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Be m i d j i Stat e Vo l l e y B a l l

..............................................................................................................................................................Bemidji State UniVerSity

BSU QUICK FACTSSchool/Enrollment: ....... Bemidji State University (5,020)Location/Founded: .....Bemidji, Minnesota 56601 (1919)Population: .. 30,000 (reflects city and surrounding area)Conference: ......................Northern Sun IntercollegiateAffiliation: ............... NCAA Division II (NCAA I-Hockey)Nickname: ........................................................ BeaversSchool Colors: ..................Green (PMS 3298) and WhiteHome Court: ............................BSU Gymnasium (2,500)Press Row Phone: ................................... (218) 755-4603President: .................... Dr. Jon Quistgaard (Arizona ‘79)Athletic Director: ....Dr. Rick Goeb (North Dakota St. ‘89)Senior Woman’s Administrator: ................Laurie Bitter (MSU

Moorhead ‘89)SWA Phone: ............................................ (218) 755-3784Head Athletic Trainer: ...................................Bill Crews Athletic Trainer Phone: ........................... (218) 755-2769Compliance Coordinator: ....................... Mike CurfmanCompliance Phone: ................................ (218) 755-3783Ticket Manager: ............................................. Pam PappTickets Phone: ........................................ (218) 755-2057Athletics Administrative Assistant:.......... Debbie SloughAthletic Phone: ...................................... (218) 755-2941Athletic Fax: ........................................... (218) 755-3898

A t h l e t i c M e d i a R e l a t i o n sDirector: ................... Brad Folkestad (Bemidji State ‘01)AMR Phone: ........................................... (218) 755-4603AMR Fax: ............................................... (218) 755-3898AMR Cell: ..................................................218-308-1115AMR Email: ......................bfolkestad@bemidjistate.eduAssistant/Volleyball AMR: .. Troy Berneking (Minnesota,

Crookston ‘04)Assistant Phone: ..................................... (218) 755-2763Assistant Cell: ........................................ (218) 370-2039Assistant Email: ..............tberneking@bemidjistate.eduGraduate Assistant: ........................Cedrique FlemmingGraduate Assistant Email: cflemming@bemidjistate.eduVolleyball/Basketball Press Row: ............ (218) 755-3620Web site: ................http://info.bemidjistate.edu/sports

P R O G R A M H I S T O R YFirst year of volleyball: ......................................... 1969 Overall record (37 years): ................. 637-667-6 (.486)Years in post-season play: ........ 1987-1st NAIA Dist. 13;

1988-1st NAIA Dist. 13; 1989- 2nd NAIA Dist. 13NSIC Championships: .......................................1 (1988)Minn-Kota Championships: .... 7 (1971, 1972, 1973, 1975,

1976, 1977, 1978)

C O A C H I N G S T A F FHead Coach: ............. Laurie Bitter (MSU Moorhead ‘89)Head Coach Email: ................. lbitter@bemidjistate.eduVolleyball Office Phone: ...........................218-755-3784Record at School: ........................10-17 - Second seasonCareer Record: ...........................10-17 - Second seasonGraduate Assistant: ...Richelle Richardson (Iowa State ‘87)Volunteer Assistant ... Todd Frauenholtz (St. Cloud State ‘93)

T E A M I N F O R M A T I O N2007 Record: .............................. 10-17 (6-12 NSIC, 8th)Starters Returning/Lost: ........................................... 4/2Letterwinner Returning/Lost: ................................... 7/5

