The Summit League 2022

[kiyoat]

just finished the St Thomas write-up

[AmeriCanVBfan]

Jul 18, 2022 14:16:54 GMT -5 kiyoat said:

just finished the St Thomas write-up

Great job! I think you nailed it where stability is concerned.
Galvin will be HUGE for them again this year and I think a couple of the first years may surprise you (I'm looking at you Keya and Emma G!)

I'm definitely going to try and get to a game or two, but I have a pretty full dance card when it comes to college games this year. 

[ndodge]

Jul 18, 2022 14:16:54 GMT -5 kiyoat said:

just finished the St Thomas write-up

I went to a couple games last year and likely will again this year.  Thank you for the writeup, I think it was on point. 

[AmeriCanVBfan]

Jul 18, 2022 16:21:11 GMT -5 ndodge said:

Jul 18, 2022 14:16:54 GMT -5 kiyoat said:

just finished the St Thomas write-up

I went to a couple games last year and likely will again this year.   

Were they well attended?
I know that's pretty subjective.

[ndodge]

Decent crowds - good mix of students and non students

[kiyoat]

#8 Western Illinois University
"Leathernecks"

Last 5 Years Results:

year	all	conf	post	coach
2017	8-20	3-11(#7)	-	Kelly Richardson
2018	3-26	2-14(#9)	-	Ben Staupe
2019	6-23	3-13(#8)	-	Ben Staupe
2020	2-15	2-14(#8)	-	Ben Staupe
2021	5-24	4-14(#8)	-	Ben Staupe
2022	?	?		Dale Starr

Western Illinois was one of the founders of the Midcontinent Conference/ (later re-named the Summit League) in 1982.  It was a men's sports league until 1992.  The first season in the Midco/Summit was also the last time the Leathernecks' Women's Volleyball team has ever played for a conference title, getting to that championship match as a 3-seed.  It was also the last of seven years with hall-of-fame Coach Juli Kartel at the helm.  (they previously played in the Gateway Conference)

For the remainder of WIU's last 30 years in the Midco/Summit, they have finished in the bottom-3 consistently, with the exception of a four-year span 2004-2007 under Coach Kym McKay, who accumulated one COY, one POY, one DPOY, one FOY and six first-team all-conference awards in that time-frame.  Since McKay left the school in 2012 they have had three coaches, none of who have been able to pull the 'Necks up from the bottom of the league.

Dale Star comes to WIU from Robert Morris, where he coached for 12 seasons.  He has also been a HC at McNeese St and an assistant  at several others.  He played Setter for Northern Colorado (1995).

2021 Recap:

The 'Necks were picked to finish last (#10) in 2021.  The fact that they ended up with 4 conference wins and a #8 finish wasn't enough to save Coach Staupe's job.  The four conference wins all came against UND and UST, and the lone non-con win was a 5-setter against Eastern Illinois.  They did win individual sets vs. SDSU, Kansas City and Denver.  Overall the season was more of the same, with the addition of St Thomas allowing a couple more wins than usual.

Statistically, They were bottom-three in most team stats except Blocks (1.9/set #7 Summit) and Digs (15.69/set #4 Summit).  Their best player was arguably 6'-1" Senior MB Peyton Bowman, who led the team in Blocks (1.19/set #2 Summit) and Points (2.92/set #20 Summit), and finished 2nd in Hitting% (.282 #12 Summit).  Bowman has graduated.

#12 Peyton Bowman

You could also make the argument that the twin (literally) 6'-1"Sophomore MB's Kennedy and Kalynn Davis were just as impactful, with Kennedy leading the team in kills (251) and aces (21), with Kalynn not far behind statistically.  Strangely, Kennedy has now transfered to Tennesee State, with Kalynn still on the WIU roster.

#21 Kalynn Davis, #15 Kennedy Davis

The 'Necks' back row was led by 5'-5" Freshman DS/L Karli Wenzel's 3.72 digs/set (#9 Summit)...

#3 Karli Wenzel

...with a lot of help from 5'-9" Freshman Setter Maggie Craker (2.93 digs) and Senior DS Erika Moore (2.54 digs).  Craker also led the team in Assists/set (7.7/set #7 Summit) and Aces/set (0.24/set #24 Summit).

