Hamline volleyball: ‘Always’ believing

Junior setter Vassi Prattas hops off the ground and pushes the ball with her fingertips to set it in the air as junior middle hitter Gabriella Feldt lunges off her right foot. She pulls her arm behind her head and pushes forward to send a spike straight down the middle. The ball hits the floor on St. Catherine’s side of the net and the Pipers score the final point.

Senior co-captain Paige Walters throws her hands in the air and the group huddles to celebrate the point along with senior Caitlyn Gottwald. Walters looks at senior libero and co-captain Lynsey Reimer as she looks over to the sideline at senior Stephanie Kaup. Junior Michelle Mattke tells them to “remember this moment.”

“No one wants a great experience to end but they all have to sometime,” Reimer said.

The Pipers won their 2014 season finale against St. Catherine 3-2 at Hutton Arena on Halloween night, Oct. 31, to snap a seven game losing streak.

“It was the best atmosphere you could have asked for, on the team, the fans – to end the year that way in Hutton Arena was super cool,” Walters said.

They went 5-6 in conference and were in a four way tie for sixth place in the MIAC standings but lost the tiebreaker, which kept them out the playoffs and put an end to their two-year run with head coach Becky Egan. However, the loss didn’t put an end to the legacy the seniors built.

“It has been a great experience to see the team progress to its 13-10 overall season this year and a [third] consecutive winning season, due in large part to the exceptional play of the seniors who persisted over the four years of rebuilding the program,” Hamline University’s President Linda Hanson messaged via email. “My congratulations to the seniors, coaches and supporters for this wonderful turnaround of an important program.”

Egan said this year the buzz word for the team was “always.”

Kaup elaborated.

“Our coach, Egan, really emphasized the word ‘always,’” Kaup said. “We really adapted and took on that term, you just saw so many girls play better, perform better…I feel like when I hear the word ‘always’ I’ll think of this team, this 2014 team.”

Reimer said what she’ll remember is how her, Kaup and Walters, are the three remaining seniors from when they arrived with a pack of 12 first-years in 2011.

“It’s just really cool that we started it,” Reimer said, “battling all through all the adversity and all the drama that came the last four years and really sticking it out. I’m so glad I did and I’m so glad Steph and Paige did as well.”

Former head coach of the Pipers Audrey Ludwig (2010-2012) was left with a team of two returners during her second year with the team in 2011 and had to recruit heavily to prevent the program from being suspended.

Former Hamline volleyball middle blocker Sam Greeney-Hamlin (2010-2013) said she was excited to hear they were bringing a large first-year class to support her and her fellow returner.

“There was a lot of anticipation for what the season would bring. I remember being really anxious to start the season and see not only the talent, but the personalities of the incoming class,” Greeney-Hamlin messaged via email.

Ludwig said she pitched the school and her vision of how they could make a name for themselves.

The team finished the 2011 season 9-19 with Macalester as the only MIAC team they defeated.

Kaup said a memory that sticks with her from her first-year season was their road trip to Concordia. She said the trip lasted five hours, but the game itself only lasted half-an-hour as they were shutout, 3-0.

“I was like ‘wow college volleyball was going to be so difficult,’” Kaup said.

The next season, the team became more competitive.

Gottwald transferred from UM-Morris and joined forces with the Pipers. Ludwig said she “added a much needed spark” to the Pipers.

Ludwig said she noticed changes with the squad as Reimer stepped up and became a leader on the court. She was also impressed with how Kaup improved and became not just the stress reliever on the team but the “go-to player.”

The Pipers started the 2012 season 12-1 and appeared to be improving through the preseason tournament. However, the team was knocked down once it came to conference season as they finished 11th of 12 in conference with a 1-10 MIAC record and finished the year 18-12.

Walters said after that season she thought the Pipers had reached their ceiling in conference.

“It just seemed like I was going to be on that stepping stone of that it’s a building year,” Walters said.

In the winter of 2013, Ludwig accepted an assistant coaching position at the University of Maryland a Division-I college.

As the head coaching position for Hamline volleyball was vacated, the pressure was on Athletic Director Jason Verdugo to bring in a coach who could pick up where Ludwig left off.

“Audrey did a really good job of organizing the program,” Verdugo said, “it was just a matter of hiring somebody that was going to take it to the next level.”

Verdugo said he talked with the two previous athletic directors at Hamline and both of them mentioned Egan. He said he was already impressed with her athletic achievements as a Hall of Fame volleyball player for the University of Minnesota and as a coach rebuilding Eastview High School’s volleyball program. Eventually, she was hired.

After adjusting to a new style of play and adapting a “win now” mentality, the Pipers started to see results in the MIAC. Reimer said when they defeated St. Olaf on Sept. 21, 2013, she felt it was the turning point for the team because they could beat a conference team other than Macalester.

Walters agreed.

“It really just lit a fire under us,” Walters said, “keep rolling, keep going.”

The Pipers continued to flourish in the MIAC as they made their first playoff appearance since 2007 and had three athletes named to the All-MIAC team and that’s why Gottwald said this team is “resilient.”

“We were definitely the underdogs for a very long time. We weren’t expected to do well in 2013… we proved a lot of people wrong and chose not to roll over,” Gottwald said.

Ludwig said she refers to the remaining seniors on the team as “believers.”

Reimer finished her career with 1,717 digs, third most in school history, and the highest average per set in a career with 5.10. She was also named on the 2014 All-MIAC team.

“I’m so proud of her,” Ludwig said. “How she grown from a reserved freshmen, working hard everyday, to become a leader.”

Walters was named on the Sportsmanship team for the 2014 season. Her attitude is something Ludwig said she’s always admired.

“Paige is a coaches dream,” Ludwig said. “You can ask her to do anything and she’ll do it with a smile on her face…she’s absolutely one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached.”

As the players on the team credit Egan, she says it’s vice versa.

“Moving to this level and seeing what our juniors last year, who were our seniors this year, did and how much they were able to change at 20, 21 years old – that’s not easy to do,” Egan said.

Kaup said she thinks this group has set the tone for Hamline volleyball.

“When I think of Hamline volleyball I think of a family: hard working, we have high expectations, high standards. I kind of want people to have a ‘wow factor when they see us,’” Kaup said.

Greeney-Hamlin said she’s proud to see what her former teammates have accomplished:
“Without Paige, Lynsey, Steph and eventually Caitlyn, Hamline volleyball wouldn’t be where it is,” she messaged. “They have truly helped develop the program into what it is today and that will remain part of Hamline athletics history. I am so proud of all four of them and look forward to seeing where life takes them next.”