EXPERIENCED SPIKERS LOOKING FOR REVENGE

The best way to describe last fall’s Fighting Scots volleyball season was that it was a rollercoaster ride. There were several highs and lows throughout their 17-16 campaign, including a 9-2 start and a pair of clutch late-season victories that qualified Monmouth for the postseason.

Judging by their returning talent, the thrills should continue for this year’s Scots, and coach Kari Shimmin hopes that the maturity of her group will eliminate most of the inconsistent play. The Scots boast four returning senior starters, although one, Jessica Travis (Washington, Ill./Washington), missed Monmouth’s season-opening action Saturday. The big hitter, who posted 280 kills last year, is expected to return to the lineup later this month.

When Travis returns, she will be joining three-time All-MWC middle hitter Kendra James (352 kills, 121 blocks), two-time all-league setter Colleen Wilkin (1.073 assists) and hitter Ashley Yeast (264 kills). Shimmin is counting on her seniors’ leadership to put Monmouth back among the elite teams in the Midwest Conference.

"I think last year’s disappointing conference record will motivate our women this year," said Shimmin. "Last year we had the toughest non-conference schedule since I’ve been here and I expect our returners to be extremely focused."

Right behind that quartet of seniors in terms of experience are two-year starters Crystal Myers (Byron, Ill./Byron), who the veteran coach says is "playing her best volleyball" in the preseason, and Amanda Boonstra (Fulton, Ill./Fulton). Myers, the team’s libero, led the Scots in digs (568), while Boonstra chipped in 172 kills.

Myers was certainly a force at last weekend’s Monmouth College Invitational, totaling 16 aces, eight kills and 63 digs as the Scots went 2-1 and placed third. The Scots started off with a 3-1 win over Hannibal-LaGrange before falling in straight sets to Principia (30-22, 32-30, 30-27). Monmouth recovered to win its final match 3-1 against St. Mary’s.

"That was some of the best volleyball I’ve seen Crystal play," said Shimmin.

Waiting in the wings for the Scots are veterans such as hitters Anna Damos (North Henderson, Ill./United), Samantha Robinson (Milan, Ill./Rockridge), Rachel Leffelman (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) and the "surprising" Tanesha Hughes (Peoria, Ill./Woodruff).

"Tanesha has really increased her level of play," said Shimmin, who added, "We’ve got a tremendous group of returners who are in great shape, both physically and mentally."

The Scots’ sophomore group is loaded with talent, too, as witnessed by setter Alexis Keller (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo), who split time with Wilkin last season, allowing Monmouth to go to a 6-2 offense. Defensive specialist Sara Schoon (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) is another underclassman Shimmin is counting on to provide the knockout punch with quick reflexes and superb ball handling skills.

In terms of newcomers, Shimmin calls Alyson Schroeter (Woodruff, Wis./Lakeland Union) a "perfect fit," and she is also high on freshmen setters Alisha Shadid (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) and Laura Anton (Evanston, Ill./Regina Dominican). Shimmin said Schroeter experienced "great improvement" during the Scots’ first three matches.

Shimmin had hoped her team would reach the final, but said she didn’t feel they were "mentally ready to go" for the Principia match. She also said the Scots need to work on serve consistency as they get ready for a busy stretch of action that includes a home match Thursday vs. Cornell and a weekend tournament at UW-Platteville.

In terms of the conference, Shimmin, who is now in her 10th season at the Scots helm, calls this year’s league the "most balanced in terms of parity" she has seen. The Scots, who are coming off a sixth-place finish in the MWC, were one of five teams to receive a first-place vote in the preseason poll.

If the Scots can feed on their experience and find motivation in last year’s disappointments, look for the team to resemble a zero-gravity thrill ride instead of a teeter totter.

STALEY PACES SCOTS, FIELD AT OPENER

Every year, a lot of major league baseball teams get younger in a hurry when Sept. 1 rolls around and they call up talented minor leaguers to the big club.

This Sept. 1, cross country coach Roger Haynes experienced a similar youth movement, taking relatively young men’s and women’s teams to the Augustana College Early Opener.

