to replace Gross is the biggest concern for the Wildcats. Jacobsen was a standout at Wisner-Pilger, where she was one of the state’s best all-around athletes, lettering all four years in volleyball, swimming and track and field. Timmermans played in 10 sets, registering 11 kills, as back-up right side a year ago. Weber played in six matches last year, but in the back row. Sullivan is a transfer from Iowa Central CC where she was an AVCA First Team All-American last year with 4.49 kills and 2.55 digs per set.
Middles
Tarrin Beller, 6’0, Jr., Lindsay, Neb.
Jaci Brahmer, 6’1, Soph., Pierce, Neb.
Maria Wortmann, 5’9, Sr., Crofton, Neb.
Maddie Knobbe, 6’1, Soph., West Point, Neb.
Brahmer was second on the team in kills with 292 a year ago and first on the team with 120 total blocks (12 solo, 108 assists). Wortmann started the first seven matches of 2017 before a knee injury put her out for the year. In those seven matches Wortmann averaged 2.32 kills and 1.36 blocks a set. Beller replaced Wortmann in the starting lineup and finished fifth on the team with 147 kills and second in total blocks with 91. It wouldn’t be surprising to see one of the three transition to the right side for 2018. Knobbe played in six matches as a freshman and had three block assists.
Liberos/DS
Haley Kauth, 5’5, Jr., Roseville, Minn.
Morgan Alexander, 5’7, Jr., Ord, Neb.
Maddie Duffy, 5’7, Soph., Fridley, Minn.
Kauth has been the starting libero for the Wildcats since the start of her freshman year. Her 476 digs a year ago and 830 serve receptions were both team-highs and she also was second with 30 ace serves. Duffy led the team in ace serves a year ago with 36 and added 93 digs on the year. Alexander played in 16 sets in 2017 with 14 assists, an ace serve and 18 digs.
