2015-2016
Vo l l ey b a l l
Volleyball
KRISTINA FULTZ BRYANNA JAY
2015 Quick Facts General
School Name.........................................Wittenberg University Location............................................. Springfield, Ohio 45501 Founded..........................................................................1845 Enrollment......................................................................1,900 Nickname......................................................................Tigers Home Facility..........Pam Evans Smith Arena (HPER Center) Capacity.........................................................................3,000 National Affiliation...................................... NCAA Division III Conference.......................... North Coast Athletic Conference President................................................ Laurie Joyner, Ph.D. Alma Mater.................Loyola University New Orleans, 1986 Athletics Director....................................... Dr. Gary Williams Alma Mater...................................................Carthage, 1996 Athletics Phone............................................. (937) 327-6458
Coaching Staff
Head Coach..................................................... Paco Labrador Alma Mater........................................................ Hiram, 1995 E-mail........................................... flabrador@wittenberg.edu Record at Wittenberg.........................377-59 (2003-present) Career Record............................................................... Same Assistant Coach........................................... Hallie Donathan Alma Mater................................................ Wittenberg, 2013 Volleyball Office............................................. (937) 327-6492 Athletic Trainer................................................. Ellen Crosbie Assistant Athletic Trainer............................... Molly Hopkins Assistant Athletic Trainer.............................Greg Schneider
Volleyball History
EMILY KAHLIG
First Year.............................................Records begin in 1979 All-Time Record.............................................. 864-386 (.691) NCAC Regular Season Championships...........................20 NCAC Tournament Championships..................................20 NCAA Tournament Appearances......................................20 Last NCAA Tournament Appearance............................2014 Result.................................. W, 3-0 vs. Cabrini (First Round) .............................. W, 3-1 vs. Mount Union (Second Round) .............................. L, 2-3 at Hope (Regional Championship)
Team Information
2014 Overall Record........................................................29-4 2014 NCAC Record (Finish) . .................................. 8-0 (1st) Letterwinners Returning....................................................12 Courtney Huck, Melissa Emming, Bryanna Jay, Kristina Fultz, Kara Seidenstricker, Emily Kahlig, Callan Swaim, Camila Quiñones, Jenny Lehman, Maddie Fischer
Letterwinners Lost...............................................................3 Kiah Murray, Meghan Vodopich, Brooke Barney, Maria Froendhoff
Starters Returning.....................................................4+libero Kara Seidenstricker, Bryanna Jay, Camila Quiñones, Kendall Farmer, Kristina Fultz
Starters Lost......................................................................1 Meghan Vodopich
Find the Tigers on Facebook www.facebook.com/ wittenbergathletics
MELISSA EMMING
CREDITS: Photography by university photographer Erin Pence ‘04 and Dave Kniffin.
