Volleyball Newsletter I2.V1

The 2011 season is finally here...and what a ride this past

month has been for our program!

Our team reported for pre-season mid-August after

months of hard work and preparation in the weight room

and on the court. The freshmen class transitioned quickly

to the demands of practice and added a new spark to our

offense and defense. Our returning players stepped up in

prominent positions and led with confidence and purpose.

We scrimmaged several teams prior to our first tourna-

ment which gave us the opportunity to see different play-

ers on the court. Also, due to the injuries that we experi-

enced early, we made some adjustments and tried a few

line-ups as a result. Despite a lot of changes, the team

has adapted well and has remained focused on competing

to the best of their ability.

The NSIC is more competitive than last year (yes, even

better) which will force us to be consistent out of SR and

at the net offensively. The team will need to be aware of

the importance of lowering our unforced errors since the

top teams that we play seldom return

many points. It‟s going to be exciting

and we‟re thankful for your continued

following and support.

-HC Ashley Buckley

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 1 I S S U E 2 , V O L U M E 1

This past summer was jam packed with exciting events!

The coaching staff worked a record number of camps,

our two assistant coaches got married, and head coach

Ashley Buckley had another baby boy!

Lisa (Hoegh) married fellow Augustana alumni, Mitch

Lunning. Mitch (LeRoy, MN) is a former Viking wres-

tler and is currently serving in his first year as a volun-

teer assistant for the Augie volleyball team. The couple

celebrated their marriage on June 11th in Byron, Minne-

sota. Mitch is a financial advisor for Waddel & Reed of

Sioux Falls and Lisa will finish her Elementary Educa-

tion degree this spring!

Despite a busy spring of recruiting and completing her

master‟s degree, Assistant Coach Kasey (Loeslie), man-

aged to find time to plan a wedding! She married Bryan

Nikkel (Grand Rapids, MN) on June 18th in Rapid City,

SD. The couple met at SMSU where he played four years

as a catcher on the baseball team. Bryan is a volunteer

assistant coach for the Augustana baseball team and cur-

rently works for Eagle Lawn & Landscape in Sioux Falls.

Lastly, the Buckley‟s welcomed their second son Baren

Quintin on August, 18th! His arrival was a surprising one

month early (and four days into pre-season!) but he is

healthy and growing rapidly. His older brother, Bausten

celebrated his second birthday in July.

Meet the 2011 players by position:

*Setter: Dani Haley, returns for her third year as the setter

after averaging 10.32 set assists/game in 2010.

*Defensive Specialists: Grace Sanders, entered the 2011

season injured and will take a medical redshirt. Kayla

Wallerich, has proven versatile this year seeing time as setter

and Libero. Christine Bielski, averaged 2.51 digs per set in

2010 and played in every set. Julia Witt, is joining the de-

fense after being a three year letter winner at Hutchinson HS.

*Outsides: Jordan Spatenka, returns after leading the team

in attacks, points, and kills in 2010. Megan Bezdicek entered

the 2011 season injured and will take a medical redshirt.

Lindsey Petersen, was second on the team in 2010 in kills

averaging 2.17 kills per set. Courtney Ysker, joins the Vi-

kings after a stellar high school career earning all-state honors

at Windom HS.

*Middles: Brooke Lewko, was second on the team in blocks

in 2011 and is currently averaging above 1.0 b/s. Holly Hafe-

meyer, came on strong at the end of 2010, which has carried

over this year as she is leading the team in blocks and kills per

set.

*Rights: Taylor Hrdlichka, recorded 2.8

kills per set on the right side last year.

Mikayla Gallagher, joins the squad after

being a three year letter winner at Anoka

HS.

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

2011 Roster 2

Black Hills 3

Game-day

events

4

2011 schedule 5

Off-season

Workouts

6

Summer

Highlights

7

Two name changes and a baby later….

