UIS volleyball prepares for D2 move with this year’s schedule

September 10, 2008
By Marcus Johnson
Sports Writer

The volleyball team looks like a new team with the addition of seven new players to the squad. When so many players are added to a team at once, many people wonder if a team can coincide together.

Kimberley Bartosiak and Sarah Moss go up for a block against UMSL last Wednesday. UMSL is one of multiple D-II opponents this year.

Coach Joe Fisher thinks very differently. With the team playing in two tournaments on the road early in the season, Fisher believes that the time away from Springfield is “real important with having so many new players. It helps them all get to know each other and become more of a family.” The first tournament that the Prairie Stars played in was the St. Ambrose Early Bird Tournament in Iowa. Here they faced some tough competition, including #13 Morningside College, and also NCAA Division II team Upper Iowa University. The team went 1-3 at the tourney, and played some close matches while there. Next the team traveled to St. Louis to face University of Missouri-St. Louis, which is another Division II team. The Prairie Stars ended up dropping the match in three straight sets. This past weekend, the team was in Chicago for the St. Xavier/IIT Crossover. Playing four games in two days, they ended up splitting the games with wins over University of St. Mary’s and St. Xavier and losses to Central Methodist College and St. Ambrose College.

Currently the team is sitting with a record of 3-6 (but don’t let the losing record fool you. This team might be young but they have enough leadership to help them excel.)

The team has quality leaders in their three seniors: Tori Mc- Colez, Danielle Simler, and Ali Janezic. Fisher said it’s “fortunate to have a senior class that are leaders. They are doing a good job at letting the rest of the team know exactly what the coaching staff expects from them.” With UIS sports currently transitioning to NCAA Division II, Fisher felt this year’s schedule will help the team a lot. On the schedule, the Prairie Stars have several Division II teams. Fisher said, “Playing these teams will help us out. Teams like Quincy and UMSL are middle of the road teams.” With this being early on in the season, no one can really predict how it will play out for the team. With the amount of new players that they currently have, it is natural to struggle at the beginning of the season. But with the amount of early road games that Fisher feels gives this team an opportunity to gel, this team could show the rest of the country that they can compete with them.