#2 Maggie Craker

2022 Roster:
link

#	name	ht	pos	class	hometown	prev. school
3	Karli Wenzel	5-5	DS/L	Soph	Manteno, IL	Manteno HS
9	Gabby DePersio	5-3	DS	Senior	McHenry, IL	McHenry HS
4	Ella Godsell	5-8	DS/L	Soph	Philo, IL	Parkland Jr Coll.
.	.	-	-	-	-	-
2	Maggie Craker	5-9	S	Soph	Chippewa Falls, WI	McDonnell Cent. Cath.
6	Jessie Connell	5-9	S	Senior	Dousman, WI	Catholic Memorial HS
.	.	-	-	-	-	-
18	Brittany Wulf	6-1	OH	Soph	Lincoln, NE	Lincoln SE HS
19	Aubrey Putman	5-11	OH	Senior	Wilton, IA	Wilton HS
10	Kennedy Baur	5-11	OH	Junior	Watseka, IL	Lincoln Land CC
17	Hailey Sperling	5-10	OH	Soph	Minooka, IL	Parkland JC
7	Elizabeth Ziegler	6-2	RS	Fresh	Sandusky, OH	Perkins HS
8	Taylor Wagner	5-8	OH/DS	Fresh	Plymouth, IL	Southeastern HS
.	.	-	-	-	-
21	Kalynn Davis	6-1	MB/RS	Junior	O'Fallon, MO	O'Fallon Christian HS
5	Grace Nichols	5-11	MB	Soph	Lincoln, NE	Lamar University
15	Julianna Schmidt	6-0	MB	Soph	Brookfield, WI	McNeese State
1	Grace Kremer	6-1	MB	Fresh	Elkhorn, NE	Skutt Catholic HS

Key:

Returning Starter or Impact Player
Returning Player
New Transfer Player
New Freshman Player

The Leathernecks have lost a ton of players to both graduation and the transfer portal.  A total of 10 players moved on.  That leaves only 7 returners, however, 5 of them appear to have been starters, including the starting Libero, Setter, two OH and a MB.  Not terrible for balance.  They will sorely miss Bowman and Davis at MB, however.

The departing Ben Staupe seems to have done his replacement Dale Starr a massive solid, in starting a ton of underclassmen last year.  Had he gotten more time, who knows if that would have bourne fruit, but I think it helps Starr this year to have some younger returners with experience.  Especially at Libero and Setter.  Also, I think he is fortunate to have former starting setter Jessie Connell returning for her senior season.  Having a veteran backup is great, or he could easily run a 2-setter system.

Among the 8 newcomers (ARTICLE LINK), I see the two transfer Outsides as potential immediate impact players:

#10 Kennedy Bauer, 5-11 Jr OH

She was part of the previous coach's November recruiting class.  She was a two-time first-team all-region selection at Lincoln Land CC, and was named to the Athletic All-American second team in 2020. Leading the Loggers to three straight appearances in the regional finals, the 5'11" hitter ended her career as Lincoln Land's program leader in career kills (1,104).


#17 Hailey Sperling, 5-10 OH

As a freshman at National champion Parkland JC, she was NJCAA All-Region 24 1st team and All-MWAC First Team.

2022 Non-con Schedule:

date	opponent	RPI	Guess
8/26	@ Montana	225	?
	UC Davis	251	?
	UT-Arlington	214	L
9/2	Wright State	69	L
	Indy State	126	L
	@ Western Mich	110	L
9/8	Montana St	153	L
	Fordham	267	W
9/16	@ Green Bay	224	?
	SIUE	290	W
	Drake	201	L

This is a reasonable schedule for a lower-ranked team with roster turnover and a new coach.  I see anywhere from 2 to 5 wins, with the winnable matches at the beginning and end of the non-con season.

2022 Outlook:

There are a lot of things not going well for this program.  A long history of struggling to be competitive, coach turnover and roster turnover.  That said, it is fortunate that there are some returning starters at critical spots, young ones at that.  MB might go from their strongest position to weakest, but it will probably depend on how quickly the newcomers can get up to speed.  The Outsides could really impove.  Overall, I just think there are too many negatives to predict a quick turnaround.  I think they will struggle to get out of last place this season, but this new coach has an opportunity to start building something with young returners, new players and transfers.  He will need to get some buy-in for good players to stick around, though.

[gooseberry]

Love this - thanks for taking the time to pull this together. Looking forward to watching the Summit League this year!

[raptor patrol]

WIU also lost their other starting middle to either transferring or just leaving college volleyball. I'm interested to see what Starr can do in Macomb. All WIU sports are near the bottom or last in the conference, unfortunately.