C R E D I T S

The 2008 Bemidji State Volleyball Media Guide is produced to aid and inform the general public and media that cover Bemidji State Volleyball. Permission is granted to use any part of this publication in an informational manner. The 2008 BSU Volleyball Media Guide was written and designed by BSU Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations Troy Berneking using Adobe InDesign CS on a Macintosh G4 PowerBook. Research, editorial and technical assistance provided by Brad Folkestad, director; Eric Story, Alayna Skibness, and Shane Claypool, student assistants. Printed by Arrow Printing, Bemidji, Minn. Cover design by Kathy Berglund, Bemidji State Communications. Photos by John Swartz, BSU Photo Services. For additional information or copies of this publication, send $5 payable to: BSU Sports Information, Bemidji State University, 1500 Birchmont Drive, Box 29, Bemidji, MN 56601 or contact the BSU Sports Information Office at (218) 755-2763.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

G e n e r a l I n f o r m a t I o n

Quick Facts ............................................................................................... 1 Table of Contents ..................................................................................... 1 2008 Outlook ............................................................................................ 2 Head Coach Laurie Bitter ......................................................................... 3 Coaching Staff .......................................................................................... 4 2008 Schedule ............................................................. Outside Back Cover

m e e t t h e 2 0 0 7 t e a m

Roster ....................................................................................................... 5 Seniors ..................................................................................................... 6 Juniors-Sophomores ..............................................................................7-9 Newcomers ......................................................................................... 9-11 NSIC Composite Schedule ..................................................................... 13

2 0 0 7 S e a S o n - I n - r e v I e w

2007 Recap .............................................................................................................. 14

Statistics, Results and Leaders .................................................................15 Individual & Team Match-by-Match Statistics ......................................16-17 Significant Milestones .............................................................................17 Year-by-Year Leaders ..............................................................................18

t h e C o n f e r e n C e

Standings, Honors & Awards ................................................................... 19 Records .................................................................................................. 20 2007 Statistics ......................................................................................... 20 General Information ............................................................................... 21 All-Time Titles and NSIC Standings ........................................................ 22 BSU on All-NSIC Team ............................................................................ 23 2008 NSIC Opponents ....................................................................... 24-28

h I S t o r y & r e C o r d S

BSU All-Time Award Winners ................................................................. 23 Year-by-Year Team Statistics ................................................................... 29 Coaching Records .................................................................................. 29 Team Records .................................................................................... 30-31 Individual Records ............................................................................ 32-33 Series History vs. 2007 Opponents .................................................... 34-36 Record vs. All-Time Opponents ......................................................... 37-38 All-Time Results ................................................................................ 39-44

U n I v e r S I t y I n f o r m a t I o n

Bemidji Area Information ....................................................................... 45 Bemidji State University Information ...................................................... 46 Beaver Pride ........................................................................................... 47 NCAA Rules Compliance ........................................................................ 48 Bemidji Media Outlets ............................................................................ 49 Bemidji State Administration .................................................................. 51 Staff Directory ........................................................................................ 52 Photo Roster .................................................................. Inside Back Cover 2008 BSU Schedule ............................................................................. OBC

........................................................................................Quick Facts and Table of Contents

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www.BemidjiState.edU/athleticS

Second year head coach Laurie Bitter and the 2008 Bemidji State volleyball team will look to use veteran leadership

and talented newcomers to make a move in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Beavers showed vast improvement a year ago and Bitter expects bigger things from her team in 2008.

“I am really excited for this season and I thought that the girls really improved last season,” Bitter said. “The girls worked extremely hard in the spring and grew more as a team. We have a lot of talented girls coming in and it will be exciting to see this team come together with all the talent.”

The Beavers return four starters and seven letter winners from the 2007 squad. The majority of the returners are underclassmen who have seen a large amount of playing time. Bitter’s team has just one senior in Jennifer Janckila, but three juniors and three sophomores who have been on the court since their freshman campaign.

“With only one senior on the team, the juniors will have to help take on the leadership role,” commented Bitter. “I feel the girls who have been with me over the past year-and-a-half understand the concept I am trying to instill and will do a great job leading the team this season.”

The following is a position-by-position breakdown of the 2008 Beavers.

