After an outstanding season last fall, including finishing second in the MIAC and earning an NCAA Tournament berth, the Gustavus Volleyball team is beginning a new season.

This season is “somewhat of a rebuilding year,” Senior Co-Captain Tara Kramer said. The team lost four seniors last year, so players have had to step into new roles. “We have a lot of experience coming back, and it’s nice to see people taking on different roles,” Kramer said.

Several players are returning to the court, however. “We have a good veteran group that’s coming back as well. I think that [with] the mix of our first-year players, we should do well,” Head Coach Kari Eckheart said.
In addition to Senior Co-Captains Kramer and Meghan Gehring, other returning letter-winners include Juniors Nicki Ainsworth, Samantha Broderius, Jenny Ewert and Janey Helland, and Sophomores Angela Ahrendt, Katie Ness, Malea Noennig, Abby Roff and Olivia Warren.

The players had to work through practices over the last few weeks and adapt to new roles. “Many of our practices have been ‘drill based’ in order to see different people in different situations so we can put the best team out on the court. All of our practices have stayed competitive, and I think we are all excited to start playing games to change things up a bit,” Kramer said.

Eckheart also acknowledged how competitive the practices have been. “We still have a lot of people competing for different spots. One difference I see this year is we are really using these preseason matches to kind of figure out a line-up and see what we’re going to do during the regular season,” Eckheart said.

Gustavus looks forward to getting the season underway after weeks of practice and preseason games. “Now that preseason is over, I think everyone has a pretty good understanding of what is expected from them, and we are ready for this team—the team of 2009—to make our mark,” Kramer said.

In the first games of the season, the Gusties fell 3-1 to St. Olaf College and finished 2-2 in the UW-Eau Claire Invitational.

“We started off kind of shaky against St. Olaf, but that just goes with learning to play together. We have a number of good all-around players which in turn gives us plenty of options to work with. The goal is to find that combination that works well and in the end will bring us the most success,” Sophomore Olivia Warren said.

The team had more success at the UW-Eau Claire Invitational. “We ended up going 2-2 with a tough loss to Eau Claire, but coming out of the tournament our team looks strong, and I’m excited for what’s next,” Junior Nicki Ainsworth said.

“The tournament in Eau Claire this past weekend was definitely a step in the right direction. We improved with every opponent we faced, which was very encouraging. We saw a lot of great things. Our setters were connecting with our hitters, our defensive specialists were making insane plays getting balls up and our communication was there finally,” Warren said.

The team’s next appearance is at the Gustavus Classic this weekend. “I think this is still a great opportunity for us to try different combinations of people in there [and] get more game experience so we’re ready to start out Conference,” Eckheart said.

As the season continues, the players are focusing on coming together as a team and putting out their best effort.

“It is always a challenge to come into a season with a new team, but it is also the most exciting part of the season. Everything is coming together, and we are all having a lot of fun playing and focusing on our goals for this season,” Ainsworth said.

“I think that everyone is working very hard to make things work, and that’s what we are asking for—always giving 100 percent,” Warren said.

For the seniors, their last season has a special meaning. “This is my last shot, so I feel like I need to give it everything I have and have no regrets,” Kramer said.