The intuition from head coach Eric Hagan in his preseason video interview says it all. Kentucky Wesleyan played its best volleyball of the season in the conference tournament.
After busting out of the gates with an understandably frustrating 10-match skid to begin 2015, the Panthers quietly put pieces of the puzzle together to eventually throw a scare into the eventual G-MAC champs.
The Panthers are hoping to roll over that momentum into a more promising start of the upcoming season after being tabbed fifth in the preseason coaches poll.
KWC won its last two conference matches of the regular season against Salem International and Ohio Valley to qualify for the G-MAC Championship.
The inspired Panthers pushed Trevecca Nazarene to five sets in the opening round and had plenty to be proud of as they walked off the court for the final time, especially considering they had been swept by the Trojans in a regular-season sweep.
Kentucky Wesleyan also had the league’s best showing at the Mizuno Midwest Region Crossover, winning of two of three. The Panthers beat Lake Superior State and incoming 2017 G-MAC institution Lake Erie, both in four sets.
The loss of hard-swinging senior Nikki Jenkins is a big one. She was the team’s emotional and statistical leader and arguably deserved to be somewhere on the all-conference team. Jenkins averaged 3.15 kills per set to rank fourth in the G-MAC.
Junior setter Sarah Swenson was also fourth in the league in a category, assists per set (8.24). Elizabeth Zuber (1.16 kills per set) and Emily Yocum (1.69 digs per set) are the team’s lone seniors as Hagan imported four freshmen to his new signing day class.
For the most part, youth will prevail on the current roster. Libero Nicole Venema and outside hitter Autumn Harris emerged as all-freshman team performers at key positions on the court. Watch for their development to be ramped up in year two at the college level.
Venema was fourth in the G-MAC with 3.96 digs per set and racked up 392 on the season. Harris averaged 1.94 kills per set and was one of the team’s best blockers.
Another sophomore, Elizabeth Gober, was second on the team in kills per set and junior middle Gabrielle Gallois finished last year in style with 14 kills on .407 hitting vs. TNU. Hagan is looking for players to step up and called for improved blocking and being able to put the ball away better.
Head Coach: Eric Hagan (3rd season)
2015 Record (Overall): 9-20
2015 Record (Conference): 3-7
2015 All-Conference Performers: Autumn Harris (All-Freshman Team), Nicole Venema (All-Freshman Team)
Quotable: “We’re looking for consistency. We are looking for them to be healthy. We’re looking to see if that fire is still present. We had a sour taste in our mouth after the conference tournament loss to Trevecca. We were playing some of the best volleyball that we played all season. If those three are present, I really like what we can do.”
- Kentucky Wesleyan Head Coach Eric Hagan
Records Watch: Junior setter Sarah Swenson passed Kentucky Wesleyan alum and former G-MAC staff intern Jordan Rickert on the all-time career lists leaderboard last year with 1,068…Swenson ranks eighth now as Rickert’s 1,038 assists came in a single season in 2013…With 11 of the 18 on KWC’s current roster as underclassmen, it will take additional time for the Panthers to make their mark on the career conference record books.