[kiyoat]

Finally got around to finishing the Western Illinois piece. On to NDSU....

[kiyoat]

#7 North Dakota State University (NDSU)
"Bison"

Last 5 Years results:

year	all	conf	postseason	coach
2017	19-9	9-5 (#4)	Summit Semifinal	Jennifer Lopez (interim)
2018	9-20	6-10 (#6)	Summit Semifinal	Jennifer Lopez
2019	13-16	8-8 (#5)	Summit Quarterfinal	Jennifer Lopez
2020	10-8	8-8 (#5)	*	Jennifer Lopez
2021	12-18	6-12 (#7)	-	Jennifer Lopez
2022	?	?	?	Jennifer Lopez

* only four teams in 2020

The NDSU Women's Volleyball program has a long and proud history, going all the way back to 1965.  In 1982 they became NCAA D-II, and had a great deal of success through the 80's and 90's in the North Central Conference (NCC), including 28 All-American players, 2 national Coach-of-the-year honors (1988 Cathy (Olson) George/ 1998 Zaundra Bina), 6 NCC COY, 20 NCAA appearances, 8 elite 8 appearances and a final four appearance (1986).  They were a regular in the D-II top-ten polls, especially in the 1986-1992 period, and produced US National Team member (1989-94)and three-time all-american, Janet (Cobbs) Mulholland.

In 2003 they moved up to D-1, and became eligible for post-season play in 2007, when they joined the Summit League.  They had immediate success, finishing 2nd in 2007 followed by four consecutive 1st place finishes 2008-2011, including three NCAA appearances (where they played Minnesota each time).  The early part of that run was under coach Erich Hinterstocker, who was forced to resign in October 2010 amid rumors of verbal abuse of players.  This was followed by six years under coach Kari Thompson, the first of which (2011) earned her Summit COY.  After that, Both Coach Thompson and current coach Jennifer Lopez have had the Bison in the "upper-middle" of the conference, from 3rd to 7th place. 

2021 Recap:

Last season was Coach Lopez's worst in her 5 years, finishing 6-12 in conference play (7th place), missing the conference tournament for the second consecutive year.  Statistically, almost all of their team stats finished in the lower-middle of the conference.  The Bison's blocking was particularly bad, with only 1.77 Blocks/set.  On the bright side, they were 2nd in conference in Service Aces, getting 1.59/set.  This was a team effort, with four or five significant contributors, led by Junior 5-8 DS, Ava Schmoll's 0.35 Aces/set (#5 Summit).

For standout players, 6'-0" Sophomore OH, Ali Hinze tops the list.  She was the featured offensive player, and a 6-rotation hitter.  She led the team in kills (370, #5 Summit), Kills/set (3.43, #5 Summit), Double-doubles (14),  and was 2nd in digs (291) and aces (28) and 4th in blocks (38).  She was named All-Summit for a second year, and was Summit Freshman of the year in 2020.

#7 Ali Hinze

Another standout, 5'-10 Freshman Setter, Raegan Reilly, led the team in Assists (794, 8.76/set #5 Summit), finished 4th in Service Aces (22) and 4th in digs (210), as well as chipping in 53 kills and 30 blocks.  She was named the 2021 Summit Freshman of the Year, giving NDSU two in a row.  Unfortunately for the Bison, she transferred to rival South Dakota State in the offseason.  I would have posted her NDSU roster picture, but the Bison completely removed it from the site.  Salty much?

#2 Raegan Reilly (yes, Bergen's sister)


2022 Roster:
LINK

#	name	ht	pos	class	hometown	prev school
5	Ava Schmoll	5-8	DS	Senior	Forest Lake, MN	Forest Lake HS
6	Taylor Quan	5-6	DS/L	Junior	Brooklyn Park, MN	Osseo HS
10	Logan O'Brien	5-6	DS	Soph	Ft Meyers, FL	North Florida
13	Nora Raasch	5-3	DS	Fresh	Mequon, WI	Homestead HS
-	-	-	-	-	-	-
14	Kelley Johnson	5-10	S	Senior	Eagan, MN	Eagan HS
2	Eke Denessen	5-10	S	Soph	Venlo, Netherlands	South Florida
-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	Ali Hinze	6-0	OH	Senior	Maple Grove, MN	Osseo HS
7	Syra Tanchin	6-1	OH	Junior	St Michael, MN	St Michael-Alb HS
11	Alex Lyle	6-1	OH	Junior	Maplewood, MN	Tartan HS
16	Morgan Middleton	6-0	OH	Soph	Clarion, IA	Clarion-G-D HS
1	Baily Randall	6-2	OH	Fresh	Sioux Falls, SD	Lincoln HS
-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Michelle Glover	5-10	MB	Senior	Wheaton, IL	UIC
9	Alexis Boling	6-0	MB	Soph	Waukesha, WI	Waukesha W HS
17	Allison Scheiwiller	6-2	MB	Junior	Bourbonnais, IL	High Point
18	Ally Barth	6-1	MB	Fresh	Verona, WI	Madison EOSH HS

