Each day we will recap the day's events from the 2010 NAIA Volleyball National Championships in Sioux City, Iowa, including insight from the players themselves.
Thursday brought a close to the 2010 season for the Lindenwood volleyball team.
The final match was a roller coaster of emotions and momentum, but after five long sets the Lady Lions prevailed over Bellevue to end the season in winning fashion.
“Today was bittersweet,” admitted senior
Alyssa Showers. “We should have won in three, but I am glad for my last game that we got to beat them and everyone played well.”
Showers and fellow senior
Krista Yoder are the only two girls to have been members of all three national tournament teams in school history.
“Just starting out my freshman year I was so nervous,” said Showers. “I remember walking into nationals, and I can imagine how Megan (Dillon) felt this year being the only freshman on the team.
It was still a really good experience this year since we didn't go last year, but making it three out of four years is something to remember.”
The bus ride home was spent watching movies and reminiscing on the season that was. For Showers, it was moments like this that would stay with her once the team returned home.
“We all just hang out and crack jokes and act silly,” said Showers. “We are a very close group.”
She went on to add how much it meant to the team for the parents to make the trip and show their support.
The bus pulled into St. Charles late Thursday night, and the girls quickly filed off eager to get home and sleep in their own beds.
Friday will be a return to normality, and before they know it, the girls will begin preparation for next season.
Wednesday proved to be a challenging day for the Lindenwood volleyball team. From the two-hour wait for breakfast to the tough loss against California Baptist, nothing seemed to go the Lady Lions' way.
That included senior
Krista Yoder, who found navigating a small snow covered slope to be difficult. While warning her teammates to tread with caution, Yoder lost her balance and slid to the base of the hill. Her teammates erupted in laughter at her mishap.
“I fall down a lot, when I am walking, running,” said Yoder. “I am probably the most un-coordinated girl on the team.”
She gets her sense of humor from her dad, Rick, who is responsible for the “Ron Faces.” The yellow masks were spotted throughout the tournament crowd all day long.
Pasta was the main dish for the team dinner, but for most, it was the various types of cheesecake and desserts that highlighted the meal.
Dinner concluded with the team, coaches, and parents squeezing into a small room for a holiday family photo. The team's official photographer juggled several cameras, but eventually each snapped a picture.
The girls returned to the hotel for a final team meeting, and afterwards senior
Victoria Krause and Yoder offered some insight into the girls' personalities.
Yoder pegged teammate Patsy Erb as the funniest girl on the team, and both Krause and Yoder agreed
Ellen Fandry is the biggest eater and the loudest personality.
“Kristy (Dreisewerd) does have a second stomach for dessert,” added Yoder. “I witnessed it at Thanksgiving.”
Krause admitted to being one of two girls who are the last to arrive for the bus each day.
“Ellen and I are always on time, it's just everyone else shows up so early,” said Krause.
The two could not single out one teammate as the most studious, but that all the girls excel in the classroom.
For Yoder and Krause, tomorrow will be their final day in a Lion uniform. Despite disappointed with the results this week, the memories made with their teammates will stand out the most.
“I think the traveling will be my biggest memory,” claimed Yoder. “It's all the little things that I will remember.”
“I think the California trip will be the biggest memory of the year,” said Krause. “We had so much fun, and the team bonded so much.”
The players slowly filtered out of the lobby, retiring to their rooms for the final time this week. The evening offered the girls one last chance to share time together before closing the book on a long and successful season.
Tuesday morning came quickly for the team, who loaded the bus early for breakfast. Coffee warmed the bodies of anyone freezing from the frigid Iowa wind. Temperatures hovered in the 20s this morning and two inches of snow covered the ground.
The players returned from breakfast to catch up on sleep or complete homework before departing for their first match of the week. The downtime in the hotel rooms has served many purposes.
“We have been eating, sleeping, watching movies, and a little homework here and there,” said junior
Katie Weber.
With finals looming next week, the girls do understand the importance of keeping up with their class work.
“Missing class before finals, it's crucial that you try to keep up on your homework, and it's not easy when you have all this free time in a hotel,” added junior
Kelsey Biggs.
For the coaching staff, the hours before the match were used to cram in some last minute scouting and determine which shirt they would wear for the match. After much debate, the coaches settled on their Lindenwood bowling style shirts.
Before they knew it, the girls were on the court warming up for their first match. Despite coming up short against Biola, Weber and Biggs both agreed it was great to finally be playing for the first time in more than a week.
“Obviously the outcome is unfortunate,” said Biggs. “But a lot people got out their jitters of being at nationals and being at a new place…and everyone understands we're not done yet.”
“It was bummer to lose, but good to get the first match out of the way,” said Weber.
The team enjoyed pancakes for dinner before busing back to the Tyson Event Center/Gateway Arena for the opening night ceremonies.
As head coach
Ron Young finished paying for the meal, the girls snuck off to the bus and passed around “Ron Faces.” As the Ron boarded the bus, he was met by 16 girls wearing masks resembling his signature smile.
The team, along with the parents who made the trip, proudly displayed the masks throughout the opening ceremony. They proved to be a hit among other teams as well, as several photos were snapped with the Lady Lions.
“The Ron faces are by far the highlight of the trip,” cracked Biggs. “It's great the parents got involved with it too.”
While boarding the bus to return to the hotel for the night, senior
Krista Yoder made sure to place a “Ron face” in the front window.
Even on a day when things did not go as expected, this group find a way to create one more memory in season full of so many.
Monday served as a day to catch up physically from the rigors of Sunday's eight-hour bus drive.
The team departed from the hotel early in the morning, with many towing coffee in hand. After a quick breakfast the team ventured down to the Tyson Event Center/Gateway Arena for the Champions of Character volleyball clinic with the Special Olympics.
The players split into two groups and led the children in drills on stretching, passing and serving. One of the highlights of the morning saw several of the players hoist one of the young girls above the net so she could spike the ball. The other group joined in a big circle and passed the ball around counting how many times they could hit in a row without it touching the floor.
"It was super, super fun," said senior Lexie Malam. "I have a new boyfriend. He was doing pushups for me and it was super cute."
"Working with the Special Olympics was definitely an icebreaker," claimed junior
Kristy Dreisewerd. She went on to add that with everything at stake this week, the chance to work with the children helped settle nerves.
The clinic concluded with the children and the players participating in a live game.
The team grabbed a quick sandwich lunch afterwards, and players retired to their hotel rooms to rest up before leaving for the final practice of the season. Word quickly spread throughout the team that the rain had turned to snow creating a winter wonderland outside.
For one final time, the girls walked through their normal routine and made any final preparations for their opponents in pool play.
The evening was spent at the Tachikara/NAIA National Championship banquet.
Ellen Fandry,
Kelsey Biggs,
Kelsey Jo Vogler, and
Krista Yoder were recognized as NAIA Scholar-Athletes, and Malam received the Champions of Character award for Lindenwood.
Several of the girls used the banquet as a chance to snap photos. The theme of the night was "Serve-Ivor," and many camping props scattered throughout the event served as photo backdrops. Cupcakes were served for dessert to the delight of many of the players.
A short trip back to the hotel saw many of the girls retire to their room for the night. For Malam and Dreisewerd, reality began to sink in that tomorrow would be the culmination of a season's work.
"It was good to have a day to settle in," said Dreisewerd. "And get ready to dominate tomorrow."
"It was good for us to work off an eight-hour trip," added Malam. "It was time for us to relax and have fun, and get ready for tomorrow."
