Vo l l e y b a l l
2012-2013
Volleyball
HALLIE DONATHAN CHRISTINA GILENE
2012 Quick Facts General
School Name.........................................Wittenberg University Location............................................. Springfield, Ohio 45501 Founded..........................................................................1845 Enrollment......................................................................1,950 Nickname......................................................................Tigers Home Facility..........Pam Evans Smith Arena (HPER Center) Capacity.........................................................................3,000 National Affiliation...................................... NCAA Division III Conference.......................... North Coast Athletic Conference President..................................................... Dr. Laurie Joyner Alma Mater.................Loyola University New Orleans, 1986 Athletics Director...........................................Garnett Purnell Alma Mater....................................................Cheyney, 1973 Athletics Phone............................................. (937) 327-6450
Coaching Staff
Head Coach..................................................... Paco Labrador Alma Mater........................................................ Hiram, 1995 E-mail........................................... flabrador@wittenberg.edu Record at Wittenberg.........................296-41 (2003-present) Career Record............................................................... Same Assistant Coach...................................................... Amy Cox Volleyball Office............................................. (937) 327-6492 Athletic Trainer................................................. Ellen Crosbie Assistant Athletic Trainer............................... Molly Hopkins Assistant Athletic Trainer.............................Greg Schneider
Volleyball History
First Year.............................................Records begin in 1979 All-Time Record.............................................. 783-368 (.680) NCAC Regular Season Championships...........................17 NCAC Tournament Championships..................................17 NCAA Tournament Appearances......................................17 Last NCAA Tournament Appearance............................ 2011 Result... W, 3-0 vs. Chris. Newport (National Championship)
JESSICA BATANIAN
Team Information
2011 Overall Record........................................................37-3 2011 NCAC Record (Finish) .................................. 16-0 (1st) Letterwinners Returning......................................................6 Hallie Donathan, Andrea Behling, Jessica Batanian, Meghan Vodopich, Kiah Murray
Letterwinners Lost............................................................. 11 Katie Sumner, Hannah Riley, Miranda Sagle, Kimmie Dyer, Christine Simpson, Catherine Farny, Kate Shoemaker, Courtney Lauber, Hillary Monnin, Ali Hock-James, Tessa Litman
Starters Returning..................................................1 + Libero S Hallie Donathan, L Christina Gilene
Starters Lost.........................................................................5 MH Katie Sumner, OH Hannah Riley, MH Miranda Sagle, OH Kimmie Dyer, RS Catherine Farny
Find the Tigers on www.facebook.com/wittenbergathletics
MEGHAN VODOPICH
CREDITS: 2012-13 Team Viewbook designed by John Strawn ‘07, assistant director of sports information. Photography by university photographer Erin Pence ‘04.
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 .878 in nine 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 296-41. Twenty-five of those wins have come in NCAA Division III Tournament play, capped by a dominating run to the 2011 national championship. Labrador’s postseason record in nine straight trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament is 25-8 and includes seven 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 and 2011. Under Labrador’s guidance, 12 Tiger student-athletes have garnered All-America 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 114-2 record in conference play over the last
nine seasons and have hoisted eight regular season championship trophies and eight 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, every year since Labrador took the position in 2003. Additionally, six Wittenberg players have earned CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District awards, with Kimmie Dyer going on to become just the third Wittenberg volleyball player in school history to pick up Academic All-America honors (third-team in 2011). The Tigers have even found success internationally during Labrador’s career. In the summers of 2004, 2007 and 2010 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 semipro and professional teams. Not surprisingly, each season following a team trip to Spain, the Tigers found a new level of volleyball 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, the Tigers were stopped only by eventual national champion Calvin. The community has benefited from the Tiger coach during the annual “Border Battle” Tournament, which Labrador introduced in 2005 in an effort to match up top teams in Michigan with top teams in Ohio. 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 Border Battle 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 sixth-grade teacher, reside in Yellow Springs with their daughters, Olivia and Isabel.
Assistant Coach Amy Cox Former Tiger standout Amy Cox joined the coaching staff in 2011 in a volunteer capacity. What a ride it turned out to be as Cox helped the Tigers to a 37-3 overall record, NCAC regular season and tournament titles and the program’s first-ever NCAA Division III National Championship in 2011. In 2012, Cox replaced Laura Jensen, who was named head coach at John Carroll, as the team’s full-time assistant coach. The Newark, Ohio, native knows multiple facets of the college game after converting from an outside hitter to the Tigers’ primary setter prior to her senior season. The
switch paid off, as evidenced by her first-team All-America honors. Cox’s outstanding work in the classroom also garnered her CoSIDA/Capital One second-team Academic All-District honors along with the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Student-Athlete Award in 2011. Cox also earned AVCA firstteam All-Great Lakes Region accolades in 2010 and was named all-conference in her final two seasons. She was named first-team All-NCAC in 2010 after leading the conference in assists, and in 2009 was named to the second team when she finished seventh in hitting percentage and 10th in blocks. Cox, a Newark Catholic High School product, graduated from Wittenberg with a bachelor’s degree in education in 2011.