Middle BlockerBitter will look for senior Jennifer Janckila and sophomore Nicole Olson to lead BSU at the middle blocker position. Janckila, from Appleton, Wis., saw action in 74 games last season and averaged 1.16 kills per game and was third among her teammates in blocks with 0.76 per game.

“Jenny is a hard worker who continues to improve,” Bitter said. “She has good athletic ability and could play a big role at the net for us this season.”

Olson had a superb freshman campaign as she led the Beavers in three categories. The Baudette, Minn., native led BSU with 294 kills, attack percentage with .248 and blocks 1.02 per game (91). She saw time in 89 games and will be called upon when a kills is needed.

“I am expecting a lot from Nicole this year,” commented Bitter. “She is a phenomenal athlete and I will be looking for her to be a strong front row player.”

Bemidji State will also look to three freshmen for help in the middle this season. Erika Korpi, Laura Slinger and Kimberly Hacker will see some playing time along with Janckila and Olson.

Korpi, a native from Maple Grove, Minn., and Slinger, from Fairbault, Minn., will help add depth to the middle blocker position along with being able to move and play the left side.

Hacker is from Hutchinson, Minn., and is a very aggressive player who can play the outside

along with the middle. She will help in solidifying the net this season for the Beavers.

Outside HitterBemidji State returns junior Brie Groskreutz and sophomores Heather Sampson and Lindsey Weyer to the outside hitter position. All three players received some valuable experience last season and will be called upon to help lead a young BSU squad.

Groskreutz did not suffer the “sophomore slump” last season. She followed her freshman campaign with another solid season in 2007. She was fourth on the team with 209 kills (2.20 k/g) and was first on the team with 455 digs (4.79 d/g) in 95 games. Groskreutz was also the lone BSU student-athlete to garner NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors (Sept. 10) for her back-to-back 30 dig performances against Northern State (Sept. 7) and the University of Mary (Sept. 8). With her speed and athletic ability, Groskreutz will see a lot of time in the back row for the Beavers this season to help solidify the Beavers defense.

“Brie could see a different role this season,” said Bitter. “She can play either the front or back row for us, which is a great thing to have.”

Sampson had a strong freshman campaign as she was third on the team with 237 kills (3.12 k/g) while playing in just 76 games. She notched 52 blocks and had a hitting percentage of .204.

“I am looking for Heather to bring a lot more power to her game and to take more of a leadership role on the team this season” said Bitter.

Weyer showed steady improvement in her first year with the Beavers. She wrapped up her freshman season with 33 kills, 14 digs and 14 blocks in 41 games played.

Freshman Melissa McNeely from Burnsville, Minn., could see time alongside Groskreutz, Sampson, and Weyer this season. McNeely will help add some athleticism and depth to the outside hitter position this season.

SetterJunior Allison Kunde is the lone returning setter for the Beavers. Kunde split time at the setter position last season, recording 503 set assists (5.29 a/g) and 174 digs (1.83 d/g) in 95 games played. Kunde could also see time in the back row for BSU, to help speed up the Beaver’s offensive attack.

A local freshman could have an impact this season at the setter position. Bemidji native Courtney Bitter comes to Bemidji State University as one of the top high school setters in the nation and will be called upon to run a quick offensive attack for the Beavers this season.

Libero/Defensive SpecialistJunior Laura Vonasek will be called upon to help the Beavers on the defensive side of the ball this season. The East Grand Forks, Minn, native played in 63 games a year ago, garnering 178 digs (2.83 d/g) and serving up 15 aces for BSU last season.

Freshman Jessi-Beth McCannell from Brandon, Manitoba will bring added quickness to the back row for the Beavers this season. McCannell will bring great athleticism to the Beavers roster.

ScheduleNot unlike any of the Beaver’s volleyball campaigns in recent memory, this year’s schedule is laden with top-notch competition. Thirteen of the games on BSU’s 2008 slate finished with an NCAA Division II tournament match, including the 2007 NCAA Division II National Champions, Concordia University-St. Paul. Formidable opponents also making an appearance on the BSU slate are: South Dakota, Western Washington and New Haven, who all made NCAA Division II tournament appearances last season.

