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CSC volleyball team seeking more improvement this fall
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FarkChadron State College Information Office
CHADRON, Neb. — After her team showed much improvement last season, Chadron State College volleyball coach Amy Spruiell hopes the Eagles can make more strides toward being a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contender this fall.
The Eagles went from having a 3-30 overall record and a 2-17 mark in the conference in 2006 to 11-19 for the season and 8-11 in the RMAC last fall. A similar improvement would put the Eagles over the .500 level for the first time since 2001-02 for both the regular season and in the conference.
“My primary goal is to get the team into the top half of the conference so we can qualify for the playoffs,” said Spruiell, who is beginning her third season with the Eagles. “I hope we’ll get rolling so we can adjust those goals a little higher as the season goes along. Ultimately, our goal is to be among the top teams in the conference year-after-year. If everything falls into place, maybe we can get there this year.”
Although the offseason has been something of a mixed bag for the Eagles, this year’s team appears to have more experience and depth than its recent predecessors.
On the plus side, setter Jamie Mills Weingart was the only senior on last year’s team, and it appears Spruiell has landed an exceptional recruiting class, one with several playes who will help the Eagles immediately.
There’s even more good news. It looks as if Cassie Drinkwalter, the 6-foot-2 front row player from Chadron, is healthy. She took a medical redshirt last season because of a back problem.
“Cassie has been rehabbing well and has worked hard to get ready for the season,” the coach said. “It will help a lot of she’s available all season.”
On the down side, junior Lauren Emory, who had 316 kills, the second-high total on last year’s team, required back surgery and will miss the season. Also, sophomore Bridgette Boswell, a promising middle hitter, decided late in the summer not to return because of the distance between her home in Fallon, Nev., and Chadron.
With the absence of Weingart, there’s a question mark at setter. Junior Tagen Bierley, who redshirted last season after transferring from Adams State, and true freshman Skye Duncan will be competing to be the team’s primary setter.
Other bright prospects include freshman Samantha Fields of Fountain-Fort Carson High School and three transfers from National American Univerity, which discontinued its volleyball program last spring.
The transfers are Daniela Oliviera, a 5-9 outside hitter, Thamy Viana, a 5-11 middle hitter, and Thais Batistella, a 5-10 outside hitter. All three are natives of Brazil who helped the Rapid City school have one of the outstanding NAIA volleyball teams in the nation the past few years.
Oliviera, who is a senior, became a three-time NAIA All-American and was the Region III Player of the Year last fall when she led National American in hitting, averaging 5.52 kills per game. Viana, a junior, also was an all-region selection and earned honorable mention All-American last season. Batistella also earned All-American and Region III honors in 2007. Last season, she finished with 486 kills (3.86 per game) while hitting at a .262 percentage. She also served 24 aces, and had 275 digs and 46 blocks. In 2006, she was honorable mention on the NAIA All-American team.
Besides Drinkwalter and Oliviera, the CSC roster lists four more seniors. They are Jennifer Luatua, who was selected as the first-team RMAC libero by the conference coaches last fall; Elizabeth Most, a 6-foot middle hitter; and Anna Jackson and Amie McCracken, defensive specialists who also can fill the libero position.
Most and Jackson will be seeking their fourth letters.
Other returnees include Lindsy Heisler, the Eagles’ busiest hitter last fall as a freshmen when she had 370 kills; junior Jamie O’Brien, who is expected to team with Drinkwalter to give the Eagles a potent duo at right side hitter; and two more back row specialists, Sarah Mortensen and Ashley Nutsch.
Spruiell is also glad to have Linsdy Gumb of Burwell on the roster because she is a good athlete with the potential to develop.
Assisting Spruiell this season are Maura Pfeifer as the team’s graduate assistant coach and Alex Keeley as the student assistant. Both are former CSC team members.
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