On Friday, March 20th we traveled to the University of Sioux Falls for a spring play date with USF and Briar Cliff. We had 6 team practices leading up to this competition, in which only 2 to 3 of those practices did we have our entire team together to prepare for the matches.
This was a great opportunity for us to see where we were at as a team and more importantly how far along we are with our aggressive jump serving mentality that everyone is developing in our program. I have to say that I was impressed that our serving was solid the entire evening, we forced our opponents into out-of-system offense a vast majority of the time. If I remember correctly there were only 3-4 times during the 3 matches played that we had 3 or more misses in a row, which is very impressive for this being the first time in a true game-like competition atmosphere.
It was fun to see this team on the court again smiling and competing. We used 5-6 different lineups throughout the night to get some players in different positions and others more experience with players they haven't been on the court with before. We still have many things to work on over the next few weeks as we progress to preparing ourselves for the next spring competition that is on April 18th at Augustana College. We focused a lot on our serving and offense these previous weeks to prepare for the competition over the next couple our focus will be serve receive passing and defensive positioning and movement.
We use the spring as a catapult for our upcoming fall season. This team will continue to progress and learn new things about the game everyday. I congratulate them on a successful competition on Friday and I am eager to get going again this week with a new focus on the details.
"If you want something you've never had, you must do something you've never done before"
-Coach V
March 23, 2009
February 18, 2009
Jayna's Post
Hello, my name is Jayna Morrill, I am from Creighton, Nebraska. I am currently a junior at Dakota Wesleyan University, I am majoring in Secondary Social Studies Education. I have been on the DWU volleyball team for the past three seasons and next fall will be my last season as a tiger.
The transition from the past coach to Coach Viney has been a great one for me. Personally I think the team as a whole has transitioned greatly. We had to do things that we weren't use too but the results were amazing. In one year we turned around our record and people in our conference started to wonder about the new DWU volleyball team.I think our conference is one of the toughest conference. Last season we had at least four teams in the conference go to the NAIA National Tourney and did very well. As a result it makes high school athletes look at our conference as a place where they may want to further their careers.
During our off season we work on certain things that may give us an advantage during the season. Right now we are working on speed and defense, being able to react quickly to a ball. We have increased our lifting and quickness. All in all, I am very excited for our up coming season we have a great group of athletes who are willing to do anything to win.
The transition from the past coach to Coach Viney has been a great one for me. Personally I think the team as a whole has transitioned greatly. We had to do things that we weren't use too but the results were amazing. In one year we turned around our record and people in our conference started to wonder about the new DWU volleyball team.I think our conference is one of the toughest conference. Last season we had at least four teams in the conference go to the NAIA National Tourney and did very well. As a result it makes high school athletes look at our conference as a place where they may want to further their careers.
During our off season we work on certain things that may give us an advantage during the season. Right now we are working on speed and defense, being able to react quickly to a ball. We have increased our lifting and quickness. All in all, I am very excited for our up coming season we have a great group of athletes who are willing to do anything to win.
January 31, 2009
Academic Achievements
Dakota Wesleyan University and this volleyball program are committed to the academic success of our athletes. We take great pride in the achievements of our student-athletes.
The Dakota Wesleyan University Dean's List was announced and there are 13 players and coaches from this 2008 season on the list.
Players from 2008 Roster:
Maria Weineke - Jackson, MN
Leah (Howes) Miller - Tea, SD
Amanda Aman - Nemo, SD
Allison Hajek - Omaha, NE
Morgan Carlson - Huron, SD
Amye Brown - Meeker, CO
Jen Miner - Cavour, SD
Kalissa Wade - Amherst, SD
Tru Boldt - Arlington, SD
Muriel Kjerstad - Wall, SD
Brooke Warne - Rapid City, SD
Student Assistant Coaches:
Kelsie Nebelsick - Canistota, SD
Dannie Burt - Tea, SD
Congratulations to these students and all of their accomplishments.
- Coach V
The Dakota Wesleyan University Dean's List was announced and there are 13 players and coaches from this 2008 season on the list.