“I am excited for the challenging schedule that we have this season,” said Bitter. I feel it is important for our girls to play top competition in order for them to understand what it takes to be a top program in the nation. By playing in all these tournaments we see very good competition, especially in the Duluth tournament and that is what we need in order to improve and get to the next level.”

With the expansion of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), the Beavers’ competition got that much harder. Arguably, the toughest conference in the nation. BSU will play teams that are almost always ranked in the region and even in the nation in Concordia-St. Paul, Wayne State, Southwest Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth, Augustana, and Minnesota State, Mankato. With a young team coming in and the expansion of the conference, it will be interesting to see how the conference season will unfold for the Beavers.

2008 Season Outlook........................................................................................................................

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..............................................................................................................................................................Bemidji State UniVerSity

Second year head coach Laurie Bitter, who tallied the fifth-most wins (10) as a BSU rookie general, became the 12th head coach in BSU

history last season after spending 16 years in the high school ranks. Bitter helped lead the Beavers to a 10-17 mark in her rookie campaign, the best record since the 2004 season, and guided BSU to a 6-12 NSIC record good for eighth in the conference. She also led BSU to a three-match winning streak, which was the lon-gest since 2004. Bitter took the helm at BSU after a 16-year tenure at Lake of the Woods High School where she turned the Bears’ volleyball program and Lady Laker club team into powerhouses that have competed well on the regional, state and national levels. While at Lake of the Woods Bitter piled up an impressive 354-100-1 record as its head coach. Nine times she led the Bears to North Boarder

Conference Championships--including the last six consecutively. The team has also won eight district championships and participated in the Minnesota State High School Volleyball Tournament four times under the watchful eye of Bitter, earning an AA Championship in 2005 and runner-up honors in 2003. Bitter earned Section Coach of the Year accolades in both 1998 and 2001. In addition to Bitter’s high school coaching experience, she has also been active on the club team circuit. She helped start the Lady Laker program in 1993 and in 2001 and 2003 she mentored her teams to North Country Region Championship and trips to the Junior National Championships.A two-year participant in both volleyball and track as a student-athlete at Minnesota State University Moorhead, Bitter turned her focus to her passion--teaching and coaching--as a junior. Bitter is a graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead with a degree in physi-cal education/health/coaching. She is currently in the process of completing her mas-ter’s degree in theory at the University of Minnesota Duluth and expects to graduate in May. Bitter and her husband Curt have two children. Courtney, who has signed to play for Bemidji State beginning in the fall of 2008 and Isaac is in the ninth grade and occu-pies his time with hockey and baseball.

the BItter fIle

PERSONALHome town: ...................................... Baudette, Minn.Family: ..... Curt - Husband, Courtney (18) - Daughter, Isaac (15) - Son

EDUCATIONBS, physical education/health/coaching, MSU Moorhead ‘89MA, Minnesota Duluth ‘07

COACHING RESUME1990 - 2006 Lake of the Woods HS Head Coach eCareer Record - 354-100-1

eNorth Boarder Conference Champions - 9 times

eDistrict Champions - 8 times

eParticipated in Minnesota State High School Volleyball Tournament - 4 times

2005 Class AA Minnesota State Volleyball Championship

2003 Class AA Minnesota State Volleyball Runner-up

1998 and 2001 Section Coach of the Year

1993 - 2006 Lady Laker Club Team Head Coach2001 and 2003 Led her team to the North Country Region Championships and the Junior National Championships.

