Winona, MN-
The 2019 volleyball season is shaping up to be a competitive and entertaining fall in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference.
Ten of the 14 MCAC Volleyball teams gathered this past weekend in St. Cloud for an early season tournament to evaluate line-ups, learn about their teams and get a look at other squads around the Conference. The group included three teams listed in the 2019 NJCAA Volleyball Division III Top Ten pre-season poll; #3 Central Lakes, #4 Rochester Community & Technical College and #9 M State-Fergus Falls. Additionally, several teams had new mentors on the sidelines, including Minnesota West (Brittney McNab), Hibbing Community College (Kasey Palmer), Ridgewater College (Erica Smith) and Northland Community & Technical College (Abdul Chamma). Three programs not attending the Showcase will also feature new head coaches this season: Vermilion Community College (Nicki Kosik) Riverland Community College (Ashley Lau) and Anoka-Ramsey (Brandon Bader).
Prior to the Crossover, Conference coaches submited their previews of their teams and their opinions on how the 2019 Divisional races may play out. In the coaches poll, teams were not able to list their own teams and ranked only the programs in their Division. The MCAC Southern Division Coaches Poll results are as follows:
MCAC Southern Division Coaches Poll:
1) Rochester Community & Technical College
T 2) M State-Fergus Falls
T 2) St. Cloud Technical & Community College
3) Ridgewater College
4) Minnesota West Community & Technical College
5) Anoka-Ramsey Community College
T 6) Riverland Community College
T 6) Western Technical College
Rochester Community & Technical College
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Rochester, MN |
Carrie Rutledge is a returning All-America selection for RCTC |
Head Coach: Amber Zitzow, 8th Season, 156-67 Overall
Assistant Coaches: Tori Johnson - 8th Season; Haley Lenz - 1st Season
2018 Season Recap: 24-9 Overall, 12-0 MCAC Southern Division, MCAC South Regular Season Champion, Region 13XIIIA Champions; NJCAA Division III National Tournament, 3rd Place.
Key Returning Athletes: Carrie Rutledge, OH, Hayfield, MN; Brekkin McCready, S, St. Charles, MN; Kate Bade, L, Plainview, MN; AnnMarie Jalmasco, MB, Rochester, MN
Key Incoming Athletes: Hayley Dessner, OH/MB, Eyota, MN; Molly Kleist, RH, Marion, IA; Olivia Fredin, OH, Butterfield, MN
Coach Zitzow on Yellowjacket Volleyball in 19: "With a talented returning class and a freshman class that compliments them, our expectations for this season remain high. They have put in a lot of work during the off-season and are wanting to compete for another Conference Championship."
Campus & Local Media Contacts:
Rochester Post Bulletin - sports@postbulletin.com
Mike Lester, Athletic Director at RCTC, mike.lester@rctc.edu
Nate Stoltman, Director of Marketing at RCTC, nate.stoltman@rctc.edu
M State-Fergus Falls
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Fergus Falls, MN |
of their team building in preseason. |
The Spartans included community service as a partHead Coach: Abby Crowser, 5th year, 78-34 Overall
Assistant Coaches:s Morgan Aasness and Krista Shaikoski
2018 Season Recap: 19-8 Overall, 8-4 MCAC Southern Division, 2nd Place; Region XIIIA Tournament Finalist
Key Returning Athletes: Sydney Hovland, S, Underwood MN; Taylor Berndt, DS, Pelican Rapids MN; Hannah Ekse, MH, Perham MN; Alexa Mortenson, MH, Ulen MN
Key Incoming Athletes: Katherine Mastey, OH, Belgrade MN; Bailey Marty, OH, Chokio MN
Coach Crowser on the 2019 Spartan Season: "We have a challenging schedule this year and I'm hoping it helps prepare us for our competitive conference matches. Our solid group of returners will definitely help our incoming freshman adjust quickly to the college level."
Campus & Local Media Contacts:
Daily Journal, Fergus Falls, MN,
Zach Stich, sports editor- zach.stich@fergusfallsjournal.com
Cory Miller, Athletics Website Manager at M State- cory.miller@minnesota.edu
Steve King, Athletic Director at M State College- steve.king@minnesota.edu
St. Cloud Technical & Community College
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St. Cloud, MN |
presented to SCTCC campus community on Coaching Athletes to be Great Teammates |
Cyclone head coach Heidi SmithHead Coach: Heidi Smith, 9th season, 130-97
Assistant Coaches; Cierra Washington and Kalie Jergens, both former Cyclones
2018 Season Recap: 11-12 Overall, 4th place MCAC South, NJCAA Region XIIIA Tournament qualifier
Key Returning Athletes: Rilee Hohbien, M, Holdingford; Grace Mauersberger, OH, St Michael-Albertville; Paige Serbus, S, Redwood Valley; Jenna Scott, S, Holdingford; Tori Nelson, L, New London-Spicer; Hannah Towne, OH, Isle; Megan Schoborg, OH, St Cloud Tech;
Key Incoming Athletes: Kamryn D'Heilly, M, Annandale; Alex Wright, L/DS, Coon Rapids
Coach Smith on the 2019 Cyclone season: "We have 9 returners this season, the most I have ever had, that are all great people and wonderful teammates. We will be a solid team with that amount of experience and positive energy."