2011 Season Preview

P A G E 2

Freshmen

# NAME POS HT YR HOMETOWN HIGH SCHOOL

1 Christine Bielski DS 5-6 So. Chaska, Minn. Chanhassen

2 Mikayla Gallagher RS 6-0 Fr. Ramsey, Minn. Anoka

3 Brooke Lewko MB/OH 6-0 Jr. Lakeville, Minn. Lakeville North

4 Megan Bezdicek OH 5-10 Jr. Jackson, Minn. Jackson CC

6 Julia Witt L/DS 5-7 Fr. Hutchinson, Minn. Hutchinson

7 Dani Haley S 5-9 Jr. Owatonna, Minn. Owatonna

8 Kayla Wallerich S/DS 5-9 So. Marshall, Minn. Marshall

9 Courtney Ysker OH 5-9 Fr. Windom, Minn. Windom Area

10 Grace Sanders DS 5-6 Jr. Lakeville, Minn. Lakeville South

12 Holly Hafemeyer MB 6-2 So. Faribault, Minn. Bethlehem Academy

13 Taylor Hrdlichka MB/RS 6-0 So. Lakeville, Minn. Lakeville South

15 Jordan Spatenka OH 6-2 Jr. Owatonna, Minn. Owatonna

17 Lindsey Petersen OH 5-10 So. Elkhart, Iowa Ankeny

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2011 Augustana Volleyball

Sophomores

Juniors Redshirt Juniors

P A G E 3

Bonfires at our rental home

Pre-Season Black Hills Trip The second weekend of

pre-season was spent

bonding in Hill City,

South Dakota!

Since a majority of the

team has not traveled

to the Black Hills, we

took the opportunity to

explore some of the

beautiful sites and at-

tractions of the western

part of the state. In

addition, the team

scrimmaged Black

Hills State University

and Montana State

University Billings and

also fit in a practice at

the local HS across the

street from the rental

house.

Here are some high-

lights from the trip...

Hike to the top of Harney Peak

“Minute to win it” games!

Appetizers, main meal, and dessert made by the team!

Mt. Rushmore Wall Drug

Sight Seeing

Rock

Climbing with

Sylvan Rock

Climbing School !

Augustana led the

Northern Sun Inter-

collegiate Confer-

ence in Academic

Success Rate (ASR)

for the 2010-11 aca-

demic year, accord-

ing to the latest

NCAA Graduation

Success Rate data.

Augustana student-

athletes had a 91%

ASR (more than 10

percent higher than

any other NSIC in-

stitution).

P A G E 4

BUMP, SET, HIKE Vikings fight breast cancer October 25th!

Come support Augustana Football and Volley-

ball‟s efforts to celebrate survivors, honor a

loved one and raise money for the Sanford

Breast Care Institute!

Breast Cancer is the sec-

ond leading cause of death

in the U.S. and affects 1 in

8 women each year. And,

over 1,000 men will be

diagnosed for breast can-

cer this year.

Our programs are teaming

up with the Sanford Breast

Health Institute to

heighten awareness about breast cancer, to

raise funds for research and help a local family

financially with a scholarship for treatment.

Help us Bump, Set & Hike away breast cancer

in our effort to raise $4,000 to support those

that continue to fight this battle.

Get involved:

1. Purchase a „Bump, Set & Hike‟ t-shirt at the

Elmen Center for $10.00.

2. Attend the football game vs. MSUM Drag-

ons, Saturday, Oct. 22nd at 1:30pm

3. Attend the volleyball match vs. CSP Bears,

Tuesday, October 25th @ 7:00pm

SEE YOU THERE!

Enjoy Viking Varieties, the parade, and a

football game on Saturday vs. Winona State.

Volleyball: 7:00 Friday vs. Moorhead & Satur-

day at 5:30 vs. Crookston.

A complete schedule of events can be found

at www.augie.edu.