Players from 2008 Roster:
Maria Weineke - Jackson, MN
Leah (Howes) Miller - Tea, SD
Amanda Aman - Nemo, SD
Allison Hajek - Omaha, NE
Morgan Carlson - Huron, SD
Amye Brown - Meeker, CO
Jen Miner - Cavour, SD
Kalissa Wade - Amherst, SD
Tru Boldt - Arlington, SD
Muriel Kjerstad - Wall, SD
Brooke Warne - Rapid City, SD
Student Assistant Coaches:
Kelsie Nebelsick - Canistota, SD
Dannie Burt - Tea, SD
Congratulations to these students and all of their accomplishments.
- Coach V
January 18, 2009
The Inside Information
Hello everyone, this is Eric Viney, head volleyball coach for the Tiger Volleyball program. We are entering the spring semester of 2009 with high hopes after a 2008 season of near miss wins and multiple 5 set losses by 2 points. We are looking to make the necessary adjustments to our mental approach so that in 2009 we can be the victors in those tight matches.
The Team Motto for 2009 is "IF YOU WANT SOMETHING YOU'VE NEVER HAD, YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING YOU'VE NEVER DONE BEFORE".
The players are still in the transition stage of becoming comfortable with the new style of play and methods of coaching. This spring season is going to be one of great improvements in a lot of areas for every athlete in our program. They have just started plyometric workouts and lifting to gain quickness and power that they have not had before. In a couple of weeks we will put a concentration on becoming a strong serving team by teaching a majority of our players some jump serving techniques. We will then start to include some defensive eye sequencing training that helps gain quickness with the mental process while playing. We are going to be able to anticipate plays on the court much faster in the coming seasons due to a true commitment to this training technique.
Everyone involved with our program is in high anticipation mode for what lies ahead this spring. We have a solid core of returners and are looking to build right away with a very talented recruiting class.
We WILL be doing things that this program has never done before.
--Coach V
The Team Motto for 2009 is "IF YOU WANT SOMETHING YOU'VE NEVER HAD, YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING YOU'VE NEVER DONE BEFORE".
The players are still in the transition stage of becoming comfortable with the new style of play and methods of coaching. This spring season is going to be one of great improvements in a lot of areas for every athlete in our program. They have just started plyometric workouts and lifting to gain quickness and power that they have not had before. In a couple of weeks we will put a concentration on becoming a strong serving team by teaching a majority of our players some jump serving techniques. We will then start to include some defensive eye sequencing training that helps gain quickness with the mental process while playing. We are going to be able to anticipate plays on the court much faster in the coming seasons due to a true commitment to this training technique.
Everyone involved with our program is in high anticipation mode for what lies ahead this spring. We have a solid core of returners and are looking to build right away with a very talented recruiting class.
We WILL be doing things that this program has never done before.
--Coach V
December 15, 2008
2008 Season in Review
The 2008 season was a roller coaster year, full of a lot of high and low moments. With the new style of play introduced in the early summer is was shown that the athletic potential for DWU Volleyball could be very good. Albeit that this would not come easy and just happen for the sake of just happening. A true commitment to change had to occur throughout the program. The season started off in Oklahoma City with a 2-2 start. The team felt that they let the first match of the year get away by not being fully mentally prepared for the match that lied ahead. We went on to win our next 2 matches to then lose to host Oklahoma City in 3 tough and well played sets.
During the next week the teams opened up conference play against Northwestern on the road. This match became a true wake-up call to the DWU Program as NWU put DWU away in 3 short sets. This is where I (Coach Viney) saw the true talent level of the GPAC and gave me goal of where our program needs to get to talent and mentality wise to be successful.
We then traveled to Omaha for a tournament where we dropped our first 2 matches in 5 and 4 sets, respectively. We played well but couldn't get that killer instinct to come out when we needed it (we searched for that killer instinct all season). We then picked up 2 match wins on Saturday to halt a 4 match losing streak and get us to another 2-2 tournament weekend.
We then visited Dordt for our second conference match. We played exceptional defense all match long but couldn't our offense to the same level as we lost in 3 sets. The coaching staff from Dordt praised our defensive ability and strategy. We then traveled to Hastings for a difficult tournament and played very well against Oklahoma City losing 2 of sets by 2 points and losing the match in 3 sets. Again that killer instinct was not able to show up as we had a few set points in the first set that would have helped us gain momentum. We struggled throughout the next few matches eventually going 1-3 on the weekend with the win being against Friends Univ. in a thrilling 5 set match.
