Battling Bulldogs
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| Waterloo's Maddie Dodd goes up for a kill during a match this season. The Bulldogs finished the campaign 17-13, falling to Mascoutah in the IHSA Class 3A Carbondale Regional Oct. 27. Terry Smith photo |
The Bulldogs finished the campaign 17-13, falling to Mascoutah in the IHSA Class 3A Carbondale Regional Oct. 27.
"Sometimes things just aren't meant to be," Waterloo coach Karla Bivins said. "Such was our regional match against Mascoutah. Even the week leading up to regionals should have been a week to plan and prepare both physically and mentally, but the whole week we suffered with illness and injuries. Not serious illnesses or injuries, but just nagging, persistent little things that kept key players on the sidelines for a day or two."By the time Saturday came around we were minus our setter, had two jammed thumbs, a twisted ankle, strep throat and a back injury. Now throw in a freshmen who has never been in a varsity match, a trip to the mall to buy her shoes, a 2 hour and 15 minute bus trip, and tell us to play Mascoutah? It just wasn't meant to be."
The Bulldogs fell to the Indians 9-25, 25-20, 10-25 in a showdown of Mississippi Valley Conference greats.
"I give the kids a lot of credit," Bivins said. "We were without (junior) setter Jordan Bartlebaugh and they tried their best to hold it together. (Freshmen) Kacie Vogt stepped up and did a good job running the court.
"Emotions were in a turmoil in game one. We regrouped in game two, but couldn't hold it together in game three."
The Bulldogs will lose two key seniors to graduation, captains Kelsey Jones and Emily Berenz.
"Kelsey and Emily have been true leaders both on and off the court," Bivins said. "Both lead by example and are great role models. Both have set their standards high and have worked hard to achieve their goals.
Jones finished the season with 210 kills (second on the team), 340 digs, and 134 points with 28 aces.
"Kelsey has been a part of the Bulldog varsity team since her sophomore year," Bivins said. "She has twice been named defensive player of the year and was also named team MVP this year."
Berenz was named the Most Improved Player on the team and both she and Jones were recently named MVC All-Conference Honorable Mentions.
"Emily came to the team last year from Wisconsin," Bivins said. "She broke into the varsity lineup as a strong, aggressive server. This season she played as a defensive specialist, digging up 155 balls and 151 serve receives. Her aggressive serving put her in the one hole as the first server of the game. Like Kelsey, she scored 134 points with 28 aces. I guess that's why they are such compatible friends both on and off the court."
The Waterloo volleyball roster is now flush with the height and talent it takes to compete in the loaded area volleyball scene.
"Our reloading consisted of adding four girls to our lineup who are 5-11 or better," Bivins said. "(Junior) Sarah Bicklein (MVC Honorable Mention), (sophomore) Maddie Dodd (MVC 1st Team selection), (junior) Taylor Lhamon and (sophomore) Alex Wood will return with plenty of experience. (Middle hitter Bicklein) had 190 kills and 85 blocks at the net. Sarah has added strength and confidence to the front line. I look for her and southpaw Maddie Dodd to lead the pack next year.
"Dodd added 238 kills (.400 kill percentage) and 124 blocks. I like to move Maddie around to the middle and right side as much as possible. Taylor Lhamon will return as a right side blocker/hitter. Taylor pitched in with 29 solo blocks and 25 assists. She worked with the middle hitters to set a wall at the net. Taylor is a player that gets better and better each year. I expect her senior year to be her strongest year.
"The final 5-11 frontline player is Alex Wood. Alex came on strong in the second half of the season. She has a quick arm motion and effective hit, but I'd like to see Alex work on her passing in the offseason with her club team."
The skyscrapers weren't the only players gaining experience. The shrimps and Schremps in Orange and Black also carried their own weight.
"(Junior 5-2 setter Bartlebaugh) ended the year with 627 assists," Bivins said. "She averaged right at 10 assists a game. Jordie is a huge player on the court. She knows the game well and plays it well. She is a vocal leader and hustles around the court. She was an MVC 2nd Team Selection this year and a top setter in the Metro East area.
"(Junior) Brittany Beard wore the libero shirt with pride this year. Playing through the season with a back injury made it easy for Brittany to be named The Most Determined Player in 2007. Brittany dove for balls and dug balls with ease and grace in the backcourt. She was a top server, missing only six serves all season. I appreciate Britt's effort, hustle, and determination. Brittany will be counted on to take over as our main passer next year.
"(Sophomore) Carrie Schremp will be back as a hitter, passer, server, or anything-else type player. Carrie does what I ask of her and does it with a smile. She is an extremely hard worker and hustler. She is not afraid to hit the floor for a ball and she knows the importance of scoring points. Carrie was our top server with 142 points and 44 aces.
"Utility players (sophomores) Renae Wiegand and Becca Jerome will also return next year. I used Renae a lot in pressure situations. Whether to serve, set, block, or pass, I asked big things from Renae and received big things from her. She is hard on herself, but has developed a good head on her shoulders. The same is true of Becca. Whatever I ask her to do, she was willing to go out and get the job done.
"I also saw strong play from many of the freshmen players this year. With our numbers so low, many played both freshmen and junior varsity matches. This gave them valuable playing time and will help them to be more prepared to step up next year."
The Bulldogs considered this season something of a transitional campaign, but for their opponents, attrition is the watch word.
"While this season may have been a reloading season for us, most of the area schools and (MVC) schools are having unloading seasons," Bivins said. "They are losing quite a few seniors to graduation, so I expect us to pick up the slack and push to be a top contender in 2008. While both our captains will be missed, we still return nine players with valuable varsity experience."
