JESSICA WILCOX

My final preview on returning players ends with a senior defensive specialist Jessica Wilcox.  Jessica has spent the past two seasons playing back row for the beaver volleyball team.  She is an extremely hard worker and has a natural ability to read the ball.  Jessica was moved around a little this past season as she started playing middle back and finished the season in the left back.  Jessica has one of the best passing efficiencies on the team.  She is extremely accurate with her passing and digs so well.  I felt like we found a nice spot for Jessica in the left back as it is a position that requires the athlete to be in the right place and has the highest percentage of balls attacked at it.  She adjusted so well to her new position and finished in the top 10 in the conference in digs for this season.  Jessica currently ranks at the top of the BVU stat board in digs in a season with 592.  I look forward to having Jessica back for her senior season, she has been working hard in the off season and I feel this will really improve her quickness and ability to get to the tough ball faster.
Jessica's Fun Facts



Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( February 22, 2007 10:42 AM ) Permalink | Comments[0]

BETSY BEHRENS

This weeks player profile features Libero Betsy Behrens. Betsy will be a senior next season in her final year playing volleyball for the Beavers.  Betsy has spent the past few seasons being moved all over the place on the court.  She has played outside hitter for me, defensive specialist, most recently the libero position, I have even thrown her in the middle during practice.  Betsy is a very versitile player who has tons of athletic ability.  I think using Betsy in the libero postion best suits the kind of player she is.  She reacts well, and then has the ability to recover if she does happen to make the mistake of going the wrong direction.  It has been an absolute plaeasure to coach Betsy, she is a hard worker and always leads by example.  The Beaver volleyball team is going to be so lucky to have Betsy back next season, not only for her exciting style of play but for the leadership I think she will bring as a veteren player.  I think Betsy's senior season looks to be her most exciting season yet.

BETSY'S FUN FACTS
Hometown/High School: Marathon    Laurens-Marathon
 Parents: Mike and JoAnn Behrens
 Position: libero/outside
 Major:  Spanish and Communication
Favorites: people that i like...nice animals...ozzy...bananas...CHOCOLATE!!....workout apparel...the internet...winning things on ebay!!....money from grandma....volleyball...funny movies
   TV Show: the office...house..
   Food: bananas, chocolate, waffles, toaster stroodles, count chocula, green beans from the garden,
   Class: senior  

   Something fun about yourself: EVERYTHING! not enough time in the day to list all the intricate, exciting details of my existence
       well..maybe ozzy..since hes fun and hes my pet...therefore making me fun

Greatest Volleyball Moment (can be high school or college):
i dont remember a greatest volleyball moment...i enjoy when i make a save and people clap though..thats always fun and exciting!  oo, or when we had this girl on our high school team who welted up easily..and i hit her in the face with a ball and it said "tachikara" on her forehead..woot woot!!

Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( February 13, 2007 01:41 PM ) Permalink | Comments[2]

AMANDA BUDDEN

Amanda Budden is a freshman outside hitter from Granville, Iowa.  Amanda came to the program with a lot of very strong fundamentals.  This really helped her out early on, because she was able to add to her skills so quickly.  Amanda spent the majority of the season playing on the junior varsity team.  Amanda came to practice everyday and worked her tail off.  I never wondered if she was putting in 100% because it was so evident in how she went about practice.  It was fun to see Amanda come along this season.  I feel her strength lies in her hitting abilities.  Amanda has a knack for cutting the ball on an outside attack, her power came along by the end of the season and I really noticed how effectively she was able to put the ball down towards the end of the year.  Amanda's weakness lies in her quickness-she has been working hard in the off season to gain the quickness she needs to be a strong side hitter at the collegiate level.  I feel Amanda has a bright future as a beaver volleyball player!!

Amanda Budden's Fun Facts
Name: Amanda Lynn Budden
Hometown/High School: Granville, IA/Spalding Catholic
Parents: Kevin and Jan Budden
Position:Outside Hitter
Major: Graphic Design
Favorites:
   TV Show: Friends, O.C., One Tree Hill (I couldn?t pick between the threeJ)
   Movie: Coyote Ugly
   Food: Chicken
   Class: Math
   Color: Pink 

Something about yourself: In the summer I enjoy going camping with my family at Okoboji and boating all day!

