BakerWildcats.com | Volleyball

OLATHE, Kan. – A Wildcat in her final year and a Wildcat in her first year were honored by the Heart of America Athletic Conference Monday.

Senior Brooke Glenn of Topeka and freshman Jenifer Koezler of Shawnee were named First Team All-Heart of America Athletic Conference by the coaches. Glenn, an outside hitter, had 444 kills, 353 digs and 57 blocks during her senior campaign. Koelzer was named the Region V Setter of the Week on numerous occasions. She finished the year with 1,385 assists, averaging more than 11 per game. She also had a team-high 382 digs.

The conference also recognized sophomore Barb Ludwig of Shawnee as a second-team outside hitter. Junior Emily Allred of Salina and sophomore Vanessa Wardy of Tonganoxie, both middle hitters, received honorable mention.

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Baker University swept Benedictine College Saturday night to advance to the semifinals of the Heart of America Athletic Conference volleyball tournament.

The Wildcats, seeded fourth, defeated No. 5 Benedictine 30-23, 30-28 and 30-18. Senior Brooke Glenn of Topeka recorded 20 kills, 10 digs and three service aces to lead the 'Cats. Sophomore Barb Ludwig of Shawnee added 11 kills. Sophomore Jenifer Koelzer of Shawnee broke her season record by recording 52 assists for the three-game match.

The Wildcats will challenge top seed Culver-Stockton College on Wednesday in Canton, Mo.

LAMONI, Iowa – Baker gained homecourt advantage in the conference tournament quarterfinals with a dominating sweep of Graceland University Tuesday.

The Wildcats shut down the Yellowjackets on Graceland’s Senior Night with scores of 30-27, 30-25 and 30-23. The win guaranteed Baker the fourth seed in the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament.

Baker will host rival Benedictine College at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Collins Center. The ‘Cats rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Benedictine on Oct. 19 in Atchison. With a win, Baker would play either Culver-Stockton College or Evangel University at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The location would be based on the teams playing.

Down 2-0, Baker rallied to defeat Benedictine College Tuesday on the Ravens' notoriously hostile home floor.

The 'Cats lost 32-30 and 30-25, but fought back for 30-22, 30-27 and 15-8 victories.

Sophomore setter Jen Koelzer of Shawnee led Baker with 57 assists, 24 digs and five kills. Senior Brooke Glenn had 17 kills and 13 digs, and sophomore Barb Ludwig added 15 kills. Middle hitters Vanessa Wardy, sophomore, and Emily Allred, junior, had eight kills apiece and 11 blocks total.

Koelzer was named the Heart of America Athletic Conference's Setter of the Week for the third time in four weeks.

Lone senior Brooke Glenn went out in style, leading the Wildcats to a sweep of Avila Tuesday for Senior Night in Kathy Allen's 150th win as Baker's head coach.

Glenn had 15 kills, 10 digs, two aces and one block as Baker won 30-19, 30-21 and 30-24. A trio of sophomores helped with the send-off. Barb Ludwig of Shawnee had 15 kills and three blocks, Vanessa Wardy of Tonganoxie had six kills and five blocks, and Jenifer Koelzer of Shawnee had 45 assists, 10 digs and three kills.

Sophomore Jenifer Koelzer of Shawnee was named Setter of the Week by both NAIA Region V and the Heart of America Athletic Conference on Oct. 11, the second time she has won the award in three weeks.

Koelzer played in nine games last week and led her team to a five-game victory over No. 19 Lindenwood University. She recorded 114 assists, averaging 12.7 a set. In addition, Koelzer tallied two service aces, 36 digs, four assist blocks and nine kills.

Baker came from behind in the last two games to defeat No. 19 Lindenwood University 3-2 Tuesday in Baldwin City.

The Wildcats won the first game 31-29, then fell 30-24 and 30-23 in the next two games. Facing elimination, Baker had to rally for a 30-27 victory in the fourth game and rallied again in the final game to win 16-14.

Sophomore setter Jenifer Koelzer of Shawnee had 63 assists and 20 digs. Sophomore Barb Ludwig of Shawnee led the team in kills with 24. Senior Brooke Glenn of Topeka had 21 kills, 14 digs and four blocks.

The win was Baker's ninth in 10 games.

Baker continued its winning streak by rallying from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Evangel University 3-2 Tuesday in Springfield, Mo.

The Wildcats improved with each game. After losing the first two games 30-25 and 30-28, Baker came back with 30-26, 30-23 and 15-8 victories.

Baker entered the Region V rankings in the eigth position on Tuesday morning. Evangel was ranked seventh. The win was Baker's sixth straight, and 11th win in the last 14 games against NAIA opponents.

Sophomore Jenifer Koelzer of Shawnee has been selected as the Setter of the Week for both the Heart of America Athletic Conference and NAIA Region V.

Koelzer tallied 216 assists as Baker won five of six matches. In 19 games, Koelzer averaged 11.4 assists a set. She also recorded 21 kills in 46 attempts with only four errors. She totaled seven service aces, 45 digs, four solo blocks and three assist blocks.