Coaching Staff Head Coach Paco Labrador Wittenberg head coach Paco Labrador has won with more regularity than almost any other active NCAA coach. His career winning percentage of .865 in 12 seasons at the helm of the Tigers ranks first in all of NCAA Division III and second across all divisions. Overall, his sparkling career record stands at 377-59. Thirty-one of those wins have come in NCAA Division III Tournament play, including a dominating run to the 2011 national championship. Labrador’s postseason record in 12-straight trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament is 31-11 and includes 10 appearances in regional championship matches, three consecutive trips to the national semifinals between 2005 and 2007 and the university’s first NCAA title in any sport in 34 years in 2011, which was the first NCAA women’s volleyball title for any Ohio school. In 2007, Wittenberg put together an undefeated regular season, going 32-0, to set new standards for North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) programs. The momentum continued into the postseason as the Tigers picked up two more conference tournament wins and four NCAA Division III Tournament wins before losing to the eventual national champion Washington University in the national semifinals. During the unbeaten streak, Wittenberg won 17 consecutive matches without dropping a single game and posted a consecutive games streak of 54 in a row, which ranks No. 2 in NCAA Division III history. While the 2011 regular season didn’t measure up to the 2007 standards, the Tigers heated up at just the right time, ripping off six NCAA Division III Tournament victories (against five nationally-ranked opponents) while dropping just a single set. After the season, Labrador was named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Coach of the Year, a piece of hardware that now sits alongside Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year awards earned in 2004 and 2007 and NCAC Coach of the Year awards earned in 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2013. Under Labrador’s guidance, 14 Tiger student-athletes have garnered AllAmerica accolades, including the most highly-decorated athlete in Wittenberg history, Sarah Yuskewich, who holds the Division III record for assists in a season and was a three-time, first-team All-America honoree. The Tigers have dominated the NCAC under Labrador’s training. The Red and White have amassed a phenomenal 138-2 record in conference play under
Labrador and have hoisted 11 regular-season championship trophies and 11 conference-tournament trophies. In addition, Wittenberg has won five NCAA Division III Tournament Regional crowns during that time. Wittenberg has not only excelled on the court but also in the classroom under Labrador’s guidance. The Tigers have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award, given to teams that cumulatively average a 3.3 grade point average or higher, 10 times since Labrador took the position in 2003. Additionally, eight Wittenberg players have earned CoSIDA Academic All-District awards, with Emily Bell, Kimmie Dyer and Kara Seidenstricker going on to claim Academic All-America honors (Bell: second-team in 2007; Dyer: third-team in 2011; Seidenstricker: third-team in 2013). The Tigers have even found success internationally during Labrador’s career. In the summers of 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013, the Wittenberg volleyball team competed in Spain. Labrador and his father, Jose, led the team on educational and cultural tours in historic towns and cities on off-days between competition dates against semi-pro and professional teams. Not surprisingly, each season following a team trip to Spain, the Tigers found tremendous levels of success. The 2004 season resulted in a then program-best 35-3 overall record, with Labrador earning his first NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year honors. Those achievements were topped in 2007 with an NCAA final four appearance and in 2010 and 2013, the Tigers were stopped only by No. 1-ranked Calvin, which went on to win the national title each year. The community has benefited from the Tiger coach during the annual Wittenberg Fall Classic, which Labrador introduced in 2005. That year, Labrador organized a clothing drive in conjunction with the tournament in which participating teams and fans made donations to Hurricane Katrina victims. In 2007, the event focused on breast cancer awareness as Labrador provided pink warm-up shirts for all the teams and contributed profits from the tournament to the American Cancer Society. Labrador graduated from Hiram College, a member of the NCAC along with Wittenberg, in 1995 with degrees in psychology and exercise and sport science. He also holds a master of science from Miami University in sport studies, which he earned in 1997. He came to Wittenberg after four years as an assistant coach at Miami (Ohio) University, where he was active in all phases of the program, including scouting and game preparation, recruiting, skill development and summer camps. Labrador and his wife Jill, a Title 1 Intervention Coach, reside in Yellow Springs with their daughters, Olivia and Isabel.
Assistant Coach Hallie Donathan Hallie Donathan was named the full-time assistant coach of Wittenberg volleyball in 2014 after helping the Tigers to their fourth consecutive NCAA Division III Regional Championship match in her first year on the coaching staff as a volunteer in 2013. In addition to coaching the Tigers in 2013, Donathan helped lead the New Carlisle Tecumseh High School volleyball team to a 14-10 overall record and 5-5 mark in
the Central Buckeye Conference. A four-year letterwinner as a setter for the Tigers, Donathan climbed to eighth in the program’s record for career assists after leading the team in the category as a senior and team captain in 2012. In 2011, she ranked eighth in the North Coast Athletic Conference in assists per set as she played a key role in the Tigers’ run to their first-ever NCAA Division III national championship. Donathan, a 2009 graduate of Tippecanoe High School in Tipp City, Ohio, earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Wittenberg in 2013.