Key:

Returning Starter or Impact Player
Returning Player
New Transfer Player
New Freshman Player

Losing your Freshman of the Year setter to your rival hurts them a good deal, but on the positive side, they DO return most of their starters and major contributors.  There are also five seniors on this roster.  One of the two transfers IN is in a spot of critical need for the Bison.  How she performs might go a long way to determining their ceiling:


#2 Eke Denessen, 5-10 Setter from South Florida

Played two seasons at South Florida from 2020-21...Appeared in 24 matches and made 13 starts at setter for South Florida in 2021...Ranked second on the team in assists with 262...Notched 20 more or more assists in four matches, including a season-high 38 at Memphis (Oct. 22)...Contributed 100 digs and seven service aces.

Of the incoming freshmen, it looks like 6-1 Ally Barth was the #3 MB coming out of Wisconsin.  They might need her in a position that struggled a bit last year.

2022 non-con Schedule:

date	opponent	RPI	guess
8/26	vs Jackson St	239	W
	@semo	84	L
	vs Ark-Pine Bluff	294	W
9/2	@ Louisiana	213	?
	vs UTSA	161	L
	vs UTRGV	187	?
9/9	Chicago State	176	L
	Central Mich	196	?
	Northern Ariz	198	?
9/16	@ Austin Peay	142	L
	vs UT Martin	195	?
	vs East Tenn St	229	W

This is a good schedule to give the Bison a moderate challenge before the conference season.  Mostly teams that are near the same level as them, so this will be hard to predict.  I have them anywhere from 3 to 8 wins, so let's say they go 6-6.

2022 Outlook:

The Bison need to bounce back from a sub-par 2021 season, and get back to being regulars in the 6-team Summit League Tournament.  They have a lot of returners, and will be led by an experienced group of upper-classmen.  But are they talented enough to improve their station in the conference?  And can they replace Reilly at setter?  I don't see any major upgrades in the pipeline, but they should be a stable group.  So I think experience helps them end up slightly better than they were last season, moving up from a 7th place to 6th place finish.  Sorry, not an exciting revelation.

[kiyoat]

done with NDSU, ... up next (the other) SDSU...

[kiyoat]

#6 South Daktota State University (the "other" SDSU)
"Jackrabbits"



Last 5 Years' Results:

year	overall	conf	postseason	coach
2017	2-25	0-14 (#8)	-	Nicole Cirillo
2018	6-23	3-13 (#8)	-	Nicole Cirillo
2019	6-22	3-13 (#8)	-	Nicole Cirillo
2020	6-11	6-10 (#6)	-*	Dan Georgalas
2021	19-12	10-8 (#6)	Summit Semifinal	Dan Georgalas
2022	?	?	?	Dan Georgalas

*only 4 teams in Summit Tournament in 2020

The SDSU Women's Volleyball program has a shared history with four other Current Summit League Teams: NDSU, North Dakota, South Dakota and Omaha.  All of these teams were long-time members of the Division-2 North Central Conference (NCC).  SDSU's time in that conference 1982-2003 (21 years), departure to D-1, and time joining the Summit League (2007) all mirror NDSU, while USD, UND and UNO all moved up afterward.  So a comparison with NDSU is inevitible.

Compared with NDSU, SDSU's VB program was average in D-II, compiling an all-time NCC record of 130-116.  Their most successful period was from 1997-2002, when they qualified for the postseason in 5 of 6 years, won the 2001 NCC title, and appeared in the 2001 D-II National Championship.  There were two head coaches during that successful period, former Husker All-American Mary Byrne (1993-2000), and Coach Andrew Palilo (2001-2007).  Palilo also coached the Jacks to their first (and last) Summit League Title and D-1 NCAA appearance in 2007, before leaving for Washington State.

