FRANKFORT, Ky. – West Alabama will begin the John Schmidt era this week when the Tigers travel to Kentucky to play four games in the Kentucky State Tournament to start the 2022 volleyball year.
UWA will play host Kentucky State first on Friday at 11 a.m. They will close the day against Ohio Dominican at 5 p.m. Saturday will have UWA matching up with Edinboro (Pa.) at 8 a.m. and Maryville (Mo.) at 2 p.m. All times listed are Central Standard Time.
Coach Schmidt brings with him into his opening campaign in Livingston over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience. Schmidt arrived from Kansas where he served as the assistant volleyball coach at Seward Count Community College. Prior to that stop, Schmidt helped put together an impressive turnaround at Brescia University in Kentucky taking a team that had 18 losses the year before and winning the conference title the next year with 27 victories.
"We are excited about the new season and chapter for Tigers volleyball! The ladies have worked extremely hard the last three weeks learning a new system, being creative with their play, thinking outside the box with their ideas and finding a new love and passion for the game," Schmidt said.
The top-three offensive statistical leaders are back from the 2021 year to lead the Tigers this coming season. Nathalia Medeiros paced the team with 202 kills and 214 points. Madison Fisher added 162 kills and 188 points, while Amelia Johnigan collected 111 kills and 156 points, including tying for a team-high 24 service aces. Johnigan was also second on the team with 31 blocks.
Desiree Blount and Maddie Van Dyke spent time leading the team at setter in 2021 and are back for this season. Blount dished out a team-high 394 assists, while Van Dyke added 260.
MacKenzie Wells leads the back row again after pacing the team with 354 digs. Fisher added 155, Quiara Dunson with 141, and Blount with 137.
Kentucky State went 19-12 last year and played a couple of Gulf South Conference opponents earlier in the schedule in 2021 falling to both Shorter and Lee in straight sets.
Robin Poole led the offense with 298 points and 258 kills. Jalynn Roberts added 191.5 points with 140 kills. Keyara Brooks led the team with 683 assists. Stasha Adams collected 205 digs and Abrielle Jordan sent back 75 blocks. It will be a new-look squad for the Thorobreds with all five players not on the roster this season.
Ohio Dominican went 17-14 last year and will play an exhibition this week against Wittenberg before entering the Kentucky State Tournament. They will open with Edinboro before facing UWA.
Emilee Fecht led the Panthers with 413 points, recording 348 kills. Olivia Kirksey added 389 points and 328 kills, while Amanda Remmetter came away with 365.5 points and 304 kills. Carleigh Deitsch recorded a team-high 1,159 assists. Kelsey Shoup had 547 digs and Fecht sent back a team-high 69 blocks. Kirksey and Shoup are back on the team this season.
To start Saturday, UWA will face Edinboro. The Fighting Scots went 22-7 last year and reached the NCAA Postseason Regional Tournament field. Bella Burrelli led the way with 418 points and 359 kills. Abby Monn added 290.5 points and 255 kills. Alicia Eldredge dished out a team-high 1,045 assists. Carly Pry led the back row with 408 digs and Sally Sterkel sent back 67 blocks. Sterkel, Eldredge, Burrelli, and Pry are all back for this season.
The Tigers close the opening tournament against Maryville later in the day on Saturday. The Saints went 13-17 last year and defeated GSC opponent Lee in five sets.
Taylor Keck led the team with 233 points and 196 kills. Mikaela Kues added 226 points and 190 kills. Abbie Schnell dished out 919 assists. A.J. Hallemann posted 322 digs, with Taylor Hasbrook right behind with 296. Grace Knadler sent back 44 blocks and Karolina Rodowski added 42. Rodowski, Schnell, Keck Knadler, and Hasbrook are all back this season.
"Playing at Kentucky State will give us a chance to compete against new faces after three strong weeks of competing against each other. We will learn and grow one step at a time. They are truly buying into the philosophy of focusing on the process not the results and in time we will be playing at a peak level. It's the first weekend, so it's time to just go out and have some fun and throw all that was taught in the preseason out on the court one match at a time and grow as one," Schmidt added.
Live stats will be available for all four matches and can be found here.
Following the trip to Kentucky, UWA will remain on the road next week traveling to South Carolina to compete in the Newberry Tournament on Sep. 2-3.
