2020 Women's Volleyball Media Guide

Season Preview

FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACH, MUSTANGS LEARNING F

BY MARK ADKINS SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR While the Queen’s Gambit, the Caro Kann or the Reti Openings may not precisely be part of the Morningside College women’s volleyball plans in 2020, the foundation for those terms isn’t far off.

“Strategy is (my favorite part) of the sport,” first-year head coach Jessica Squier mused. “I liken it to a game of chess --- it’s not so much about what players do on the court but learning what the coach we’re going against does. All of the small decisions fans or even athletes don’t see (in a match) --- when they call timeouts, what adjustments are being made, how they are taking players out due to struggles on the floor, and so on.

(Volleyball), in my mindset, comes down to rotation versus rotation,” she added. “It may seem like serve, pass, hit, and block on the surface, but when you break the game down, it’s significantly more. It even goes beyond the matches with an example of watching how others coach throughout the season. It’s important to me to learn those types of things quickly (in a new program).”

Squier isn’t a stranger to the Mustangs’ volleyball scene. She played for the Maroon in 2009 with dazzling results, totaling 1,569 assists, 129 kills and 67 blocks en route to thirdteam National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ All-American honors.

staff, which includes assistants Kayla Ruff and men’s program head coach Theison Anderson. Three front-liners who tallied triple digits in kills (senior outside hitter Krista Zenk of LeMars, Iowa; senior outside hitter Caitlin Makovicka of Ceresco, Neb.; and junior outside hitter Kaelyn Giefer of Loveland, Colo. spotlight the offensive potential. Along the back row, junior defensive specialist/libero Kayla Harris and senior defensive specialist Ashley Boer combined for nearly 900 digs. Junior Sabrina Creason will be a crucial returner, too, after tallying over 500 assists as a sophomore at setter. Harris, Makovicka, and Zenk each gained All-Great Plains Athletic Conference honors last fall with Harris and Zenk having learned two in their collegiate careers.

Squier will look to that strong returning core and a simple, disciplined approach to pave the way to success.

“There are some basic rules of understanding (that I’ll expect each student-athlete to understand),” she admitted. “They need to know between right and wrong on and off the court, being on time, being communicative, finishing hard through a drill (no matter what it is), and to pay attention as examples. Those prerequisites may sound pretty straightforward, but, at the foundation, they’re what it takes for a winning program.

(Looking further), it’s about getting everyone on the same page, and that goes for coaches and athletes,” she added. “Everyone needs to be able to see eye to eye to understand goals “Morningside reminds me of (my --- we have to have each other’s previous coaching job at Northeast- Freshman Meredith Hoffman goes for a kill during backs. I think an important key, in ern Junior College,” she noted. “The one of the Mustangs’ intersquad scrimmages. that area, is focusing on not only culture of winning and family are verbal but non-verbal language. (Our very much identical. When I was looking at other options coaching staff) wants to get it to where not much needs (for my career), those were two of the more significant to be said due to the deep connections we have with variables. each other.”

It’s great to be able (to come back here),” she added.

“I feel comfortable with my understanding of the program previously and also have been in contact with past coaches, as I looked to send some of my former student-athletes to Morningside.

Squier and the staff plan to take advantage of a situation that the COVID-19 pandemic has created. As physical workouts will be somewhat limited to mitigate the spread, classroom opportunities are in place.

The cupboard is far from bare for Squier and her new

“A measured off-court learning approach (in my thoughts) will be a boon to what we’re trying to accom-

FROM EACH OTHER plish overall,” she said. “Regular practices will be short --- in and out and socially distanced --- working on fine-tuning scouting reports and so forth.

(Our staff) has been brainstorming (options),” she added. “There could be some step up training, bystander intervention, maybe a book study and developing life skills which will make up a good share of the 11 a.m.-12 p.m. schedule in preseason camp. (I could even see us) taking in movies with the ESPN 30 for 30 series as an example --- using other sports to inspire us. We will also be doing a lot of discussing offense and defense and multiple situations without being on the court, which can be even more attentive in a classroom setting. All of these plans go towards delivering the message (of our staff’s) philosophy.”

As she has throughout her coaching career, Morningside’s head coach continues the strategic planning mode, working up to a 2020 campaign that will look unlike any others before it. “We are trusting the school and NAIA to put us in a good situation,” Squier pointed out.

“Our athletes and coaches need to feel safe as we begin.

We’ve visited with each individual about that and where their comfort levels are.

“I’m a guide and support system, along with Coaches Ruff and Anderson, to aid in athletic and social goals,” she added. “We’re taking direction from the team a little bit --- we’ve been challenging them to tell us how far they want to go this fall.”

Roster

2020 MUSTANGS # NAME

CLASS HOMETOWN

Head Coach: Assistant Coaches:

Student Manager:

Jessica Squier Kayla Ruff Theison Anderson Jocelyn Johnson

PRONUNCIATION

1 Payton Shoquist FR Mansfield, Tex. Show-quist 2 Kendall Evans SO Estherville, Iowa 3 Sabrina Creason JR Shawnee Mission, Kan. Cree-sun 4 Tyler Christianson FR Hooper, Neb. 5 Ashley Boer SR Rock Rapids, Iowa Bore 6 Ryley Rolls SO Alliance, Neb. 7 Krista Zenk SR Le Mars, Iowa 8 Corin Bower FR Danbury, Iowa Co-rin B-ow-er 9 Grace Jensen SO Bennington, Neb. 10 Amara Austin FR Colorado Springs, Colo.

Uh-mar-uh 11 Agnes Gardner FR Halden, Norway 12 Meredith Hoffman FR Des Moines, Iowa 13 Elizabeth Zobel FR Battle Creek, Iowa Z-oh-bul 14 Madison Goodwin SO Kingsley, Iowa 15 Grace Wiese SO North Sioux City, S.D. Wee-zee 16 Caitlin Makovicka SR Ceresco, Neb. Mak-uh-vick-uh 17 Marisa Beintema SO Sioux Falls, S.D. Ban-tuh-muh 18 Kaelyn Giefer JR Loveland, Colo.

Gee-fer 19 Emma Hannasch SO Glidden, Iowa Hon-ish 20 Lindi Pojar JR Windsor, Colo.

Po-yar 21 Kayla Harris JR Dakota City, Neb.

Tyson