We finally got to host a home match after the first 14 matches of the year being on the road. A conference match against Mt. Marty. Again a mental lapse came upon the team as we dropped our home-opener in 4 sets and with a bad taste of under-estimating our opponent. We then got to host our next home match a few days later as we beat Presentation College in relatively easy fashion in 3 sets. Our next match was then against Morningside in Sioux City. We struggled through a very difficult match against a very talented team and did not have a good showing. After looking back at the schedule at this time I (Coach V) had to laugh since 3 of our first 4 conference matches were against the top 3 teams in the conference. The schedule was not friendly to this first year coach, lol.
After taking the next couple of practices to re-evaluate ourselves as a team and individuals and tried to answer some difficult questions about who we are and what we need to do to be successful. We went on to win 7 of our next 10 matches which included 2 wins over Dakota State and some big home conference wins over Midland Lutheran in 3 sets and Dana College in 5 thrilling sets. We also had a 5 set win over Sioux Falls during Homecoming Weekend. Also during that stretch we played our Dig Pink Match (fundraiser for Breast Cancer research) against York College at Mitchell HS in correlation to their schedule when they played the defending SD State Champions, Rapid City Stevens. We won our match in 3 sets and enjoyed the opportunity to show our new style of play to a fan base that had not had the chance to see us play all season.
We were looking at the possibility of getting back to .500 at this time with a 13-14 record and a conference schedule ahead of us that was giving us a chance to be a #7 seed for the conference tournament. However, the cards did not play out as we wanted and went on to drop our last 7 matches of the season with 3 of them in heart-breaking 5 set matches while losing in the 5th set by 2 points in all 3 matches. Again the lack of a killer instinct from the entire team came up when we needed it most.
Congratulations does need to be given to Dena Kopfmann for being named to the GPAC All-Conference 2nd Team as a libero. DenaMaria Wieneke for being named as an All-GPAC Honorable Mention as a middle hitter. These two young ladies had wonderful careers at DWU and will be missed dearly in the coming years.
This is Kopfmann’s (Sr., Minneota, Minn.) second-straight All-GPAC selection after earning Honorable Mention recognition as a junior in 2007. This season, she anchored the Dakota Wesleyan defense and led the Tigers with 610 digs for an average of 4.88 digs per game. Kopfmann’s serving prowess was also a dangerous weapon for DWU, and she finished with a team-high 66 service aces. Kopfmann played in all 36 matches this season, and 125 out of 126 games.
Kopfmann graduates as Dakota Wesleyan’s all-time career leader in digs. She amassed 1,785 digs over her four years to break Betsy Bartels previous career record of 1,733. Kopfmann also finished her distinguished career with 263 service aces.
Wieneke (Sr., Jackson, Minn.) was the Tigers’ top offensive option this season, and she led the squad with 362 kills – an average of 2.90 kills per game. She had a .235 hitting percentage in 2008, and her 210 digs and 48 total blocks (11 solo, 37 assist) added to her all-around game. Wieneke also played in all 36 matches, and 125 out of 126 games.
Wieneke’s career numbers also put her in elite company. She ended her Tiger career third in school history with 1,171 kills, and she also joined the 500-dig club with 539 career digs, which puts her 15th in DWU history. Wieneke also had 176 total blocks over her four-year career.
All in all the season went fairly well. Yes we dropped quite a few matches we shouldn't have but that is why we play them. Paper evaluations can only go so far, we will be looking to improve in many areas over the spring to get us over that .500 mark. The potential is there but we have to make it happen, we can't wait for it to happen for us. We have learned from our shortcomings and mistakes from 2008. 2009 is a new opportunity for this program to make progress. We just have to truly commit to the changes ahead and be ready to everything it takes to become a top tier program in the GPAC.
--Coach V
During the next week the teams opened up conference play against Northwestern on the road. This match became a true wake-up call to the DWU Program as NWU put DWU away in 3 short sets. This is where I (Coach Viney) saw the true talent level of the GPAC and gave me goal of where our program needs to get to talent and mentality wise to be successful.
We then traveled to Omaha for a tournament where we dropped our first 2 matches in 5 and 4 sets, respectively. We played well but couldn't get that killer instinct to come out when we needed it (we searched for that killer instinct all season). We then picked up 2 match wins on Saturday to halt a 4 match losing streak and get us to another 2-2 tournament weekend.