Bemidji State Head Volleyball Coach2006 10-17 Overall (6-12 NSIC)

............................................................................................................Head Coach Laurie Bitter

BItter’S mIleStoneS at BSU...First game: Valley City State (8/31/07)First Win: vs. Valley City State (8/31/07)First NSIC Win: at Winona State (9/21/07)

First BSU road win: at St. Cloud State (9/11/07)

First BSU home win: vs. Minnesota, Crookston (9/28/07)

First BSU sweep: vs. Valley City State (8/31/07)

BItter’S BSU team verSUS...Black Hills State 0-1Concordia College 0-1Concordia-St. Paul 0-3North Dakota 0-1Northern State 0-2Mayville State 1-0U-Mary 1-1Minnesota, Crookston 2-0Minnesota Duluth 0-1MSU Moorhead 0-2Southwest Minnesota State 0-2St. Cloud State 2-0Upper Iowa 2-0Wayne State (Neb.) 0-2Winona State 1-1Valley City State 1-0

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Graduate assistant coach, Richelle Richardson, begins her first season at Bemidji State. She comes to BSU

after teaching, coaching and managing a fitness center in Harlan, Iowa.

Richardson served as the head volleyball coach for Harlan Community High School where she took over a

program that had finished at the bottom of the conference. She helped turn the program around as her squad won the conference title in 1997 and finished second in 1996. During her time as head coach, the Cyclones were district runner-ups, district champions, regional semi-

finalists, and regional finalists. She coached numerous players who earned all-conference and all-state athletic honors, as well as all-conference and all-state academic accolades as the Class 3-A Harlan Cyclones became a force in the Hawkeye 10 Conference. Richardson was a physical education teacher and managed a fitness center, while volunteering her time to help organize and travel with the first club volleyball team in Harlan.

As a four sport high school athlete at Harlan, Richardson competed in the state tournament in both softball and basketball. She earned all-conference honors in golf and volleyball, while receiving all-state

accolades in volleyball. She was named the outstanding female athlete of the year her senior year. Richardson is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in physical education. She will begin her master’s degree in sports studies this fall at BSU. Richardson’s family includes husband Todd, Amy a junior at Bemidji State University, son Matt who is a freshman at Wayne State College and son Grand will be a sophomore at Bemidji High School.

G r a d U a t e a S S I S t a n t r I C h e l l e r I C h a r d S o n

v o l U n t e e r a S S I S t a n t t o d d f r a U e n h o l t z

Todd Frauenholtz (pronounced Frow-in-holtz). Frauenholtz, a professor of mathematics at Bemidji State, begins

his fifth season on the BSU sidelines as a volunteer assistant coach. A valuable asset to the Beaver coaching staff, Frauenholtz draws from a number of coaching experiences ranging from Junior Olympic to collegiate as well as coaching at a number of clinics and camps. A graduate of St. Cloud State University, Frauenholtz played on the Huskies’ club team from 1988-91. He also has playing experience on U.S. Volleyball

Association A and BB teams in the Great Plains and North Country Regions. While in St. Cloud, Minn., he ingrained himself in the community’s volleyball circuit. In addition to his own participation, he was a volunteer coach at St. Cloud Apollo High School in 1992 and mentored the St. Cloud Area 18-and-under Junior Olympic squad during the 1993 season. As a graduate student at South Dakota State University, Frauenholtz was a part of SDSU summer volleyball camps in 1996 and 1997. Frauenholtz received his master’s degree in educational administration from South Dakota State in 1998 and his Ph.D. in mathematics education from the University of Minnesota in 2001. Frauenholtz, who has been an instructor at Bemidji State since January of 2002, was promoted to associate professor status in 2004.

BSU Support Staff/Team Photo..................................................................................................

Back Row: Head Coach Laurie Bitter, Courtney Bitter, Laura Slinger, Kimberly Hacker, Erikka Korpi, Melissa McNeely, Jessi-Beth McCannell, Assistant Coach Richelle Richardson. Middle Row: Hannah Eilers, Nicole Olson, Heather Sampson, Lindsey Weyer, As-sistant Coach Todd Frauenholtz. Front Row: Allison Kunde, Laura Vonasek, Jennifer Janckila, Brie Groskreutz.