Head Coaching Ledger Name Year(s) Matches Wins Losses Pct. Dottie Lemieux 1979-82 108 36 72 .333 A.D. Rodrigo 1983 23 12 11 .522 Jim Orr 1984-85 64 32 32 .500 Fran Ralson 1986 32 11 21 .344 Paul Gibboney 1987-88 65 34 31 .523 Cynthia Holliday 1989-93 175 109 66 .623 Connie Surowicz 1994-02 347 253 94 .729 Paco Labrador 2003-present 436 377 59 .865 Totals 1979-present 1217 835 382 .686
2015-2016 VOLLEYBALL
A HISTORY OF SUCCESS
4
NCAA FINAL FOUR APPEARANCES
4
INTERNATIONAL SUMMER TOURS
2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2011
Conducted Every Three Years 2004 • 2007 • 2010 • 2013 • NEXT TRIP: 2016
TEAM ACADEMIC 12 AVCA AWARDS TOURNAMENT 20 NCAA APPEARANCES
Best in the North Coast Athletic Conference
18 NCAC PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
1992 • 1993 • 1995 • 1997 (2) • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2007 • 2008 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014
33 AVCA ALL-AMERICANS
9 First Team • 8 Second Team 8 Third Team • 8 Honorable Mention
RANKED IN AVCA 147 WEEKS TOP 10 Fifth All-Time Among NCAA Division III Programs
CAREER WIN .865 LABRADOR PERCENTAGE Best Among Active NCAA Division III Coaches Second Among Active Coaches Across All NCAA Divisions
2011 NATIONAL
CHAMPIONS!
Athletics Facilities
ROSENCRANS FITNESS CENTER
PAM EVANS SMITH ARENA
Wittenberg Athletics Facilities Wittenberg’s athletics facilities are a unique blend of old and new, providing opportunities for a wide variety of recreational and fitness activities. The Health, Physical Education and Recreation Center (HPERC) is the centerpiece of the complex and hub of activity throughout the year. The main unit can be converted to three full-sized basketball courts or three volleyball courts. It seats 3,000 spectators for intercollegiate athletic events, and 4,300 for concerts and other public events. A second unit houses four racquetball courts with an upper balcony for instruction and two golf practice rooms with state-of-the-art equipment. Wittenberg’s Natatorium features a 25-meter by 25-yard swimming pool with one- and three-meter diving boards and a spectator viewing area. The Kremchek Family Athletic Training Room was completed in 2012 and includes more than 2,000 square feet of space and the latest in training equipment. The HPERC also includes the historic Wittenberg Field House, home to Tiger teams since 1929, the Heinzen Strength Center, and the Bob Rosencrans Hall of Honor Fitness Center, which was built in 2005. The strength center and the fitness center house the latest in training equipment to accommodate the wide range of needs of the entire campus. Edwards-Maurer Field and Earl F. Morris Track were renovated in 2005. EdwardsMaurer Field features an artificial playing surface and Earl F. Morris Track is a 400-meter
track outfitted with a cutting-edge surface. The entire complex is lighted, and serves as home to the Tiger football, track, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s lacrosse teams. The David and Georgiana Albright Tennis Complex was completed in 1997. It houses 12 tennis courts that were re-surfaced in 2012. Six of the courts are lighted, including two sunken center courts with space for seating. Situated a few blocks from campus are Bill Edwards Field, which offers playing and practice fields, and Betty Dillahunt Field, home of the Tiger softball team. Less than two miles from campus is Carleton Davidson Stadium, which opened in 2004 and is the home of Tiger baseball. Owned and maintained by the City of Springfield, Carleton Davidson Stadium has seating capacity of 1,061, nearly half of which is under cover, a media center, locker rooms with showers and secured storage. The Tigers share the facility with the Champion City Kings, a collegiate summer baseball franchise that started play in the Prospect League in 2014. In 2014, Wittenberg embarked on an upgrade of its athletics facilities, with the commitment to build a new indoor multipurpose athletics and recreation facility. Once completed, the facility will provide year-round opportunities that will benefit the entire campus community, including varsity athletic teams, club teams and intramural sports.
