Friday, August 30, 2013

Day 1 - Labor Day Classic: Not Enough Gas in the Tank

 Road trips, hotel stays, team meals and multiple games in consecutive days are one of the most exciting aspects a student-athlete will have in college sports. There is something to be said about getting out of your comfortable environment (home) with a group of people who are all striving to achieve the same goal. For our TEAM the ultimate goal is simple: play are best volleyball at the end of the year. What we seem to forget sometimes is that success can be measured in a variety of ways, and the only way to appreciate success is to face adversity.

Our Ladyjack Volleyball TEAM began competition in the Labor Day Classic at Bismarck State College this morning at 10am against Jamestown College JV. The match was off to a rough start after suffering a 13-25 loss in Set 1 which can simply be attributed to lack of preparation. As a coach I must take the blame because we did not have an interest to compete from the beginning. Things began to get better in Set 2 with a 17-25 loss, and we managed to pull together to take Set 3 25-23. In our final set the score was 13-25 to finish the match. Several of the Ladyjacks played well as Justine Nordin and Krissy Lessman hit the ball as good as they have all year. Lauren Pederson was extremely strong defensively throughout the match with dig after dig. All in all it appeared we were headed in the right direction after shaking off the bus ride which began at 5:30am.

In the 2nd match WE were paired up with Williston State College who has several talented players and a history of strong teams. The 1st two sets were extremely intense, and I believed we were going to steal one or the other down the stretch.  Set 1 the score was 19-25 and Set 2 was followed with a 20-25 tally. With a group of freshman it is expected to "tighten up" or become "intimidated" against bigger, and more athletic teams. The challenge will be to gain enough confidence in our skills to believe we may not jump higher or hit harder, but we can play harder and play smarter. As mentioned in the title our 3rd set was somewhat of a bust with a score of 12-25. We seem to struggle down the stretch in all matches (which is 3) up to this point. Once again, an aspect of success which can easily be contributed to maturity and confidence.

Although we do not relay this information to our TEAM, each opponent we have competed against has at least 3-4 more games than we do because they competed a weekend earlier than us. Another struggle has been our lineup has not and will not be consistent until we decide what athlete is best at what position for the betterment of the TEAM. Some of these early struggles can be associated to the altering of our lineup but this is necessary re-evaluate continually early in the year to maximize our talent, and skill levels.

The best news available is the sun comes up tomorrow, and the Ladyjacks will be ready to compete once again.

Hope all is well back home, heard there was a storm.

Get Jacked UP,

Coach Cory Fehringer

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Ladyjacks Open Up Season with Bismarck State College

The 2013 Ladyjack Volleyball Season is underway. Last night WE opened up the year by playing Bismarck State College at "The Woodshed". It was an extremely positive event as the crowd was tremendous, and easily the most entertaining any spectators event has been in my time at Dakota College. Thank you to those in the community, and especially our student body for doing such a great job of bringing us energy. WE hope you can sustain the school pride and allow the "team spirit" to spread throughout the athletic programs.

Now, to discuss the actual match played. WE were swept in 3 straight sets by a strong opposing team. As always in athletics the coach and the team must keep the season, or match in proper perspective. For us it was the 1st match of the year, and WE competed against last year's Region Champions who returned several of their key players. To go along with that fact, it was also BSC's 5th match of the year, and we competed with only 2 returning sophomore's (Ashleigh Aufforth/Leah Parizek). The experience was great for our freshman as they received a glimpse of what is in store for the remainder of the season. There is no doubt we will be a better TEAM in the upcoming matches, and throughout the year because I believe we did not play anywhere near our potential.

Aufforth and Parizek played steady last night showing why they are the only returners from a team that finished 4th at the Region tournament. Several of our freshman are expected to be strong contributors, but had somewhat of a rough start. Lauren Pederson, Halle Schumann and Katelyn Lawler will provide a variety of defensive skills but have also shown an ability to score points in different ways. Rotating through the middle with Parizek is Tessa Walters who is a strong athlete with an ability to affect the set with hitting and blocking. A key addition to our offense has been Justine Nordin out of Canada who will provide some power from the outside.

This year is much different from last as our TEAM went from 7 student-athlete's to 15. With that being said majority of our TEAM is local talent, and many of them are striving to find what role they can fill. Last night one of the best aspects of the match was the fact each Ladyjack did a remarkable job of supporting each other whether they were on the floor, or bringing energy from the sideline. This will be a staple of our TEAM as we will constantly evaluate what is best for the TEAM moving forward.

Over the weekend we will be traveling to BSC for a Classic in which we will play 4 matches. I will update the blog on Friday and Saturday evening in order to keep all followers in the loop.

Thanks again to those who came out and made "The Woodshed" one of the best places to be last night.

Get Jacked UP

Coach Cory