NCAA Legislation Affects Volleyball

On Saturday, at the annual NCAA Convention, Division II members passed a "Life in the Balance" measure that was put forth by the President's Council.  The package affects all sports at the Division II level, and most importantly impacts volleyball in the following areas:

• Provide a one-week-later date for the first permissible contest in all fall sports (to the Thursday preceding September 6) and a later reporting date for fall-sports student-athletes (17 days before the first permissible contest in soccer, volleyball, cross country and field hockey, and 21 days before the first permissible contest in football). The proposal also applies to golf and tennis for schools in conferences that conduct their lone league championship or most of its conference matches in the fall.
• Reduce the number of contests in soccer from 20 to 18 and the number of matches in volleyball from 28 to 26, effective in August 2010.  The reduction in field hockey contests from 20 to 18 will be effective in August 2011.

The association's goal is to give student athletes the ability to have a greater balance between athletics, academics, and their personal lives.  Division II has really been a leader in looking at the welfare of the student-athletes and the time demands put upon them by their respective sports.  As college athletics continues to grow into big business, hopefully the powers that be in Division I will look at the leadership that Division II has provided in these areas and will work to return college athletics to the student-athletes.

One For The Ages

If you didn't get a chance to watch the Division I Volleyball finals, you missed one of the most amazing championship matches of all time.  I wish I could take credit for putting together this highlight video, but I can't.  It is still enjoyable though and shows some of the great rallies from the match.  Penn State made a huge comeback from being down 0-2 to win their 3rd straight national championship and their 102nd straight match.  As volleyball continues to evolve and improve, the talent gets deeper across the board, and I'm not sure we'll ever see a team dominate the way Penn State has over the last three years. 

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from the Wayne State Warriors!

Joique Bell Wins Harlon Hill Trophy

Congratulations to Joique Bell, senior running back on the Wayne State football team.  Joique is the 2009 Harlon Hill Trophy winner, which is awarded to the top Division II player in the country.  It is the Division II equivelent of the Heisman Trophy.  He had 29 rushing touchdowns this year, and rushed for 2084 yards, the most in any division in 2009.

Congrats Joique!

WSU Hosts Fall Letterwinners Reception

DETROIT - The Wayne State Department of Athletics hosted the Fall 2009 First Year Letterwinners Reception on Tuesday evening in the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame Exhibit at the Matthaei Center.

Athletic director Rob Fournier and football alum Scott Fisher (1980-83) addressed the student-athletes who were receiving their first varsity letter at Wayne State. Head coaches Rick Cummins, Phil Nickel, and Paul Winters, along with associate athletic director Jason Clark, were also on hand to present the varsity jackets to the letterwinners.

VOLLEYBALL
Cydney Biessel
Karlene Foisy
Lindsey Graciak
Madie Kent
Kate Sak 

Vollleyball Announces 2010 Recruiting Class

DETROIT - Wayne State University head volleyball coach Phil Nickel has announced that four prospective student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to enroll at WSU next fall and join the volleyball program.

“This change brings mixed emotions for me, personally,” said Nickel. “Sarha Gosselin, Candis Jenich, and Lauren Mallast were my first recruits at Wayne State, and it makes me sad to see them leaving already. But, I am extremely excited about this recruiting class.

“We accomplished everything we set out to achieve with this class. They are athletic, physical, and skilled and expect all four of them to come in and compete for playing time as freshmen. This group, along with our 2009 recruiting class, is going to have a huge influence on where our program goes in the next few years. I am very excited about the future of Wayne State volleyball.”

Middle hitter Nicole Arends, a native of Ravenna, played three years on the varsity volleyball team and was a significant contributor on the state runner-up squad in 2009. She was a two-time first team all-conference and all-area selection, earned all-state honors twice, and served as team captain for two years. She also participated in basketball and track, and was on the honor roll at Ravenna.

A native of LaSalle, Ontario, outside hitter Kristen Bulkiewicz spent four years on the varsity volleyball team at Sandwich Secondary, where she was an all-star and MVP, and was named most dedicated. An athlete with a diversified background, she also participated in basketball, track and field, and badminton, and was a silver medalist in both badminton and the high jump. Bulkiewicz was elected team captain for volleyball and basketball.

Middle blocker Kris Vulaj is due to graduate this spring from Redford Union, where she played four years of volleyball and was a two-time all-conference selection for the Panthers. She served as team captain her senior year and was a 2008 scholar athlete. She also plays AAU volleyball, training with Instant Replay volleyball club for two years.

Amanda Wetherill is a middle blocker from Forest, Ohio, who lettered three years in volleyball at Riverdale, leading the Falcons to consecutive first-place finishes in 2007 and 2008, and second place in 2009. She was a two-time all-conference honoree and a 2009 second team all-district selection, having set single-season school records in 2009 for aces and blocks, as well as the career aces record. The National Honor Society member was also a four-year letterwinner in softball as a first baseman and centerfielder, earning all-conference and all-district honors in 2009.

These four future Warriors will help offset the loss of a five-member senior class which includes Jessica Condeni, Gosselin, Jenich, Meg Leone, and Mallast.

Three Warriors Earn All-GLIAC Volleyball Honors

Gosselin selected to First Team for second straight year

DETROIT - Three Wayne State University volleyball student-athletes received All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference awards for 2009, as announced by the league office Thursday afternoon.

Senior Sarha Gosselin (Harrison Twp., Mich./Warren Lincoln) was selected to the First Team All-GLIAC for the second consecutive season. Senior Lauren Mallast (Chesterfield, Mich./Anchor Bay) claimed her second straight Second Team All-GLIAC honor, and freshman Kate Sak (Warren, Mich./Cousino) was chosen to the Honorable Mention squad.

Gosselin is just the fourth Wayne State volleyball player in history to earn two career First Team selections, and the first since Erin Meyer became a three-time First Team South Division selection in 1997-99. Gosselin entered this week ranked fifth in the GLIAC in kills per set (3.29). The 2008 All-American has 350 kills, 275 digs and 55 blocks this season, and has posted eight double-doubles.

Mallast, whose career statistics put her among the top-10 blockers all-time at Wayne State, came into this week ranked second in the GLIAC and eighth in NCAA Division II with a 1.25 blocks per set average. She is 12th in the conference in hitting percentage and 14th in kills.

Sak is one of only two freshmen to earn All-GLIAC status this season, along with Ashland's Brittany Snider who was named Freshman of the Year. She has the third-best hitting percentage in the conference and ranks seventh in blocking.