Haynes’ men’s team is the defending Midwest Conference champion, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at his roster. Five of the team’s seven all-conference runners that brought the Fighting Scots their first title since 1996 have either graduated or used up their fall sports eligibility.

After being senior-dominated in 2006, it’s the sophomore class that should carry the most weight this fall. Classmates Clay Staley (Hanna City, Ill./Illini Bluffs) and Brad Begyn (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) are the most established runners on the team, both earning all-conference honors last year. Staley was actually Monmouth’s No. 1 man at the MWC meet, placing fourth, while Begyn took 19th.

"They both are much more fit than they were at this time last year," said Haynes, who is in his eighth season as the Scots’ cross country coach.

Staley, in fact, placed first overall at the Augustana meet, covering the four-mile course in 20:58 as Monmouth defeated the hosts and Knox in the three-team field. Begyn was next to cross the finish line, placing second in 21:27.

Other runners expected to contribute on the men’s side are seniors Adam Rodriguez (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) and Seth Leitner (Edelstein, Ill./Dunlap), junior Damon Bautista (Silvis, Ill./United Township), sophomore Matt Peharda (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) and freshmen Tim Bentz (Dixon, Ill./Dixon), Derek Huff (Edmonds, Va./Meadowdale), Craig Maher (Oak Lawn, Ill./Oak Lawn), Drew Peterson (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons), Alan Rosiquez (Chicago, Ill./Taft) and Scott Sheller (Morton, Ill./Morton).

Only one of those runners (Leitner, who was the No. 5 man at the team’s final meet) scored for the Scots last season, and Leitner also scored twice in 2005. Rodriguez added a top five team finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional Meet in 2004. Besides Staley and Begyn, that is the extent of the returners’ previous scoring contributions, and the Scots had two first-time scorers Saturday, with Bautista placing fifth in 22:11 and Peharda taking seventh in 22:32. Rodriguez was fourth in 21:59.

As they get more experience, Maher, Peterson and Sheller could possibly score at meets, too, and Sheller, in particular, looked strong in a 5K run at Augustana (17:28).

Leitner, who spent a month abroad this summer, is behind his normal schedule but should be ready later, benefitting from Haynes’ strategic scheduling.

"We’re racing less this year and training more," said Haynes, whose team is idle from meets on two September weekends and another in October. "We’re doing that so we can be ready for the conference meet (Oct. 27 in Jacksonville) and have as many all-conference runners as we can."

Incredibly, the women’s team is even younger than the men, as there are no juniors or seniors on the roster. However, the Scots could still continue their steady improvement from the past three years. The women, who have moved up at the conference meet from eighth in 2004 to seventh and then to fifth last fall, return their top runner, Katie Staab (Batavia, Ill./Batavia). She will look to become the team’s first back-to-back All-MWC performer since Carrie Knauer accomplished the feat in 1995 through 1997. Monmouth is also looking to finish higher than fifth as a team for the first time since that 1997 season.

"There’s a big difference with her knowledge-wise from where she was a year ago," said Haynes. "From a consistency standpoint, she’s going to be a leader for us."

Joining Staab at the head of the pack should be freshman Mary Kate Beyer (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria), an all-state runner in high school. That was the case at Augustana, as Beyer covered the 5K distance in 19:42 and Staab was clocked in 21:03.

"Mary Kate’s the foundational ability piece that we’ve needed in the women’s program," said Haynes. "We’ve been looking for that, and she’s the start of it. From here, we want to develop these two classes," which also feature sophomores Amy Aghababian (St. Charles, Ill./Burlington Central), Briana Flynn (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley), Sara Ditzler (Freeport, Ill./Freeport), Allison Carroll (Iowa City, Iowa/Solon) and Whitney Maher (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone) and newcomers Brooke Potendyk (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria), Whitney Didier (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) and Jayme Ayers (Normal, Ill./West).

