By Kurt Miller
The 2015 Kalamazoo College volleyball team hopes to regain its form of the early 1990s when the team won five conference championships in six years under long-time coach Jeanne Hess. And according to Hess, that's going to take a unique kind of effort.
"If we're going to compete, we have to be willing to be very, very uncomfortable—in practices and in our interaction with each other—because when we get on the court, it's going to be uncomfortable due to the higher level of competition," Hess said. "I'm expecting us to compete. [The team] knows what it's like to win the last game of the season."
2014 was a year of ups-and-downs as the Hornets got off to a 4-0 start, but a pair of lengthy losing streaks set the team back down the stretch, despite taking the final match of the season from Alma, 3-1. The Hornets 2014 campaign came to an end with an overall record of 11-17 and a conference record of 6-10, but just two wins out of fourth place in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
Going forward in 2015, the Hornets have several key players returning, including junior libero Logan Horejsi. Horejsi led the team with 507 digs in 2014 after a standout freshman year in 2013 where she was named All-MIAA second team. Senior middle hitter Olivia Cares returns to the team after missing last season due to her studies in France. During her sophomore year, Cares led the team in blocks per set and her return to the frontcourt will be quite valuable as the Hornets blocked the fewest attacks in the MIAA last season.
Other notable returners for the Hornets include juniors Kaela Van Til, Paige Johnson, Dana DeVito and Sidney Wall. Van Til recorded 222 kills in 2014, the most for any returning player in 2015, while Johnson recorded the highest hitting percentage for the Hornets last year.
The team lost a setter, an outside hitter, a middle hitter and a defensive specialist to graduation last year, but Hess brought in four new players to the team, one for each role.
Included in the incoming class are Kaiya Herman-Hilker, Sophie Spencer, Shelby Suseland and Carina Ghafari.
Just like last season, K begins the 2015 season at the MIAA/HCAC Challenge on Sept. 4 and 5 at Adrian College. The Hornets are set to host their first home game of the season on Sept. 9 against Alma, which also marks the beginning of MIAA league play.