Notable on SCTCC Volleyball: Earlier this fall, Coach Smith presented to the SCTCC campus and greater St. Cloud community on the role and importance of teamwork. Read more at: https://www.sctcc.edu/news/08-05-2019/coaching-athletes-be-great-teammates
Campus & Local Media Resources:
St. Cloud Times
Nate Hiestand, SCTCC Athletics nhiestand@sctcc.edu
Ridgewater College
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Willmar, MN |
NJCAA Volleyball All-America Erica Smith takes the reigns at Ridgewater College |
Head Coach: Erica Smith, 1st season
2018 Season Recap: 13-13 Overall, 8-4 in MCAC South, NJCAA Region XIIIA Tournament qualifier
Key Returning Athletes: Baylee Larsen MB, Echo, MN; Morgan Gronli, OH, New London, MN.
More on Coach Smith: "After graduating in 2008, Smith enrolled at Central Lakes Community College (CLC) to earn her A.A. Degree. During her time there, she competed on the volleyball team as an outside hitter. During her freshman season at CLC her team competed at the NJCAA National Tournament and the Raiders placed 4th in the Nation. Erica earned All-State, All-Region, and All-American honors during her time at CLC."
Read the full West Central Tribune article at: https://www.wctrib.com/sports/4620794-College-Volleyball-Smith-hired-as-Ridgewater-head-coach
Campus & Local Media Contacts:
West Central Tribune
Minnesota West Community & Technical College
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Worthington, MN |
MCAC Crossover Touranment under new coach, Brittney McNab |
Minnesota West opened up 2019 with a 4-0 start at the
Head Coach: Brittney McNab, 1st season
Assistant Coaches: CJ Nelson, 2nd season
2018 Season Recap: 7-9 Overall, 6-6 in MCAC Southern Division
Key Returning Athletes: Haylee Unke, Cottonwood, MN; Emma Woelber, Westbrook, MN; Shelby Pourier, Pine Ridge, SD; Kiana Leighty, Brewster, MN; Stephanie Pizarro, Puerto Rico.
More on Coach McNab: "Brittney McNab is well known to Lady Jay volleyball fans, having been a key component of the Lady Jays region qualifying volleyball teams '05 and '06. As a Lady Jay, Brittney was named the NJCAA Player of the Week and finished in the top 10 in the nation in several categories. McNab earned NJCAA All American honors in both of her seasons in Worthington. She also played basketball for the Lady Jays, leading the teams to a 3rd place finish in the state tournament. Brittney attended Dana college on a volleyball scholarship and graduated with a BA in Sports Management/Business."
Campus & Local Media Contacts:
Daily Globe, Worthington
Anoka-Ramsey Community College
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Head Coach: Brandon Bader
2018 Season Recap: 0-21 Overall, 0-12 MCAC South
More on Coach Bader: Heading into his 7th year of coaching, Bader hails from Colorado, where he competed in high school volleyball and the men's club team at Pikes Peak Community College, in Colorado Springs. Bader brings high school coaching expereince with him from Westlake High School and as student-assistant at the college level for NCAA Division I Drake University. Bader earned the AVCA's Diversity in Coaching honor in 2018.
Read more about the new ARCC volleyball coach on the Golden Ram Athletics website here or by going to: https://www.arccgoldenrams.com/sports/wvball/2019-20/releases/20190722g3i3pi
Campus & Local Media Contacts:
ARCC Athletics Rory Larson, Rory.larson@anokaramsey.edu
ARCC Interim Athletic Coordinator: Jessica.Pelzel@anokaramsey.edu
Riverland Community College
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Ashley Lau takes over the Riverland Volleyball program in 2019. |
Austin, MN
Head Coach: Ashley Lau, First Year
List Assistant Coaches: Jaime Meyer, First Year
Returning Athlete Highlights: An All New Team!
Key Incoming Athletes: Megan Shanahan, MB, Saint Charles, MN; Madison Krenske, LI, Fairbault
Coach Lau on the 2019 Blue Devil Season: "Our focus this year is to rebuild up the Riverland Volleyball Program and really focus on training athletes to be all around players."
For more on Riverland Volleyball, go to:
Austin Daily News Sports
Western Technical College
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Western Tech will open up the 2019 Volleyball season with Century College, a new NJCAA program. Century will join the MCAC for the 2020 Volleyball season. |
Head Coach: Jenny Watson
List Assistant Coaches: Rachael Sackett
Click Here for the WTC 2019 schedule or go to: https://www.westerntc.edu/sites/default/files/student-life/documents/VolleyballSchedule.pdf
Notable on the 2019 Western Technical Volleyball season:
The Cavalier Volleyball team is a member of NJCAA Region XIII as well as the Minnesota College Athletic Conference. The season runs from August through October. Home games are played at the Holy Cross Seminary Gym, 3710 East Ave. South, La Crosse (behind Shopko South).
For more on Western Technical College, go to:
Local Media Resources:
The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system, as well as select member colleges in North Dakota and Wisconsin. The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions. The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.
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