Senior Brooke Glenn and the Wildcats dominated the MidAmerica Invitational Friday and Saturday in Olathe, sweeping the championship match from the home team.

Glenn, an outside hitter from Topeka, was named tournament MVP. Sophomore outside hitter Barb Ludwig of Shawnee also made the all-tournament team. The Wildcats defeated McPherson College 3-1 in the first match of the tournament, then swept Friends University, Sterling College, St. Xavier University and MidAmerica Nazarene University to win the championship. The Wildcats defeated MNU, which is rated No. 2 in Region V, 30-27, 30-28 and 30-21 in the title match.

Outside hitter Brooke Glenn and setter Jennifer Koelzer made the all-tournament team as Baker won three games at the Baker Invitational Friday and Saturday in Baldwin City.

The Wildcats won their first three matches, setting up a championship bout between undefeated teams with William Jewell College on Saturday afternoon. Baker won the first game 31-29, dropped the second game 30-28, then fought back to win the third game 30-23. They lost a hard-fought fourth game 30-28 and a controversial fifth game 15-11.

Ottawa University, Avila University and Kansas Wesleyan University were the other participants. The all-tournament team consisted of Gleen and Koelzer from Baker, Emily Napier and Jessica Williams of Ottawa, Kyli Hufford and Danielle Coverdell of William Jewell, Jessica Horine of Avila, and Kristel Griffeth of Kansas Wesleyan.

After four straight seasons of 25 or more wins, the Baker volleyball team crumbled to a 13-24 record in 2003.

Now the 2004 Wildcats will attempt to prove last season was just the result of growing pains for a large and talented freshman class. The 2003 roster featured eight freshmen and just two upperclassmen on a roster of 17. This year’s 18-woman roster will have five freshmen, several sophomores with varsity experience and six upperclassmen.

“We’re still really young, but we have a lot of game experience,” head coach Kathy Allen said.

Not to mention talent. Baker graduated All-American libero Elaine Meyer, but returning are four All-Heart of America Athletic Conference athletes in senior Brooke Glenn of Topeka, junior Emily Allred of Salina, sophomore Barb Ludwig of Kansas City, Kan., and sophomore Vanessa Wardy of Tonganoxie. Glenn plays right side hitter, six-footers Allred and Wardy are middle hitters, and Ludwig plays outside hitter, giving the Wildcats a stellar front line that has been in battle together before.

“It’s a huge adjustment because everything is faster and everyone is stronger,” Douglass said.

However, Douglass said she thought the sophomores did as well as could be expected as freshmen.

“Our freshmen played well, which is a reflection of the talent they had,” she said.

Allred saw some sophomores, including Ludwig and Wardy, play at a tournament this summer and said they looked impressive. Allen said that was the result of hard work.

“The sophomores have added muscle and jumping ability,” Allen said. “We had an excellent spring training.”

Newcomer Jenifer Koelzer of Kansas City, Kan., is expected to step into the setter role. She transferred from Washburn University and still has four years of eligibility.

“She’s like another Emilee Hoffner, but taller” said Allen, referring to Baker’s All-American setter in 2001.

Sophomore Jana Smith of Topeka can play a variety of positions for the varsity team. Douglass and sophomore Leslie Kersting of Topeka will be defensive specialists.

Allen said she believed she has another good recruiting class, including Haydon Hubbel of Baldwin City. But it won’t be easy for them on a team with experience at every position.

“The freshmen have to beat someone, and the returners aren’t looking to get beat out,” Allen said.

"All the girls coming in look really good, but there’s a lot of talent already here,” she said.

The Wildcats will have to be consistent to get wins in a balanced conference. Allen said the Heart of America was getting tougher each year, and she said she expected nine teams would fight for first place this year in the 11-team conference.

Helping Allen will be Darryl Hendrix of Topeka, a seasoned coach at the junior level.

Head coach Kathy Allen has signed six players, increasing her roster size to 19 women for 2004.

Those signed are freshman Haydon Hubbel, a 5-foot-9-inch outside hitter / defensive specialist from Baldwin City, Kan.; freshman Suzanne Wolverton, a 5-9 setter / right-side hitter from Olathe, Kan.; freshman Tabitha Anthony, a 5-9 outside hitter from Olathe; sophomore Jenifer Koelzer, a 5-8 setter from Kansas City, Kan.; freshman Ashley Pike, a 5-10 outside hitter from Overland Park, Kan.; and freshman Laura Drovetta, a 6-0 middle hitter from Gardner, Kan.

Senior Elaine Meyer earned the one individual award she had yet to receive in her decorated career when she was named honorable mention All-American Dec. 11

During her four years at Baker, Meyer was named All-Heart of America Athletic Conference three times, All-Region V twice and an All-American Scholar-Athlete twice. She was first-team All-Region and All-Conference as a libero this season, led the conference in service receptions and was second in digs.

To receive the All-American Scholar-Athlete award, athletes must have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher, be a junior or higher in academic standing, and meet a performance requirement.

Meyer is a Mass Communications and Spanish double major. More information on Meyer's achievements are available here.


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