Head Coaching Ledger Name
Year(s) Matches Wins Losses Pct.
Dottie Lemieux
1979-82
108
36
72
.333
A.D. Rodrigo
1983
123
12
11
.522
Jim Orr
1984-85 64 32 32 .500
Fran Ralston 1986 32 11 21 .344 Paul Gibboney 1987-88 65 34 31 .523 Cynthia Holliday
1989-93
175
109
66
.623
Connie Surowicz
1994-2002
347
253
94
.729
Paco Labrador
2003-present
337
296
41
.878
Totals
1979-present
1151
783
368
.680
2012-2013 VOLLEYBALL
A HISTORY OF SUCCESS
4
NCAA FINAL FOUR APPEARANCES
4
INTERNATIONAL SUMMER TOURS
11
AVCA TEAM ACADEMIC AWARDS
2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2011
Conducted Every Three Years 2004 • 2007 • 2010 • 2013
17
NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
15
NCAC PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
27 114 .878
Best in the North Coast Athletic Conference
1992 • 1993 • 1995 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2007 • 2008 • 2011
AVCA ALL-AMERICANS
7 First Team • 6 Second Team 7 Third Team • 7 Honorable Mention
WEEKS RANKED IN AVCA TOP 10 Fifth All-Time Among NCAA Division III Programs
LABRADOR CAREER WIN 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 The Wittenberg athletic facilities, a unique blend of old and new, provide opportunities for a wide variety of recreational and fitness activities. The Health, Physical Education and Recreation Center (HPERC) is the centerpiece of athletic activity. The main unit can be converted to three full-sized basketball courts, three volleyball courts or three tennis courts. It seats 3,000 spectators for intercollegiate athletic events, and 4,300 for concerts and other public events. A second unit houses six raquetball courts with an upper balcony for instruction and a 25-meter by 25-yard swimming pool with one- and three-meter diving boards, and a spectator viewing area. An athletic training room, locker rooms and team rooms are also located in the HPERC, which connects to the Wittenberg Field House, home of the Tigers since 1929, which houses offices and a state-of-the-art weight training facility. A 4,622-square-foot extension off the front of the HPERC opened in August 2005. The Bob Rosencrans Hall of Honor Fitness Center includes a wide range of weight training and cardiovascular equipment.
EDWARDS-MAURER FIELD
Edwards-Maurer Field and Earl F. Morris Track were renovated in 2005. EdwardsMaurer Field has a state-of-the-art artificial playing surface and Earl F. Morris Track is a 400-meter track outfitted with a similarly cutting-edge surface. The entire complex is lighted, and also 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 Georgianna Albright Tennis Complex, a $2 million project completed in 1997, houses 12 lighted tennis courts with a Dynaflex surface. 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 Carleton Davidson Stadium, which opened in 2004, 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.
