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December 1, 2005

2005 VOLLEYBALL REVIEW

2005 VOLLEYBALL REVIEW

Vikings go 19-15 in first season under head coach Stacey Ruff; Jeanna Dalton sets new school record for digs per game at 5.95

There is always an element of change when a new coach takes over the program but the Augustana Vikings certainly didn’t seem to have any problems adapting to Stacey Ruff in the 2005 season. Despite the fact that there were 14 new faces on the roster and that only eight letterwinners returned from the previous year, the Vikings were able to accomplish a lot in Ruff’s initial campaign at the head of the Blue & Gold.

A 19-15 overall record, for starters, was a significant accomplishment for a program that had not had a winning mark since 2002. Throw in the usual assortment of injuries and the adjustments that go with a new coach and it is easy to see that the building blocks to success are in place.

From a rocky beginning that saw them with a 3-6 record through the first nine matches, the Vikings jelled and during one 29-day stretch that lasted nearly the entire month of October they won 12 of 15 matches. During the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin season, Augustana went 3-4 and placed fifth in the final standings.

Working from scratch, Ruff was constantly shifting her lineup in search of the right combination. Junior outside hitter Samantha Knox (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) did not quite post the kind of numbers she had as a sophomore but she did manage to lead the team in kills for the second year in a row. Knox recorded 376 kills in 122 games for a 3.08 per game average, down from last year’s average of 4.66 but the Vikings were a much more balanced team in 2005. Six players who saw action in at least 100 games averaged more than 1.38 kills per game, compared to just two in 2004. Knox’ average was good enough to rank her ninth on the school’s single season kills-per-game list and her career total of 1,277 places her third on the all-time list. She is just 209 kills away from Callyn Dittmar’s school record of 1,486 set from 2000-03 and she still has one more year left. She has also moved to 10^th on the career list for service aces with 84. This past year she led the team in that category with 59 in 122 games for an average of 0.48, the fourth best single season average in school history.

While Knox led the team in kills, she was by no means the only option at sophomore Erin Reeverts (Stillman Valley HS, Davis Junction, Ill.)  was right behind her with 357 kills in 126 games for a 2.83 average and freshman Gina Schilling (East Dubuque HS, East Dubuque, Ill.) had 283 in 114 games for a 2.48 average. Junior Lindsey Linkimer (St. Charles East HS, St. Charles, Ill.) at 2.27, sophomore Beth Gilmartin (Downers Grove North HS, Downers Grove, Ill.) at 1.75 and freshman Lisa Neverman (West Delaware HS, Manchester, Iowa) at 1.38 all added to the versatility of the Augustana attack.

Freshman Jaime Spolum (St. Charles North HS, St. Charles, Ill.) led the team in assists with 1,100 in 126 games for an average of 8.73 per game, the ninth highest single season average ever at Augustana. She has already climbed into sixth on the career list after just one year. Spolum was second to Knox in service aces with 58 and her 0.46 per game average is tied for the seventh best on the single season list. Junior Jenny Preuss (Glenbrook South HS, Glenview, Ill.) added 415 assists in 90 games for a 4.61 average. Preuss has now moved into third place on the school’s career list with 2,379 assists.

Linkimer led the team in blocks with 102 in 118 games for an average of 0.86 per game and her career total of 272 is just shy of moving her into the top 10. Senior Jeanna Dalton (Dixon HS, Dixon, Ill.) solidified the defense when she took over the libero position before the halfway mark of the season. She finished the year with 774 digs in 130 games for an average of 5.95 per game, which is a new school record. She broke the old mark of 5.92 set by Katie Vegter in 2003. She finished her career with 1,420 digs which places her third on the all-time list. Her best game this past fall was on “Senior Night” against North Central when she recorded 44 digs, which is the fourth best single match performance in Augustana history, and led the Vikings to a 3-1 victory over the Cardinals.

Reeverts was a second team all-conference selection while Dalton earned honorable mention honors. Knox gained first team academic all-district kudos from ESPN – The Magazine for the second straight year and Dalton was named second team.

Ruff, who took over for Betsy Knott back in February, came to Augustana following a successful three year stint as the head coach at the University of Dubuque where she was 56-47. She now has a collegiate coaching record of 75-62.

The Vikings ranked fifth in the nation in digs per game with 23.82 according to the final NCAA Division III national statistics. Dalton ended up in 25^th place with her mark of 5.95. Augustana led the CCIW in digs with 702 in 26 conference games for a 27.00 per game average. Spolum was fourth in the conference in assists with 7.85 (204 in 26 league games) and tied for fifth in service aces at 0.42 (11 in 26). Dalton was second in league play in digs with a 6.27 average (163 in 26) while Schilling was eighth at 4.67 (112 in 24) and Randi Higel (Burlington Central HS, Elgin, Ill.) was 10^th at 4.44 (111 in 25). Reeverts finished sixth in kills per game at 3.08 (80 in 26) and Knox was 10^th at 2.76 (69 in 25) while Linkimer was sixth n blocks at 1.00 (26 in 26).

2005 COLLEGE CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS & WISCONSIN

Final Standings

2005 AUGUSTANA VOLLEYBALL SUPERLATIVES

CCIW ALL-CONFERENCE: Erin Reeverts (2^nd team) & Jeanna Dalton (honorable mention)

ESPN – THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Samantha Knox (1^st team) & Jeanna Dalton (2^nd team)

CCIW ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE: Jeanna Dalton, Randi Higel & Samantha Knox

CCIW “PLAYER OF THE WEEK - OFFENSE”: Erin Reeverts for week ending 10/10/05

CCIW “PLAYER OF THE WEEK – DEFENSE”: Jeanna Dalton for week ending 10/24/05

SCHOOL RECORD SINGLE SEASON DIGS PER GAME: 5.95 (774 in 130 games), Jeanna Dalton

MOLTEN PIKES PEAK CHALLENGE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Erin Reeverts

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO GARGOYLE CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Lindsey Linkimer

WISCONSIN-LACROSSE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Erin Reeverts & Samantha Knox

NCAA DIVISION III NATIONAL RANKING – TEAM DIGS PER GAME: 5^th at 23.82

NCAA DIVISION III NATIONAL RANKING – INDIVIDUAL DIGS PER GAME: 25^th at 5.95 (774 in 130 games), Jeanna Dalton

CCIW TEAM STATISTICAL LEADER – TEAM DIGS PER GAME: 27.00 (702 in 26 league games)