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December 15, 2011

2011 Season - 2011 VOLLEYBALL REVIEW

The 2011 Augustana volleyball team gathers after a point in a match during the season.

With just one senior and two juniors on the entire roster, the 2011 Augustana volleyball team was not immune to the predictable growing pains that go with youth. In her second season at the helm of the Vikings, Jamie Walters was playing a lineup that often had three, and sometimes four, freshmen on the floor at the same time. The experience gained during the 9-23 campaign should prove invaluable in the years ahead.

Brianna Skeens (Vernon Hills HS, Libertyville, Ill.) was the lone senior on the team this past fall and she was one of three team captains, along with juniors Kelsey Mikula (Coal City HS, Morris, Ill.) and Sarah Williams (Rockford Lutheran HS, Loves Park, Ill.).

Skeens led the team in kills with 331 in 111 games played for a 2.98 average. She had the highest kill percentage on the team at .220 with 331 kills in 881 total attempts and 137 errors. She was second on the team in total blocks with 76 (24 solo and 52 assists) for a 0.68 per game average. She added 31 digs as well.

Skeens posted 27 kills against Carroll on October 23 at the Wisconsin-Stevens Point Tournament and that is tied for the 10 th highest single match performance in Augustana history.

Mikula was the top setter on the team with 916 assists in 112 games for an average of 8.18 per game. She had 60 assists against Carroll on October 23 and that is tied for the 10 th best in school history. She now has 1,684 setting assists in her career and that is the sixth highest total ever for the Vikings.

Williams led the team in games played with 115 and she averaged 1.30 kills per game and had a .215 hitting percentage with 150 kills and 46 errors in 483 total attempts. She led the squad in total blocks with 86 (18 solo & 68 assists) for an average of 0.75 per game.

In Walters’ second season, her young Vikings certainly didn’t shy away from tough competition. They played four nationally ranked opponents (Carthage, Elmhurst, Wisconsin-Platteville and Wisconsin-Stevens Point) a total of five times throughout the year and faced the Iowa Conference champion (Cornell) twice. In addition, Augustana ended the regular season with a thrilling five set victory over Webster, which won the championship of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and made an appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Sophomore Katrina Colclasure (Tri-Valley HS, Bloomington, Ill.) had a position switch this season, moving from setter to libero/defensive specialist and the move paid off. She led the team in digs with 542 in 113 games for an average of 4.80 per game. She had 41 digs in a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 win over Hendrix on September 9 at the Rhodes Tournament and that is the eighth highest single match total ever for the Vikings. In addition, her average of 4.80 digs per game is the sixth best single season figure in Augustana history. She earned all-tournament recognition at the Viking Classic at home on September 2-3 and at the Rhodes Tournament in Memphis, Tennessee on September 9-10.

Outside hitter Emily Leazer (St. Viator HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) played a significant role as a freshman and she was second on the team in kills. She totaled 295 and average 2.59 per game. Leazer topped the team in service aces with 36 and was second in digs with a 3.42 average (390 in 114). She was named to all-tournament teams at the Viking Classic on September 2-3 at home and at the Wisconsin-Stevens Point Invitational on October 21-22 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

Skeens was named the team’s Most Valuable Player, as voted on by her teammates. The Most Improved Player award had co-winners with freshmen Amber Dalgaard (Antioch HS, Antioch, Ill.) and Stephanie Petkovsek (Lisle HS, Lisle, Ill.) sharing the honor. Dalgaard, a defensive specialist, saw action in 39 games and had 45 digs while Petkovsek, a setter, played in 29 games and recorded 84 assists and 39 digs.

Leazer was chosen as the “Freshman of the Year” and Williams was given the Augie Award as selected by the coaching staff for spirit, dedication and contributions throughout the program. This is the second time that she has been named the winner of the Augie Award. Freshman Astin Moravek (Riverside-Brookfield HS, Riverside, Ill.) was the winner of the Augie Award for the junior varsity.

2011 CCIW FINAL STANDINGS

CCIW TOURNAMENT

November 5, 2011 (CCIW Tournament - Championship) in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Carthage def. Elmhurst 25-17; 25-21; 22-25; 22-25; 17-15

November 4, 2011 (CCIW Tournament - Semifinal) in Kenosha, Wisconsin

Carthage def. Wheaton 25-11; 25-17; 18-25; 25-20

Elmhurst def. Millikin 20-25; 25-18; 26-24; 20-25; 15-6

November 1, 2011 (CCIW First Round) at home sites
Carthage defeated North Park 3-0 in Kenosha, Wisconsin

Millikin defeated Augustana 3-0 in Decatur, Illinois

Elmhurst defeated Illinois Wesleyan 3-0 in Elmhurst, Illinois

Wheaton defeated North Central 3-0 in Wheaton, Illinois

2011 AUGUSTANA VOLLEYBALL SUPERLATIVES

CCIW ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS: None

CCIW ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE: Samantha Kammerman, Emily Leazer, Kelsey Leazer, Sarah Williams

ALL TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS

Emily Leazer @ Viking Classic on 09/02-03/11 at home…Katrina Colclasure @ Viking Classic on 09/02-03/11 at home…Katrina Colclasure @ Rhodes Tournament on 09/09-10/11 in Memphis, Tennessee… Emily Leazer @ UW-Stevens Point Tournament on 10/21-22/11 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

CCIW STATISTICAL TOP 10 – INDIVIDUAL

Hitting Percentage – 10 th, Sarah Williams, .260 (34 kills, 7 errors, 104 total attempts in 23 games) – CCIW only

Kills – 6 th, Brianna Skeens, 3.08 kills per game (77 in 25 games) and 9 th, Emily Leazer, 2.88 kills per game (72 in 25 games) – CCIW only

Assists – 7 th, Kelsey Mikula, 8.50 assists per game (187 assists in 22 games) – CCIW only

Service Aces – 8 th, Emily Leazer, 0.36 service aces per game (9 in 25 games) – CCIW only

Digs – 8 th, Katrina Colclasure, 4.04 digs per game (101 in 25 games) – CCIW only

TEAM AWARDS

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Brianna Skeens

AUGIE AWARD – Sarah Williams (varsity) & Astin Moravek (junior varsity)

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER – Amber Dalgaard & Stephanie Petkovsek

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Emily Leazer

TOP TEN LISTS

CAREER TOP TEN LISTINGS (additions from 2011)

Assists – 1,684 Kelsey Mikula moves into sixth place

SINGLE SEASON TOP TEN LISTINGS (additions from 2011)

Digs per game – 4.80 (542 digs in 113 games), Katrina Colclasure – 6 th place

SINGLE MATCH TOP TEN LISTINGS (additions from 2011)

Kills – 27, Brianna Skeens vs. Carroll on 10/22/11

Assists – 60, Kelsey Mikula vs. Carroll on 10/22/11

Digs – 41, Katrina Colclasure vs. Hendrix on 09/09/11