HPER CENTER NATATORIUM
CARLETON DAVIDSON STADIUM
2012-2013 VOLLEYBALL
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
9/2 EMORY% W, 3-1 9/3 JUNIATA% W, 3-1 9/3 MARYVILLE% W, 3-0 9/9 at Mount St. Joseph! W, 3-0 9/10 vs. Heidelberg! W, 3-0 9/10 vs. Thomas More! W, 3-0 9/16 HOPE^ W, 3-0 9/16 CALVIN^ L, 3-2 9/17 BLUFFTON^ W, 3-0 9/24 vs. Ohio Wesleyan * W, 3-0 9/24 vs. Hiram * W, 3-0 9/25 vs. Wooster * W, 3-0 9/25 vs. Allegheny * W, 3-0 9/28 at Ohio Wesleyan * W, 3-0 10/1 OBERLIN * W, 3-0 10/1 at Otterbein L, 3-2 10/4 DEPAUW * W, 3-0 10/7 URBANA W, 3-0 10/7 FAIRMONT STATE W, 3-0 10/8 WOOSTER * W, 3-0 10/8 ALDERSON-BROADDUS W, 3-0 10/12 at Kenyon * W, 3-0 10/15 vs. Kenyon * W, 3-0 10/15 vs. Denison * W, 3-0 10/16 vs. Oberlin * W, 3-0 10/16 vs. DePauw * W, 3-0 10/19 DENISON * W, 3-0 10/21 at Wis.-Whitewater& L, 3-0 10/22 vs. Wis.-Oshkosh& W, 3-0 10/22 vs. Carthage& W, 3-0 10/28 at Hiram * W, 3-1 10/29 at Allegheny * W, 3-0 11/4 WOOSTER+ W, 3-0 11/5 HIRAM+ W, 3-0 11/10 vs. Rose-Hulman# W, 3-0 11/11 vs. Heidelberg# W, 3-0 11/12 at Calvin# W, 3-1 11/18 vs. Cal Lutheran# W, 3-0 11/19 vs. Eastern# W, 3-0 11/20 vs. Chris. Newport# W, 3-0 * NCAC Match • ! Mount St. JosephInvitational • % Wittenberg National Invitational • ^ Great Lakes Regional Challenge • & Wisconsin-Whitewater Invitational • + NCAC Tournament • # NCAA Tournament
2011 Season North Coast Athletic Conference REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS
KIMMIE DYER
POSTSEASON AWARDS
All-NCAC: First Team – Katie Sumner, Kimmie Dyer Second Team – Christina Gilene, Christine Simpson Player of the Year - Katie Sumner Coach of the Year - Paco Labrador Libero of the Year - Christina Gilene Newcomer of the Year - Meghan Vodopich NCAC All-Tournament Team: Miranda Sagle, Christine Simpson, Christina Gilene (MVP) CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District: First Team - Kimmie Dyer CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America: Second Team - Kimmie Dyer All-Great Lakes Region (AVCA): First Team - Katie Sumner, Christina Gilene, Kimmie Dyer All-America (AVCA): Second Team - Katie Sumner Third Team - Kimmie Dyer, Christina Gilene NCAA Division III Coach of the Year - Paco Labrador NCAA Division III All-Tournament Team: Christine Simpson, Katie Sumner, Kimmie Dyer (MVP)
KATIE SUMNER
In 2011-2012, the Wittenberg Tigers... • Won 3 North Coast Athletic Conference regular season championships in volleyball, men’s golf and men’s basketball • Finished in the top 5 in the final North Coast Athletic Conference standings in 12 of 23 sports • Finished 4th in the final standings for the NCAC Dennis Collins Memorial All-Sports Trophy • Earned 7 NCAC Player/Performer of the Year trophies • Earned 3 NCAC Coach of the Year trophies • Placed 84 student-athletes on All-North Coast Athletic Conference teams • Placed 14 student-athletes on all-region teams and 11 on All-America teams • Earned 3 CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District awards and 2 Academic All-America awards • Finished 50th in the NACDA Director’s Cup (all-sports comparison) thanks to postseason appearances by 6 teams
2012 Season 2012 Volleyball Schedule 8/31 WARTBURG % 9/1 WHITWORTH % 9/1 TRINITY %
7:30 p.m. 10 a.m. 5:30 p.m.
9/7 at Juniata &
7 p.m.
9/8 vs. Christopher Newport &
1 p.m.
9/8 vs. Puget Sound &
3 p.m.
9/14 WASHINGTON UNIV.#
3:30 p.m.
9/14 HOPE#
8 p.m.
9/15 CALVIN#
2 p.m.
9/15 MOUNT ST. JOSEPH
6 p.m.
9/19 at Denison *
7 p.m.
9/22 at Wooster *
1 p.m.
9/25 at Ohio Wesleyan *
7 p.m.
9/28 at Indianapolis
3 p.m.
10/2 KENYON *
7 p.m.
10/5 MOUNT UNION
7 p.m.
10/6 vs. Fairmont State^
1 p.m.
10/6 at Urbana^
3 p.m.
10/10 DEPAUW *
7 p.m.
10/13 at Oberlin *
ANDREA BEHLING
12 p.m.
10/19 HIRAM *
7 p.m.
10/20 ALLEGHENY *
1 p.m.
10/20 MARIETTA
5 p.m.
10/26 vs. Washington and Lee!
1 p.m.
10/26 at Emory!
6 p.m.
KIAH MURRAY
10/27 vs. Massachusetts-Boston! 10:30 a.m. * NCAC Match • % Courtyard by Marriott National Invitational # Wittenberg Fall Classic • & Juniata Asics Invitational ^ Tri-Match at Urbana • ! Emory National Invitational To schedule a home match visit, contact Coach Labrador at flabrador@wittenberg.edu or 937-327-6492
EVERY HOME MATCH 2012-2013 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.