Volleyball struggles in MWC

By: Ian Van Anden
Sports Editor

The 2006 volleyball season has come to a close. The Fighting Scots’ volleyball team struggled down the stretch run of the season and continued into the Midwest Conference tournament.

After being swept in the Illinois Wesleyan tournament, the Scots headed to Beloit for the Midwest Conference tournament. On Friday, Oct. 4, the Scots faced Illinois College in the first round. On Oct. 25, the Scots had defeated IC easily in the Glennie Gymnasium, 30-19, 30-26 and 30-15.

The second time around, the Lady Blues got the best of Monmouth at the neutral site. The Scots’ loss bumped them out of the tournament much earlier than expected. The Scots entered the tournament as the sixth seed after struggling in the regular season.

In the 2005 tournament, the Scots made it all the way to the championship game where they fell to St. Norbert in four games.

The Scots finished the 2006 season with a record of 17-16 overall and 5-4 in the Midwest conference. This is a slight drop-off from the team’s 22-13 overall record in the 2005 season.

The good news remains that the Scots will return all but one of their starters. Senior Kari Jefferson will be the lone athlete leaving the team. Junior Kendra James, a consistent Midwest Conference performer of the week, will return, along with a strong junior class.

James was dominating at the net, leading the Scots in kills, kills per game and blocks. Another junior, Colleen Wilkin, was also a key part of the team. Not only did Wilkin lead the team in sets with 1,073, best in the category by over 900, but she also served as the team’s captain.

Sophomore Amanda Boonstra will also be returning. Boonstra was a very strong all-around athlete for the Scots. She was the team’s most potent server, was fifth in kills, second-best defender and fourth in sets.

The future looks bright for the volleyball program, whose young team and young coach seem on the rise. Coach Kari Shimmin is in her ninth year at the helm and has assembled an athletic and long team, with four athletes over six feet tall and several just beneath that mark. The Scots also have a talented junior varsity unit.