We then visited Dordt for our second conference match. We played exceptional defense all match long but couldn't our offense to the same level as we lost in 3 sets. The coaching staff from Dordt praised our defensive ability and strategy. We then traveled to Hastings for a difficult tournament and played very well against Oklahoma City losing 2 of sets by 2 points and losing the match in 3 sets. Again that killer instinct was not able to show up as we had a few set points in the first set that would have helped us gain momentum. We struggled throughout the next few matches eventually going 1-3 on the weekend with the win being against Friends Univ. in a thrilling 5 set match.
We finally got to host a home match after the first 14 matches of the year being on the road. A conference match against Mt. Marty. Again a mental lapse came upon the team as we dropped our home-opener in 4 sets and with a bad taste of under-estimating our opponent. We then got to host our next home match a few days later as we beat Presentation College in relatively easy fashion in 3 sets. Our next match was then against Morningside in Sioux City. We struggled through a very difficult match against a very talented team and did not have a good showing. After looking back at the schedule at this time I (Coach V) had to laugh since 3 of our first 4 conference matches were against the top 3 teams in the conference. The schedule was not friendly to this first year coach, lol.
After taking the next couple of practices to re-evaluate ourselves as a team and individuals and tried to answer some difficult questions about who we are and what we need to do to be successful. We went on to win 7 of our next 10 matches which included 2 wins over Dakota State and some big home conference wins over Midland Lutheran in 3 sets and Dana College in 5 thrilling sets. We also had a 5 set win over Sioux Falls during Homecoming Weekend. Also during that stretch we played our Dig Pink Match (fundraiser for Breast Cancer research) against York College at Mitchell HS in correlation to their schedule when they played the defending SD State Champions, Rapid City Stevens. We won our match in 3 sets and enjoyed the opportunity to show our new style of play to a fan base that had not had the chance to see us play all season.
We were looking at the possibility of getting back to .500 at this time with a 13-14 record and a conference schedule ahead of us that was giving us a chance to be a #7 seed for the conference tournament. However, the cards did not play out as we wanted and went on to drop our last 7 matches of the season with 3 of them in heart-breaking 5 set matches while losing in the 5th set by 2 points in all 3 matches. Again the lack of a killer instinct from the entire team came up when we needed it most.
Congratulations does need to be given to Dena Kopfmann for being named to the GPAC All-Conference 2nd Team as a libero. DenaMaria Wieneke for being named as an All-GPAC Honorable Mention as a middle hitter. These two young ladies had wonderful careers at DWU and will be missed dearly in the coming years.
This is Kopfmann’s (Sr., Minneota, Minn.) second-straight All-GPAC selection after earning Honorable Mention recognition as a junior in 2007. This season, she anchored the Dakota Wesleyan defense and led the Tigers with 610 digs for an average of 4.88 digs per game. Kopfmann’s serving prowess was also a dangerous weapon for DWU, and she finished with a team-high 66 service aces. Kopfmann played in all 36 matches this season, and 125 out of 126 games.
Kopfmann graduates as Dakota Wesleyan’s all-time career leader in digs. She amassed 1,785 digs over her four years to break Betsy Bartels previous career record of 1,733. Kopfmann also finished her distinguished career with 263 service aces.
Wieneke (Sr., Jackson, Minn.) was the Tigers’ top offensive option this season, and she led the squad with 362 kills – an average of 2.90 kills per game. She had a .235 hitting percentage in 2008, and her 210 digs and 48 total blocks (11 solo, 37 assist) added to her all-around game. Wieneke also played in all 36 matches, and 125 out of 126 games.
Wieneke’s career numbers also put her in elite company. She ended her Tiger career third in school history with 1,171 kills, and she also joined the 500-dig club with 539 career digs, which puts her 15th in DWU history. Wieneke also had 176 total blocks over her four-year career.
All in all the season went fairly well. Yes we dropped quite a few matches we shouldn't have but that is why we play them. Paper evaluations can only go so far, we will be looking to improve in many areas over the spring to get us over that .500 mark. The potential is there but we have to make it happen, we can't wait for it to happen for us. We have learned from our shortcomings and mistakes from 2008. 2009 is a new opportunity for this program to make progress. We just have to truly commit to the changes ahead and be ready to everything it takes to become a top tier program in the GPAC.
--Coach V
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