Haynes expects Flynn, Aghababian, Ayers and Ditzler to follow Staab and Beyer across the finish line at Monmouth’s September meets. By later in the season, Potendyk and Didier should also be threats to join the top five.

Ayers, Flynn and Aghababian all finished within three seconds of each other at Augustana, and that solid pack time dovetailed nicely with what Haynes saw from his top two performers.

"We’ve wanted to improve our frontrunners, and I think we can do that now," said Haynes of the women. "If you score low at the top, you can improve your team score, and that’s certainly the goal for the women this fall."

Next up for the Scots is Friday’s Bradley University Open at Detweiller Park.

Like a September baseball roster, the Scots’ cross country names might not be familiar yet. But check back soon, because some of these runners are the stars of tomorrow.

MEN’S SOCCER OFF TO UNBEATEN START

The men’s soccer team has played a pair of contrasting matches so far, but the bottom line is they’re undefeated heading into this Saturday’s home match vs. Dubuque.

In the Scots’ season opener, they fired off 27 shots and held visiting Eureka to none in the Red Devils’ first-ever varsity contest. They won the match 4-0.

"It was a good opportunity to help a new program and also give a lot of our players a chance to play," said coach George Perry. "The first half went well. We did a good job of moving the ball around, creating a number of opportunities that I hope we will be able to put away sooner than later."

Sooner came after halftime, when senior Trevor Neff (Morris, Ill./Coal City), who had notched a first-half goal on an assist by sophomore Jeremy Doze (Princeton, Ill./Princeton), was sent in to goal on a through pass by freshman Caleb Brondos (Brookfield, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield)). He capitalized on the opportunity, capping what Perry called "a very good sequence" of possession.

Two minutes later, sophomore transfer Danny Davis (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) sent a 25-yard rocket into the right upper 90 to make the score 3-0. Brondos finished the scoring, calmly finding the back of the net after a great hustle assist by sophomore Joey Schwinger (Woodridge, Ill./South).

"All in all, the four goals were well played and it was good to see us find the net," said Perry. "Defensively, Owen Robinson (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) in goal and backs Josh Graeber (Bradley, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais), Dan Schroeder (Palos Hills, Ill./Marist), Bryan Jackson (Princeton, Ill./Princeton) and Joe Howell (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood), who were our four starters, did a great job of keeping the shots against to zero."

Graeber, who also notched an assist in the game, was honored as the Midwest Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Robinson wasn’t tested much in the contest, but that changed Monday when Mt. Mercy visited Peacock Park. The Mustangs defeated the Scots 2-1 last year, and they outshot Monmouth 23-11 in the rematch. But Robinson was on his game, posting 11 saves, and he received some help in one of the two overtime periods.

"Owen continued to come up big and Bryan Jackson saved a ball off the goal line," said Perry, whose team dodged that bullet and held on for a 1-1 tie. "Pat Blazer (Franklin Park, Ill./St. Patrick) and Danny Davis were big in the center of midfield, and they played the entire 110 minutes along with Owen and Bryan.

Jackson also set up Monmouth’s lone goal after Mt. Mercy had scored in the 71st minute. With just over 10 minutes to play, he beat several players out of the back before finding Davis at the top of the penalty box. Davis’ shot caromed off the post and deflected into the net off the Mustangs’ goalie.

"The best news was that we did not give up," said Perry of the comeback. "Overall I was happy with the way we played and we will use it to build for our next game."

The Scots will be looking to stay unbeaten through three games, a feat they last accomplished in 2002.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS

(Editor’s Note: This fall, the women’s soccer updates will be written in first-person form, as the coach, Barry McNamara, is also the editor of Scots Scoop.)

We’ve got two wins under our belts to start the women’s soccer season, and both have been fights to the finish. Last Saturday, we squandered several offensive chances and had to battle all the way to the final horn before defeating Eureka 1-0. Wednesday, we spotted Iowa Wesleyan an early lead on a quality goal, then fought back on a very rainy day to top the Tigers 2-1.