Coach Mary Byrne

Coach Andrew Palileo

After that period, the Jacks Volleyball program fell to the bottom of the Summit League, competing annually for last place with Western Illinois for most of that 12 years, going through three head coaches, each with a worse record than the previous.  The current Head Coach, Dan Georgalas (pronounced jor-JAL-iss), seems to have finally gotten the program off the mat.  In just his second season of head coaching, he helped the Jacks to their first winning conference season and postseason appearance in over a decade.  Dan previously was a 7-year assistant coach at Wyoming, and is an alumnus of KU, having played club VB there.

Coach Dan Georgalas

2021 Recap:

The Jacks had their best season in over a decade, going 19-12 (10-8 Summit #6), and qualified for their first Summit League Tournament in the same time-frame.  They also finished the season strong, upsetting 3-seed Denver, and taking 2-seed (and eventual champion) South Dakota to a 5-set semifinal! 

Looking at Team Stats, the Jacks ranked right in the middle of the conference in most major stats, indicating a relatively well-rounded or balanced team effort.  My assumption is that the talent level on the team is below-average for the conference, so this likely points to good coaching.  The only stats that deviate from this are "opponent blocks", and "opponent digs" where they finished second worst in Opp Blk, and 3rd best in Opp Dg.  To me, these stats correlate.  If you are getting blocked more often, your opponent will have less opportunity to rack up dig stats.  I would guess that front row height or skill can contribute, or possibly Setter skill in placing the ball?  Just some guesses (the experts on here can feel free to chime in).

For standout players, 6-rotation 5'-8" Senior OH Crystal Burk tops the list.  In 2021 she led the team in kills (442 #2 Summit) and kills per set (3.75 #4 Summit), and also led the Jacks with 36 service aces.  She ranked second in digs (312) and digs per set (2.64), and was third on the team with 49 blocks.  She posted 16 double-doubles and had at least 10 kills on 25 occasions.  She will be back for a 5th season in 2022.

#9 Crystal Burk

6'-1" Freshman MB Ella Thompson also had a great first season, making the Summit  All-freshman team.  She played in 110 sets and 30 total matches as a freshman with 16 starts, ranked third on the team with 194 kills and 1.75 kills per set.  She led the team with 106 blocks (#4 Summit) including 12 solo rejections.

#4 Ella Thompson

2022 Roster:

#	name	ht	pos	class	hometown	prev school
2	Faith Saewert	5-8	DS	Soph	Woodbury, MN	East Ridge HS
8	Jadyn Makovicka	5-6	DS	Senior	Gretna, NE	Rockhurst
14	Alia Schlimgen	5-5	DS	Fresh	Sauk City, WI	Sauk Prairie HS
-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1	Raegen Reilly	5-10	S	Soph	Sioux Falls, SD	NDSU
13	Carly Wedel	6-1	S	Senior	Willmar, MN	Willmar HS
-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	Masa Scheierman	6-1	OH	Fresh	Aurora, NE	York HS
9	Crystal Burk	5-8	OH	5th	Newnan, GA	Newnan HS
10	Akeela Jefferson	5-10	OH	Senior	Cedar Rapids, IA	Xavier HS
16	Katie Van Egdom	6-2	OH	Fresh	Sioux Falls, SD	SF Christian HS
18	Elyse Winter	6-0	OH	Soph	Cedar Rapids, IA	Xavier HS
-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Ella Thompson	6-1	MB	Soph	Lakeville, MN	Lakeville North HS
11	Anna Nerad	6-0	MB	Senior	Waukesha, WI	Waukesha West HS
12	Annalee Ventling-Brown	6-1	MB	Soph	Lincoln, NE	Lincoln East HS
15	Sydney Andews	6-0	MB	5th	Jesup, IA	Jesup HS

Key:
Returning Starter or Impact Player
Returning Player
New Transfer Player
New Freshman Player

The Jacks lose a few key pieces, notably 3-year starting Libero, Tatum Pickar and grad transfer starting OH, Chloe Stitt.  But overall they have a relatively veteran and balanced roster.  The only incoming transfer this year is 2021 Freshman of the Year Setter Raegan Reilly from NDSU.  The three freshman appear to be ranked well (Schlimgen was the #4 DS from WI, Scheierman was the #8 OH from NE).  Scheierman and 6'2" Katie Van Egdom from Sioux Falls Christian add some size to the hitting corps.  Getting Burk and Thompson back should be impactful.

