2002 Volleyball Outlook
For the third time in as many seasons, the University of Southern Indiana volleyball team is entering a season under new leadership. First year Head Coach Craig Bere (Louisville, Kentucky) will take the reigns of a Screaming Eagle squad that finished 22-10 overall (11-4 Great Lakes Valley Conference) a year ago and posted its second straight second-place finish in the GLVC Tournament.
Bere takes over for Chrissy Smith, who left for an assistant position at Northern Illinois University. He comes to the Eagles from Mississippi State University, where he served as an assistant since 1997.
The new coach will benefit from the return of five starters, two of which earned first-team All-GLVC and All-Region honors.
With a veteran roster, the Eagles will have high expectations and hopes of winning their first GLVC Tournament Championship in the programs 22-year history. Another thing USI would like to see is a third straight 20-win season, something the Eagles have never accomplished.
Leading the charge will be senior outside hitter Shannon Wells (Merrillville, Indiana) and junior setter Kim Boehmer (Cincinnati, Ohio). Both were selected first-team All-GLVC while Wells was a Daktronics first-team All-Region selection and Boehmer was an AVCA first-team All-Region selection.
Wells enters the season ranked second all-time at USI with 1,313 career kills. She finished second in the GLVC with a team-high 4.82 kills per game and needs just 167 kills to become USI's all-time leader. Wells also ranks fifth all-time at USI with 895 career digs.
Along with her hitting ability, Wells has been the conference's best server in addition to one of the nation's top servers the past two seasons. In 2001, Wells became the all-time leader at USI in career service aces (194). She ranked 11th in service aces in Division II and led the conference for the second consecutive season with 0.77 service aces per game.
Wells's success during the last two seasons has been aided by setter, Kim Boehmer. Boehmer stamped her name in the USI record book, setting single-season school records for total assists in both her freshman and sophomore campaigns.
Boehmer currently ranks second all-time at USI with 2,507 career assists and needs just 163 to become USI's all-time leader. She was the second player in USI history to be named to the AVCA All-Region team.
A two-time All-GLVC performer, Boehmer led the GLVC with 12.46 assists per game.
Wells will not be Boehmer's only option as senior outside hitter Kristi Kavanaugh (Montgomery, Indiana) and senior right side/setter Greta Grinstead (Mt. Vernon, Indiana) will also be attacking threats for the USI offensive.
Kavanaugh, who was selected to her second consecutive Verizon Academic All-District team, led the Eagles with 2.96 digs per game a year ago. She finished fourth among Eagle attackers with 2.42 kills per game.
Kavanaugh ranks sixth all-time at USI in career digs and needs just 34 to become the sixth player in school history to reach 800 career digs.
Grinstead made an impact for the Eagles as she provided another setter in the USI arsenal. Playing without Boehmer during the opening weekend, Grinstead stepped up to record 10.8 assists per game. She finished the season with 236 total assists, helping the Eagles to a school-record tying .267 hitting percentage-which ranked second in the GLVC and 23rd in the nation.
Grinstead also helped an Eagle attack that ranked third in the league and 26th in the country in kills per game. She tallied 1.44 kills per game, including a season-high 13 against the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
USI will look to a couple of sophomores to provide both offensive and defensive support in 2002. Middle blocker Leeanne Gross (Decatur, Indiana) finished her freshman season ranked third on the team and second among freshmen in the GLVC in kills per game (3.21). She also was third on the team with 2.48 digs per game and second on the squad with 63 blocks.
Defensive specialist Kristine Wheeler (Indianapolis, Indiana) figures to add to the mix as she recorded 1.88 digs per game and was third on the team with 40 service aces as a freshman. She tallied double-digit dig performances in five matches as a freshman, including a season-high 13 digs on two occasions.
New additions to the squad are Newburgh, Indiana natives Laura Ellerbusch and Courtney Nevins. The two led Castle High School to sectional championships in 1999, 2000, and 2001 as well as the SIAC championship in 2001.
Ellerbusch, a 6'0" freshman middle hitter, was the Evansville co-Player of the Year and was the winner of the 2001 Kiwanis Mental Attitude Award. She also was named first-team All-Conference in 2000 and 2001 and was CHS's most valuable player in 2000. During her senior season at CHS, Ellerbusch set the school record for kills in a season (248).
Along with Gross, Ellerbusch figures to offset the loss of two-time All-GLVC selection Leah Mercer. Mercer led the Eagles in 2001 with a .305 attacking percentage and was second on the team with 3.34 kills per game.
Nevins, a 5'10" outside hitter/defensive specialist, is a two-time All-Conference and All-Metro performer at CHS. She recorded 272 digs and 217 kills in 2001. Nevins had 251 digs as a junior in 2000.
One thing Bere was able to do upon arrival was add depth to the outside and middle hitter positions by bringing in junior transfer Ashley Riordan (Mt. Vernon, Indiana) and sophomore transfer Natalie Atzinger (Louisville, Kentucky). Riordan spent the last two seasons at Clarion University (Pennsylvania) where she recorded 428 kills and 557 digs while Atzinger is transferring from NCAA Division I East Tennessee state where she was third on the squad in kills (2.69 kpg) as a freshman.
Bere also added a freshmen walk-on, middle blocker Kayla Hoehn (Mt. Vernon, Indiana). Hoehn was Mt. Vernon High School's Offensive MVP as a senior in 2001.
The Eagles will waste no time finding tough competition in 2002 as they open at the University of North Alabama Tournament in Florence, Alabama Friday, August 30 and Saturday, August 31. USI will start with North Dakota State University and Bryant College on Friday, before playing North Alabama and Henderson State University on Saturday.
All four of USI's opponents in the UNA Tournament were in the NCAA Division II Tournament a year ago and posted a combined record of 121-30.
USI will open its home schedule with a match against McKendree College on Labor Day before hitting the road to for a pair of tournaments, the last of which is the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover. The Eagles will open conference play Friday, September 20 when it travels to the University of Indianapolis.
One more tournament should help clean up the regional scene as USI travels to Highland Heights, Kentucky to take part in the GLVC/WVIAC Crossover. Other key matches on the 2002 schedule will be a home-and-home with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and a home match against defending GLVC champion Northern Kentucky University.
USI's last five matches will be in the friendly confines of the Physical Activities Center. The GLVC Tournament starts Thursday, November 14 with the semifinals and championship following on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