EDWARDS-MAURER FIELD
HPER CENTER NATATORIUM
CARLETON DAVIDSON STADIUM
2015-2016 VOLLEYBALL
8/29 8/30 8/30 9/5 9/6 9/6 9/12 9/12 9/13 9/13 9/20 9/24 9/27 9/27 9/30 10/2 10/7 10/11 10/11 10/17 10/18 10/24 10/25 10/25 10/31 11/1 11/1 11/7 11/8 11/8 11/13 11/14 11/15
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
HOPE % JOHNS HOPKINS % ST. THOMAS (MINN.) % vs. Wheaton # vs. SouthWestern # at Washington (Mo.) # CALVIN & HEIDELBERG & JUNIATA & OHIO NORTHERN & at Wooster* at Ohio Wesleyan * vs. Transylvania vs. Bluffton (at Transylvania) KENYON * at Denison * DePauw * WASHINGTON AND LEE JOHN CARROLL at Mount Union at Oberlin HIRAM * ALLEGHENY * MARIETTA at Trinity (TX) vs. Hardin-Simmons (at Trinity) vs Randolph-Macon (at Trinity) WOOSTER + OHIO WESLEYAN + DEPAUW + CABRINI $ vs. Mount Union $ vs. Hope $
L, 3-1 W, 3-0 W, 3-1 W, 3-0 W, 3-0 L, 3-2 W, 3-0 W, 3-1 L, 3-2 W, 3-1 W, 3-0 W, 3-1 W, 3-0 W, 3-0 W, 3-0 W, 3-2 W, 3-1 W, 3-0 W, 3-0 W, 3-1 W, 3-0 W, 3-1 W, 3-0 W, 3-0 W, 3-2 W, 3-0 W, 3-1 W, 3-0 W, 3-0 W, 3-1 W, 3-0 W, 3-1 L, 3-2
2014 Season North Coast Athletic Conference REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS
* NCAC Match • % Wittenberg National Invitational # Washington University National Invitational • & Wittenberg Fall Classic • + NCAC Tournament • $ NCAA Tournament
POSTSEASON AWARDS
All-NCAC: First Team – Kara Seidenstricker, Meghan Vodopich Second Team – Emily Kahlig, Camila Quinones Player of the Year - Kara Seidnestricker Coach of the Year - Paco Labrador NCAC All-Tournament Team: Kara Seidenstricker (MVP), Meghan Vodopich, Kiah Murray All-Great Lakes Region (AVCA): First Team - Kara Seidenstricker, Emily Kahlig Honorable Mention - Meghan Vodopich All-America (AVCA): First Team- Kara Seidenstricker Third Team- Emily Kahlig Academic All-District (CoSIDA): First Team - Kara Seidenstricker Academic All-America (CoSIDA): First Team - Kara Seidenstricker NCAC Scholar-Athlete Award: Meghan Vodopich
The Tigers flew to Madrid on May 25, 2013, starting a 12-day trip to Spain which included matches against top Spanish competition and numerous educational and cultural opportunities in Toledo, Segovia, Valencia and Soria. The team goes once every 3 years, the next trip to Spain will be in May of 2016. Head Coach Paco Labrador’s philosophy stresses extracurricular and cultural development: “Every studentathlete who comes through our program will have the opportunity to travel abroad once in their four years, which is something we’re very proud of at Wittenberg.”