2022 Non-con Schedule:

date	opponent	RPI	guess
Aug 26	vs UIC	120	?
	@ Northern IL	175	?
	vs NJIT	328	W
Sep 2	Eastern WA*	246	W
	Eastern WA*	246	W
Sep 6	Chicago St*	176	?
Sep 9	vs Samford	202	W
	@ Jacksonville St	91	L
	vs Nicholls St	255	W
Sep 16	@ Iowa	193	W
	vs Northern IA	137	?
	vs North Florida	75	L

* home matches

Given the potential growth of this team, I see them emerging from the non-conference anywhere from 6-6 to 10-2.  I'd guess it is closer to 10-2.

2022 Outlook:

Georgalas seems to be doing all the right things to put the Jacks on a sharply upward trajectory.  Will there be growing pains, or will this be the breakout year they get back into the top-tier of the conference, after more than a decade wandering in the wilderness?  Even without an elite roster or depth, I have to assume they will improve on last year's #6 finish.  With KC possibly having a down year, I think they enter the top-four group.  With their tournament performance last year, I would count them as a darkhorse for the championship. (not my pick, but a championship appearance wouldn't shock me.)  Welcome to the big leagues.

[AmeriCanVBfan]

Great take on NDSU!
Ali Hinze looked pretty good in the spring game against the Gophers.
Unfortunate that they lost some players who could've really helped them this year.

[kiyoat]

#5 Oral Roberts University (ORU)
"Golden Eagles"

[kiyoat]

#4 Kansas City (formerly UMKC)
"Roos"


Last 5 Years' Results:

year	overall	conf	postseason	coach
2017	9-19	5-9	WAC Quarterfinal	Christi Posey
2018	21-11	11-5	WAC Semifinal	Christi Posey
2019	17-12	12-4	WAC Semifinal & NIVC	Christi Posey
2020	13-4	13-3	Summit Semifinal	Christi Posey
2021	21-10	12-6	Summit Quarterfinal	Christi Posey
2022	?	?	?

*only 4 teams in Summit Tournament in 2020

The Kansas City Kangaroos rejoined the Summit League in 2020 after being in the WAC from 2013-2019, and before that the Roos were part of the Summit League. In 2014, they won the WAC title, and since rejoining the Summit League, they've been regular participants in the postseason tournament.  There have been 2 Honorable Mention All-Americans who have come from the Roos program - Melanie Brecka (2020) and Catalina Suarez (1989) - and 2 conference Players of the Year - Melanie Brecka (2020) and Emma Hagedorn (2014). 

The program started back in 1987 with a rough 1-25 season record. The next 10 years were rocky with no winning seasons and 5 different head coaches at the helm. In 1998, Steve Dallman took charge of the team and in 1999, the Kangaroos had their first winning season going 20-14 and finishing 3rd in the conference. Dallman left after the 2005 season, which was followed by a 1-year stint by Coach Chrissy Elder where the team went 7-23 on the season.  Geno Frugoli was the next to arrive and take over the program. He was there for 3 1/2 years and garnished a 35-71 record before resigning during the 2010 season and eventually taking over the head coaching duties at Southeastern Louisiana. After an interim coach stepped in for the remainder of the 2010 season, the current head coach, Christi Posey, arrived on campus.


Coach Geno Frugoli



Coach Christi Posey

Coach Posey started with the Kansas City program in 2011. In her 11-year tenure, the team has compiled a 179-132 record and 9 winning seasons. 2013 was the Roos' first season in the WAC conference, and in 2014, Coach Posey led them to the conference championship and a 17-match winning streak.  That year the team finished the season with a 24-6 record. In 2019, they had their first ever appearance in the NIVC postseason tournament, where they were defeated by UNLV 3-1. In 2020, Kansas City returned back to the Summit League, and Coach Posey has led the team to a top-4 conference finish in the last 2 seasons.

2021 Recap:

The Kangaroos finished the 2021 season with a 21-10 record (12-6 Summit #4), and qualified for the Summit League Tournament, but they were defeated by Oral Roberts in the quarterfinals. During the season, they had some big conference victories over Denver & Omaha and defeated Missouri in the non-conference, who was receiving votes in the AVCA Poll at the time.