 Greatest Volleyball Moment (high school): My greatest volleyball moment was my junior year when we were playing George Little Rock in the district final game and we went into 5 games. I got the last kill the fifth game to win!

Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( February 06, 2007 01:08 PM ) Permalink | Comments[0]

KELLI LUITJENS

Hailing from Worthington, Kelli is my only Minnesota girl on the team! (there is no special treatment cause I am from Minnesota!)  Kelli is a freshman middle hitter.  She earned a starting spot on the varsity team this year and held that position all season long.  Kelli is a natural athlete, who is a true middle blocker, she stepped into the postion and took control early on.  Kelli never played like a freshman and I felt like we had experience at that position all year long.  She finished in the top 10 in hitting percentage with a .257 efficiency.  Kelli worked hard all season to improve on her blocking and it worked.  Her footwork improved immensly and her ability to read the ball became second nature.  Kelli is a quick enough middle hitter to adjust to a mistake.  She is an extremely hard worker and is a very dedicated athlete.  It is exciting to watch Kelli work in the middle because she has the ability to go both left and right and she reads the block well and knows when to tip and roll shot.  With the skills she posses now and a few more years of experience under her belt she looks to be a player to watch, not only on the Beaver roster but in the Iowa Conference as well. 

Kelli's Fun Facts
 Hometown/High School: Worthington, MN/Worthington
 Parents: Steve and Tracy Luitjens
 Position: Middle
 Major: Social Science Secondary Education, Spanish
Favorites:
   TV Show: Desperate Housewives
   Movie: Rat Race
   Food: Mashed Potatoes
   Class: History
   Color: Green

Something fun about yourself: hopefully everything! haha. I just try to live life one day at a time!

 
Greatest Volleyball Moment (can be high school or college): having an awesome kill against Central to end the 3rd game...the crowd went wild! haha

Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( January 29, 2007 09:06 AM ) Permalink | Comments[1]

KELSI BUSTAD

 Kelsi is a freshman defesnsive specialist from Granger Iowa. She spent her season as a JV backrow player, and it was extremely impressive to watch Kelsi improve every single day.  She received the most improved award this season for the the JV team and it was an award that she truely did earn.  This is an athlete who came to practice everyday and worked so hard.  Not only did Kelsi get better at her position I feel like she really gained an understanding of the game of volleyball.  Early on her mistakes came because she wasn't reading the ball or wouldn't know where the ball was going to be.  By the end of the season I felt like her mistakes where just technical and things that she continued to improve on.  Her court sense improved so much and I think if she continues to improve in the technical area she is going to continue to grow as a player.  Kelsi is a really fun kid to have around and she brings the spirit of the team up just by her presence.  I look forward to seeing how much Kelsi will improve the next few seasons.

Kelsi Bustad's Fun Facts
Hometown: Granger, IA   Woodward Granger High School
Parents: Bob and Julie Bustad
Position:  Backrow
Major:  Elementry Education
TV Show:  Friends
Food:  anything unhealthy
Color: Brown

Something fun about me:   Favorite animals are Giraffes, I love to get pedicures, love the smell of burning leaves and gasoline

Greatest Moment:  When our team won and became district champs for the first time in about 10 years or more!  it was my senior year

Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( January 22, 2007 11:06 AM ) Permalink | Comments[0]

CARA KREMAN

Our next profile features Cara Kreman, she is a freshman defensive specialist/libero from Tipton, Iowa.  Cara is a very controlled player, she has a knack for reading hitters and seems to be in the right place at the right time more often than not.  It has been fun to watch Cara become a better backrow player over this past season.  She did a very nice job stepping in at many different postions in the backrow and really seems comfortable in most of them.   I think Cara has alot of potential and hasn't even realized how good she could be.  Cara's court sense is outstanding, she needs to work on her quickness and movement to the ball, her biggest downfall is being out of position when she passes and digs.  It is something I am excited to see Cara improve on because it will really make her an extremely strong player.  This is another athlete I am excited to see dedicate herself to the sport of volleyball, because I think with the right dedication and attitude Cara can be a major contributor for the Beaver Volleyball Program!