FIRST ANNUAL KIDS CLINIC

Did you know that in 2010 Augie averaged over 600 fans at home matches and

ranked in the top 10 nationally? THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT FANS!!

2011 VIKING DAYS

Augustana is ranked

among the nation‟s

best colleges and

universities and is

the highest-ranked

undergraduate insti-

tution in South Da-

kota, according to

Forbes’ fourth an-

nual “America‟s

Top Colleges.”

The program hosted a free Kids Clinic on Satur-

day, September 24th. Sixty campers attended

the event that was coached by the current mem-

bers of the Augustana Volleyball Team. Follow-

ing the clinic, campers received an autographed

poster, ball, and pizza! The event was a success!

P A G E 5

October

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

Nebraska-

Omaha Tourney

3 Nebraska-Omaha

Tourney

4 5 6 7 8 9 MSU-

Moorhead

Tourney

10 MSU-

Moorhead

Tourney

11 12 13 14 15 16

@ Upper IA

17 @ Winona St.

18 19 20 21 22 23 U-Mary

24 (Kids Day)

Northern St.

25 26 27 @ Wayne St

28 29 30 @ Bemidji

St.

September

Have a story idea or announcement for us to share in the next Volleyball Newsletter?

Email Graduate Assistant Coach Lisa Lunning!

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 @ MN Duluth

2 3 4 5 6 7 Southwest

MN St.

8 MN St.

Mankato

9 10

11 12 13 14 MN St.

Moorhead

15 MN

Crookston

16 17 18 @Southwest

MN St.

19 20 21 @ U-Mary

22 @ Northern

St.

23 24 25 (Dig Pink)

Concordia

St. Paul

26 27 28 @ St. Cloud

St.

29 @ Concordia

St. Paul

30 31

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 Upper IA

5 Winona St.

6 7 8 9 10 11 Wayne St.

12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

November

Homecoming Week

Fall Birthdays:

August… 11th: Taylor‟s 20th 13th: Lisa Lunning 18th: Baren Buckley

September… 9th: Holly‟s 20th

15th: Mitch Lunning

24th: Lindsey‟s 20th

25th: Courtney‟s 19th

30th: Kayla‟s 20th

October… 23rd: Grace‟s 21st

PREPARATION FOR FALL

P A G E 6

efficient athletic move-

ments, and mental tough-

ness has been an asset to

our players. During pre-

season, the team was tested

on squats, bench, snatch,

cleans, vertical, and a 30

second shuttle run (5 time

average). These tests added

a few more butterflies (and

excitement) for the players

as they entered pre-season!

Shuttle Run

Basketball Court Length

Coach Chad Traver has been

a large part of the volleyball

teams strength and condition-

ing workouts as of the 2010

season. Coach Traver came

to Augustana last fall after

serving as a graduate assistant

at the university of Louisiana-

Monroe, where he was the

head men’s basketball and

volleyball strength coach.

Traver’s focus on lifting form,

Players run “down,

back, down, back,

down” in 30 seconds.

They then have a 90

second break and

repeat this 4 more

times.

Brooke Lewko

dressed as Coach

Traver for

Halloween

Practice in 2010

Placing 12 teams in

NCAA postseason

play, propelled Au-

gustana to a program-

best third-place finish

in the 2010-11 Lear-

field Sports Direc-

tors’ Cup stand-

ings.

Augustana

finished THIRD

of 234 Division II

teams.

P A G E 7

Camp Highlights:

Witnessing the players on the

Augie team evolve as court and posi-

tion coaches.

Working with recruits and shar-

ing what Augie is all about!

Seeing our loyal repeat campers!

Coaching two GUYS at the Elite

Specialty Camp. (It was so fun!)

Traveling to 14 different high

schools for satellite camps (record

number!).

Team pictures

from Elite

Specialty Camp.

2011 SUMMER VOLLEYBALL CAMPS

THANK YOU to all of our campers for

making it such a fun and memorable summer!