Kansas City will surely miss their star in Melanie Brecka, who has since graduated and now playing at Grand Canyon University. Brecka finished her Kangaroo career as the #2 all-time kills leader with 1,431 and 5th in career aces with 113.  Other huge losses include: Alli Schomers (setter), Maddie Renn (libero) and Defensive Player of the Year in the Summit League, De'Janae Arnold (middle). All 4 of these losses were 1st Team All-Conference last season.


Melanie Brecka

Looking to step up this season will be 5'10" OH Odyssey Warren and 6'2" OH Raina Smith. Last season they averaged 2.44 kills per set & 2.45 kills per set, respectively. For the setting duties, we'll likely see senior Kennedy Schritenthal in that role this season, but freshman Sydney Henry could make waves here. She played in every set last season as a backrow specialist. For the backrow, the Roos will likely look to sophomore Leah Green to step into that libero role this season, being that she has DS experience from last year, but there are also a couple freshman that could win that spot as well.  Georgia Mullins, who transferred in from Colorado College, will help fill the hole from Arnold.  During her stint with the Tigers, Mullins racked up 1,018 career kills and nearly 300 career blocks.  She was the conference player of the year the previous 2 seasons and has won numerous All-American and All-Conference awards in DIII.


Georgia Mullins

Ultimately, this 2022 team will look relatively brand new after losing some very key contributors, so it'll be interesting to see how Coach Posey gets these girls ready to compete this season.

2022 Roster:
LINK

#	name	ht	pos	class	hometown	prev school
1	Blair Taylor	5' 2"	DS	Fresh	Atchinson, KS	Maur Hill-Mount Academy
9	Mckenzie Moburg	5' 6"	DS	Fresh	Leavenworth, KS	Lansing HS
12	Leah Green	5' 6"	DS/L	Soph	Fate, TX	Rockwall-Heath HS
-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	Peyton Van Nest	5' 10"	S	Senior	Fenton, MO	Lutheran South HS
5	Sydney Henry	5' 11"	S	Fresh	Sterling, CO	Sterling HS
6	Kennedy Schritenthal	5' 9"	S	Senior	Southaven, MS	Desoto Central HS
-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	Odyssey Warren	5' 10"	OH	Junior	Kansas City, MO	Lee's Summit West HS
4	Emma Crouch	5' 11"	OH/RS	Junior	Elk Horn, NE	Elkhorn HS
7	Bree Thompson	6' 0"	OH	Senior	Cedar Falls, IA	Janesville HS
10	Devynn Day	6' 0"	OH	Soph	Geneva, IL	Geneva HS
11	Nyle Mathis	5' 7"	OH	Fresh	Wylie, TX	Wylie East HS
15	Raina Smith	6' 2"	OH	Senior	Davenport, IA	Davenport Central HS
-	-	-	-	-	-	-
13	Carly Gillen	6' 1"	MB	Junior	Monmouth, IL	Monmouth-Roseville HS
14	Kimora Whetstone	5' 9"	MB	Fresh	Indianapolis, IN	Lawrence North HS
17	Georgia Mullins	5' 11"	MB	Grad	Olathe, KS	Colorado College
18	Rachel Sturdevant	5' 11"	MB	Senior	Kansas City, MO	NW Missouri State

Key:
Returning Starter or Impact Player
Returning Player
New Transfer Player
New Freshman Player

2022 Non-con Schedule:

date	opponent	RPI	guess
8/26	Miami (OH)	257	W
	Western Kentucky	19	L
	@bradley	116	?
9/2	Ohio	146	?
	@tulane	136	L
	Howard	203	W
9/7	Kansas	31	L
9/9	Northern Illinois	175	W
	Wichita State	71	L
9/14	Kansas State	54	L
9/16	Missouri State	119	L
	Iowa State	56	L
	@st Louis	189	W

This is a fairly challenging non-conference schedule for the Kangaroos, who are looking to rebuild after all of the lost talent from last season.  I think they'll finish with anything from 3-7 wins, depending on how competitive they can be.

2022 Outlook:

There are a ton of question marks for this team.  Who will step up as the leader? Who takes over at setter and at libero? Can Mullins make as big of an impact in DI as she did in DIII? Ultimately, I think this will be a rebuilding season for the Roos and will likely finish around 6th in conference this year behind USD, Omaha, Denver, SDSU and ORU.



PS: Huge thank-you to vballfan17 for putting this entry together!