Cara's Fun Facts

 Hometown/High School: Tipton, Iowa/Tipton
 Parents:Shawn and Trisha Kreman
 Position: Libero/DS
 Major: Graphic Design/Publication design
Favorites:
   TV Show:Miami Ink
   Movie:Scooby Doo the movie
   Food:chicken strips
   Class:aces..if you count that as a class but if not then...
   Color: Blue 

Something fun about yourself:make people laugh with my dancing at games

Greatest Volleyball Moment (can be high school or college):breaking my record that i set my junior year. And getting the record for the most digs in a game.(44)

Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( January 15, 2007 12:01 PM ) Permalink | Comments[1]

LYNDSEY LARSEN

My apologies to anyone who has been reading my blogs....not sure if there is anyone out there.  But I intended to write up a blog last week and just didn't get to it.  But now we are back in full swing with the player profiles. 

     This week we will be looking at Lyndsey Larsen.  Lyndsey is a freshman from Harlan, Iowa.  We started out the season throwing a little wrench into Lyndsey's game.  We started the year by putting her in the middle blocking position.  Lyndsey did a really nice job of working hard and trying to learn a new postition. To start with Lyndsey is left-handed, which makes it more difficult for her to play the middle hitter position.  After a few different line-ups we decided Lyndsey was better suited to play the right-side again.  It was a tough position to be in because we had Kristen Staiert (2 time 1st team all conference player) on the rightside.  Lyndsey spent the second half of the season playing rightside on the JV team and going in at Middle, Left and Right side positions on the varsity.  I feel like Lyndsey did a really nice job being thrown into so many different positions.  I look forward to having Lyndsey on the right side consistantly.  Lyndsey really improved from start to finish this season. Her blocking is where I saw a lot of improvement.  She started doing a really nice job of  tracking the ball and then really timing it well and getting up and finishing the block.  I think Lyndsey is an extremly strong player, both physically and mentally, she can play both front and back row and her hitting decision making got so much better by the end of the season.  Lyndsey has an extremely bright future as a Beaver volleyball player-look for great things from Lyndsey in the future!!

Lyndsey's Fun Facts

Hometown/High School:  Harlan/Harlan Community High School
Parents:  Chris and Joni Larsen
Position:  Right-side hitter
Major:  undecided (education?)

Favorites:
TV Show:  One Tree Hill
Movie:  The Notebook
Food:  Ice Cream
Class:  Math
Color:  Blue
Something fun about yourself:  I have a pet cow named Snowball???

Greatest Volleyball Moment (can be high school or college):  Qualifying for state for the first time in school history my junior year, and again my senior year when we beat Kuemper in 3 (we had lost to them in 5 earlier).

Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( January 08, 2007 09:46 PM ) Permalink | Comments[0]

Happy Holidays!

I just wanted to take this time to wish everyone a happy holiday season!  Over the course of Christmas break I am going to put my blogging on hold so I can spend time at home and not worry about rushing to blog.  I hope everyone has is ready to eat lots of Christmas goodies and spend time with family and friends. 
   Thanks for reading the blogs and for all of the support over the past two seasons.  I feel blessed to be at Buena Vista University and have such outstanding young women to work with everyday.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 


Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( December 12, 2006 01:03 PM ) Permalink | Comments[0]

LIZ AUFFERT

Our second profile will feature freshman middle hitter Liz Auffert.  Liz has an outstanding career ahead of her at BVU.  She has an awesome opportunity with the skills she came to BV with and we have been working hard to iron out some fundamental concerns.  Liz has a real knack for blocking, and with some more experience and hard work she could be one of BV's best blockers.  We worked alot on timing and arm swing this season and I feel over the course of the next few years if Liz continues to work hard and dedicate herself to becoming great she could definately be great!  She has a really nice vertical and her foot speed when she hits and blocks is hands down the strongest we have.    Liz saw a little time on varsity this season, but mostly JV.  She really improved from week 1 until the end of the season, and I really saw major improvements over the last 2 weeks of season. It will be really fun to see the places Liz can go with her volleyball career.

LIZ'S FUN FACTS

 Hometown/High School:Stanton/Stanton High School
 Parents:Russ and Janet Morrison
 Position:Middle Hitter
 Major:Sports Management
Favorites:
   TV Show:Grey's Anatomy
   Movie:Top Gun
   Food:Pizza
   Class:History
   Color:Blue

Something fun about yourself: I have two sisters, one is 23 and one is 7!

Greatest Volleyball Moment (can be high school or college):In high school we were one game away from state my junior and senior year, my greatest moment was I served the last point against farragut who is stantons rival and it went off the arms of their best player!

Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( December 08, 2006 01:30 PM ) Permalink | Comments[0]

MOLLY REUTER

The first Beaver profile will be featuring Molly Reuter.  Molly is a sophomore from LeMars, IA.  She is a 2 year starter for the Beavers playing the Setter position.  Molly has an unbelievable amount of potential, and I feel her decision making skills on the court are getting better everyday.  When Molly was a freshman and even part of this past season she played a bit more timid than I would have liked her too.  However, toward the end of the season I really liked what I saw.  Molly took real control of the court, I found her to really be a leader in every sense of the word.  Early in the season I would always have Molly looking towards the bench in hesitation and I feel this really went away by the end of the season.  I found Molly to be not only making decisions on the court on her own, she was making really good decisions and she really found the confidence in her own game.  One major improvement that we really saw with Molly was her ability to play outstanding defense!!  Molly came up very big for us in some huge games defensively.  It will be really great to have Molly back for her Junior and Senior season.

Molly’s Fun Facts:

Parent:  Lisa Reuter
Position:  Setter
Major:  Social Science Education 

Favorites:

  TV Show:  One Tree Hill
  Movie:  The Notebook
  Food:  Chicken Parmesan
  Class:  Any history class
  Color:  Blue

Something fun about yourself:  I'm going to Peru and Ecuador over j-term this year. 

Greatest Volleyball Moment:  Beating Simpson...twice!

Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( December 03, 2006 08:27 PM ) Permalink | Comments[0]

Player Profiles

Starting December 4th I will be featuring one volleyball player per week to blog about.  The girls have been asked questions and I will also be adding coaches notes on each player.  This will hopefully be a fun way for people to get to know the Beaver Volleyball Team!  ENJOY THE READING!

Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( November 30, 2006 09:42 AM ) Permalink | Comments[0]

IIAC Conference Tournament

We are really excited to be playing the conference tournament this year.  The entire conference race came down to the last night of playing and it looks to be just as exciting this weekend at the tournament.  Our first match is at 4:30 on friday vs. Wartburg.  We have played Wartburg two times this season already. The first match-up was as a tournament at Simpson.  Wartburg won in 5 games, each game came down to the end and it was an exciting finish.  The most recent match vs. Wartburg finished a little better for the Beavers.  We beat the Knight in three games, the match was very intense and each game was a dog fight.  I would expect nothing less at the conference tournament.  The winner of our match vs. Wartburg will play Simpson at 7:30 on friday!  

Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( November 02, 2006 12:05 PM ) Permalink | Comments[0]

Two games to finish out the conference season!

2 conference matches to close out regular season... [Read More]

Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( October 24, 2006 11:17 AM ) Permalink | Comments[0]

Big win for the Beavers!

The beavers had two big conference wins vs. Cornell College and Simpson College.  As of late we have been playing really well and after a conference win over a good Cornell team we went into the weekend prior to our conference match vs. Simpson and first played UW-River Falls falling 3-0 then facing Wartburg and falling 2-3.  We improved a ton from game to game on the weekend and when it came to Saturday I felt like we were really playing at the top of our game.  We defeated Simpson in 4 games and Webster College in 3 games.  Then we had a difficult task of turning around and playing Simpson right away again in a conference match.  We were fortunate to have a home match and defeated the Storm in 4 games.  We are looking forward to a really big weekend in Minnesota where we play 4 nationally ranked opponents.  St. Thomas, Concordia (MN), St. Ben's, and Carleton.  GO BEAVERS!

Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( October 04, 2006 01:32 PM ) Permalink | Comments[1]

Beaver volleyball has a weekend off!

After 4 weeks without a break the beaver volleyball team finally has a weekend off.  We have been struggling  as of late trying to find the best rotation and working to get a win.  After a tough match against Central (5 games) we had a rough weekend at the St. Ben's tournament going 1-3.  There were some nice teams there and we ran into some really good competition.  But I felt like we really didn't play our style of volleyball.  We then went on the road to Coe and went down three straight games.  We were hoping to go into our weekend off with a win against Martin Luther College but after another 5 game battle we came out on the losing end. 
     I am confident that we are ready to bounce back after our little break and hopefully come back refreshed and ready to play our game. 
Go BEAVERS!


Posted by Kruse [Volleyball] ( September 22, 2006 09:44 AM ) Permalink | Comments[0]