In both contests, it would have been nice to have a little extra cushion, taking some pressure off our defense and allowing us to get more players into the game. However, this is a group split between returners and newcomers, and it’s taking a little while for the offense to gel.

I couldn’t be happier with our defense, which has been led by sophomore sweeper Whitney Ott (Moline, Ill./Alleman). Her classmate, Lindsey Johnson (Burlington, Iowa/Burlington) has also been impressive, and they’ve played all 90 minutes of both games, as has freshman stopper Becca Baur (Jacksonville, Ill./Jacksonville).

Another freshman, Brittney Parker (Waukegan, Ill./Warren) has provided a huge lift for us. We’ve had her in the back four some of the time, but she has also pushed forward and scored two huge goals for us. Her header off sophomore Lauren Vana’s free kick stood up as the lone score vs. Eureka, and she netted our first goal vs. IWC after a great series. Senior midfielder Lauren Lafond (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) sent a perfect pass along the sideline to overlapping defender Hillary Broms (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods), and Broms’ cross from the corner flag connected with Parker to tie the score.

Three minutes later, junior Sarah Kisner (East Moline, Ill./United Township) got her foot on a loose ball in front of the goal, barely putting it over the line for a 2-1 lead. The assist on the play was credited to freshman Megan Meeke (Elmhurst, Ill./York).

After weathering a 45-minute thunder delay, we came out and continued our solid defense, hanging on to improve to 2-0 on the year.

Our next few non-conference matches will definitely be a challenge, starting with unbeaten Dubuque at 4 p.m. Saturday and continuing with a tough Millikin squad next Tuesday in Decatur.

PICKREL LEADS LINKSTERS AT IC

Playing at the Illinois College Fall Invitational, the Fighting Scots women’s golf team gained a little and lost a little from its season-opening performance of a year ago en route to an 11th-place finish.

Monmouth’s first-day score of 389 was actually better than its 393 showing last season. The Scots lowered their score slightly to a 386 on Sunday, but that did not match last year’s 21-stroke improvement.

In short, the team’s 775 total was a little high for coach Molly McNamara’s taste, as she is hopeful that her team can bring their numbers down for this week’s busy slate, which sees Monmouth in action three straight days on three different courses. The final event in that run will be Saturday’s Fighting Scots Invitational at Gibson Woods.

"We’re expecting a good three-day stretch," said McNamara, who noted the playing conditions will be similar to competing at the 54-hole MWC Championships next month. "The girls like playing at Emeis, which is where we’ll be Thursday, and we played four rounds last fall at Soangetaha (Friday’s course). Then we finish up with 18 holes on our home course."

Monmouth’s best 36-hole score at Illinois College came from sophomore Megan Pickrel (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg), who followed up a first day 95 with a team-best 90 on Sunday. Her 185 score tied for 44th at the 12-team meet. Junior Heidi Hartshorn (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) was the top golfer on Saturday with a career-best 92, but she slipped to a 98 on Sunday and finished tied for 53rd at 190.

"Actually, Heidi’s second round was better than her first, but she had 11 three-putts and took a 10 on the final hole," reported McNamara. "She’s hitting the ball better than she’s ever hit it, and I think she’s going to be able to score in the 80s for us."

THE NICK-NAME GAME

A few years back, the Monmouth College football team had exactly 11 seniors, and coach Steve Bell allowed them to take the field together, although some were playing far out of position, for the last snap of the last game of the season.

This season, Bell doesn't have 11 seniors to choose from, but he could go with a different theme -- players named Nick. Below is one man’s view of how an all-Nick lineup could look, and we’ve chosen the 5-2 alignment made popular locally by former Monmouth High School coach Warren Dobry. Although the obvious "nickname" for the unit might actually be the "Nick-Name Defense," it could also be called the Scots’ "Nick-el Package":

Nick Bennett (DE), Nick Davis (DL), Nick Hoffman (DL), Nick Thoele (DL), Nick Leffler (DE), Nick Dyson (LB), Nick Vandermyde (LB), Nick Goett (DB), Nick Law (DB), Nick Wright (DB) and Nick Zigler (DB).