May 1, 2009

2009 Recruiting Class

It is time to chat about the great additions to the Tiger Volleyball Program.

The first thing I can say about this recruiting class is that it is overall athletic and experienced. Our goal for this recruiting class was to create a roster that rivals the look of the top teams in the GPAC. Those teams are tall, strong and athletic. Our focus wasn't necessarily to be position specific, outside of recruiting for our setter and libero positions, but to be athletic, tall, versatile, and deeper with talent and skill at every position. I am confident that we have accomplished our goals at this time in the recruiting process.

Please follow the web links provided to read the official press releases about the 2009 Recruiting Class.

http://www.dwu.edu/athletics/pressreleases/2009/feb19.htm
http://www.dwu.edu/athletics/pressreleases/2009/apr30b.htm


We decided to go through the Junior College route to get the immediate difference makers for our team.
Headlining this class is the addition of setter Carina Fesenmaier, a St. Cloud, MN native, from NJCAA Division III powerhouse Ridgewater College. Carina has led Ridgewater College to back-to-back National Championship match appearances. In the GPAC you have to have a strong offense that is consistent and unpredictable, Carina will surely provide us the leadership and decision-making that will take us to the next level.

Sarah Stahlke, native of Waconia, MN, played at North Dakota State College of Science the past two seasons. The past two seasons Stahlke led NDSCS in hitting percentage and was in the top 3 in kills and blocks. Stahlke fits the mold of our recruiting philosophy for 2009, in that she can play all three front row positions and dominate the net at each position. We are beyond lucky to have signed Sarah.

Megan Cronberg, from Luverne, MN, played 2 seasons at Minnesota West Community College where she was an outside hitter and in the top 3 in nearly every attacking statistical category. Megan is another 6' tall, athletic player that can play multiple positions. Megan will help us become a more consistent attacking team from either the left or right side of the net. She is an athletic player with solid blocking skills to go along with her offensive talent.

We continued our recruiting philosophy of athletic and multi-positional with two incoming freshmen:
Andrea Johnson, from Rapid City, SD, of Central HS is one of the diamonds in the rough. She is another 6'+ athlete that can play any of the 3 frontline positions. Andrea was one of the top attacking options for the Central HS squad this past year as well as one of their top blockers. She may also be asked to provide some backcourt stability as an all-around player over her 4 year career. Options, is the word that comes to mind when I think of Andrea. She can do so many things on the court it gives us the chance to have a flexibility to our roster.

Sam Flynn, native of Pierre, SD, of Riggs HS is again another 6'+ tall player that can play multiple positions. Sam is a dominating blocker and excellent off of 1 foot and hits a very heavy ball. She has the potential to see time in the middle or on the right side. She also has a difficult float serve that gives every passer fits. Sam is another provider of options and flexibility for our roster.

We have to replace a two-time all-conference libero for our roster next year. We have some returners competing for that position but the following recruits will also put their name in the hat for this extremely important position with our style of play:
Nikki Gleich of Rapid City Stevens HS is great defensive presence on the court. Nikki had great senior season with setting a school record with digs in a season with 770 and digs in the AA state tournament with 84. She had a career high of 52 digs in one match vs. Rapid City Central and went over 20 digs in a match 19 times with 6 of those 19 times going over 30 digs. The ability to read defenders is Nikki's greatest attribute and that shows with her great performance throughout her senior season.

Kayla O'Connell, native of Philip, SD and Philip HS, is an extremely quick and explosive defensive player. Watching her at the SD State Tournament was so much fun. She was all over the court and I think she may have gone into the other courts to save a couple of balls for her team numerous times. Relentless is the word that comes to mind when I think of Kayla's game. That is what certainly helped her lead her team to the 2008 Class "B" State Championship.

Lexi Townsend, native of Canistota, SD, is transferring from Univ. of South Dakota. Lexi took a year off from competitive volleyball and will be joining DWU in the fall to get back on to the court. While at Canistota, Lexi was named a first team all conference player. She has the athleticism to get back into the swing of competitive, organized volleyball fairly quickly. Her new found passion to play will be a huge advantage for her to get back into playing shape again. She gives us depth at a position we lost a lot of players to after the 2008 season.

Amber Turner, from Canova, SD and Hanson School in Alexandria will add a true local spice to our roster. She was an all-conference player at Hanson and will be expected to bring that experience to our team right away. Amber will be asked to pick up the new defensive system and speed of the game in a short amount of time. Amber is another player that helps add depth to our DS positions.

There are very high expectations for this particular class. We have a great balance of JUCO players to bring the immediate success and in-coming freshmen that will be important parts to our foundation for the future. We are looking to push our way right into the thick of things within the GPAC. If you are one of the best teams in this conference you are one of the best in the nation. Our goal is to take care of business everyday to improve and give ourselves the opportunities to take care of business against whomever is across the net from us on any particular night. We will make some noise in the 2009 season.

It has been a long time since there has been a recruiting class with these kinds of accolades and athleticism. We aren't done just yet though............

-Coach V