In 2014-2015, the Wittenberg Tigers... • Won 5 North Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championships in football, volleyball, women’s lacrosse and men’s & women’s golf. • Finished in the top 5 in the final North Coast Athletic Conference standings in 16 of 23 sports • Finished 4th in the final standings for the NCAC Dennis Collins Memorial All-Sports Trophy • Earned 10 NCAC Player / Performer of the Year trophies • Earned 3 NCAC Coach of the Year trophies • Placed 100 student-athletes on All-North Coast Athletic Conference teams • Placed 20 student-athletes on All-Region teams and 9 on All-America teams • Earned 1 CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America awards • Finished 48th in the NACDA Director’s Cup (NCAA Division III all-sports comparison) thanks to postseason appearances by 5 teams
2015 Season 2015 Volleyball Schedule
9/1 at Otterbein
5:00 PM
9/4 ST. THOMAS %
7:30 PM
9/5 JOHNS HOPKINS %
9/5 JUNIATA
10:00 AM 5:30 PM
9/11 vs. Lynchburg #
5:00 PM
9/11 at Washington and Lee #
7:30 PM
9/12 vs Berry #
1:00 PM
9/12 vs Averett #
3:30 PM
9/18 HOPE &
8:00 PM
9/19 OHIO NORTHERN &
2:00 PM
9/19 HEIDELBERG &
6:00 PM
9/25 at Hiram *
7:00 PM
9/26 at Allegheny *
1:00 PM
9/30 DENISON *
7:00 PM
10/3 WOOSTER *
3:00 PM
10/8 OHIO WESLEYAN *
7:00 PM
10/16 at Calvin
10/17 vs. Carthage
12:00 PM
10/17 vs. Elmhurst
4:00 PM
10/22 at Kenyon*
7:00 PM
10/23 RANDOLPH-MACON
7:00 AM
10/24 OBERLIN *
1:00 PM
10/27 at DePauw *
7:00 PM
10/31 at Cincinnati State
KARA SEIDENSTRICKER
7:00 PM
COURTNEY HUCK
11:00 AM
11/7-8 NCAC Tournament
* NCAC Match • % Courtyard Marriott National Invitational # Washington and Lee Invitational & Wittenberg Fall Classic To schedule a home match visit, contact Coach Labrador at flabrador@wittenberg.edu or 937-327-6492
WITTENBERG VOLLEYBALL
2015-2016 VOLLEYBALL
Statement of Responsibility for Balance Between Academics & Athletics
Wittenberg Athletics Philosophy
Student-athletes are primarily responsible for balancing academics and athletics. However, recognizing the pressure that studentathletes face from competing time demands placed upon them by both professors and coaches, we establish the following statement of responsibility. The statement assumes that the student’s primary responsibility is to academic coursework and that practice sessions are always subordinate to class attendance. Students should work with advisers to schedule courses so that practices and contests are not in conflict with academic courses. Student-athletes are expected to contact professors in advance in order to resolve conflicts between class attendance and participation in athletic contests. It is recommended that student-athletes miss not more than four sessions of any class in a semester for regular season athletic contests. Permission of a Faculty Athletic Representative is required before additional excused absences will be permitted. Coaches will, as necessary, establish and maintain communications with the professors of team athletes regarding academic progress. Professors should feel free to contact coaches regarding the academic responsibilities of student-athletes.
The Wittenberg Athletic Department is an integral part of the university that strives to achieve the same standards of excellence that exist within various academic disciplines at the university. Further, the athletic department embraces the concept that the student-athletes are first and foremost students, possessing individual rights, academic abilities, personal interests and ambitions comparable to those of other members of the general student body. Wittenberg University is committed to the principles and practices of amateurism, student-athlete welfare, gender equity, sportsmanship and fair play, cultural diversity and overall athletics excellence, and this commitment shall reflect in every aspect of the athletics departmental operations.
On Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, the volleyball team made history by becoming the first Wittenberg team in 34 years to win an NCAA Division III National Championship, and the first women’s team in school history to take home a national title. Check out the “Road to the Championship” feature on the volleyball team’s homepage on WittenbergTigers.com to see the entire journey.
The North Coast Athletic Conference and Wittenberg University work together to encourage good sportsmanship on the court, on the field and in the stands. The Wittenberg Athletics Department expects all competitors and spectators to help maintain an open, accepting and competitive environment in order to promote positive, enjoyable experiences for all involved with Division III athletics.