Aces with Coach Talamantes
11/12/09
Season Update:
Tigers Victorious on Ashley Rosenbaum Night!!
We headed into the final matches of the 2009 season, needing back to back wins to keep our postseason chances alive.
Unfortunately we could not pull off the road upset at Cal Lu, and mathematically were eliminated from any chance of advancing to the postseason.
Leaving us with one goal that we could still attain, a win on Ashley Rosenbaum night aka Senior Night! After such a great run to get back in contention, I was worried that we'd have nothing left emotionally for our final match against conference rival CMS, who had swept us during our mid season swoon.
So going into the final match, we talked a lot again about how we always play for each other, and that we want to be the type of team that plays hard everytime we step on the floor. Those talks became the theme of senior night, as with nothing seemingly left to play for, my young Tigers played another stellar match!
We hadn't defeated CMS since the 2001 season, and after being swept only three weeks earlier, we figured this one would be a close battle. But these young Tigers surprised me once again and played their best match of the season, posting a 25-16, 25-19, 25-21 sweep of the Athenas.
Which shouldn't have surprised me with this group, but the great part was that even though we always talk about chemistry and playing for each other, that match proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was much more then talk to this group of student-athletes. There was no way they were going to allow their senior captain to end her career with anything less then a win! Needless to say it was a great night!
A week later we've already done our individual meetings and already started discussing what we are going to do differently next season. Although we don't have anything official scheduled until the Spring semester, I've already seen my team running on the track and walking out of the training room with ice packs strapped to them after a visit to the weight room. The one thing we were missing all season was an experienced core, as we leaned so heavily on freshmen, but as long as I do my job recruiting we will have all the pieces in place to ... Well lets just say we have lofty goals for next season!
Also worth noting:
SCOREBOX Fall 2009
2009 Tiger Fall Classic Champions
Most Valuable Player : Logan Boyer-Hayse
All Tournament : Kathryn Bockmon & Kasey Rose
15 Regular Season Wins Most since the 2001 season
2nd Team All Conference Selection: Logan Boyer-Hayse
SCIAC Stat Leaders
Kasey Rose
#1 Aces Per Game
#7 Kills Per Game
#8 Digs Per Game
Gwynne Davis
#10 Blocks Per Game
Logan Boyer-Hayse
#3 Kills Per Game
#5 Digs Per Game
Best Conference Finish since 2001
10/30/09
Happy Halloween!
Season Update ...
I used to call this a week in review, but this season has flown by so I'll just stop lying and call this what it really is, a season update that will cover the last three exciting weeks of Tiger Volleyball!
Consistent, not yet! Exciting, YES!
After hitting a midseason slump, and dropping six straight matches, our hopes of advancing to the conference tournament and even more so our confidence had almost disappeared!
We went into the Cal Lu Fall Classic sporting an 8-13 overall record, and in need of something to help spark us. That week we had decided to change up our starting lineup, a group that had started 20 of our first 21 matches, and put on the floor a lineup that would have 7 freshmen (S - Emily Repsher, OH - Logan Boyer-Hayse, OH - Kasey Rose, Opp - Clare Bolton, Opp - Anna Kurnizki, S - Megan Upp, DS - Carin Montelongo) in our top 10 (MB - Gwynne Davis, MB Ashley Rosenbaum, L - Kathryn Bockmon) trying to save our season.
We open against Wisconsin Lutheran College, a team riding a six match winning streak, so needless to say they were playing well. But the gamble worked, as our Youth Movement came back to steal the opening set 32-30 and go on to pull off a 3-0 win to snap the losing streak. Freshman Emily Repsher started her first match at setter and played great, while fellow Freshman Kasey Rose was hit by the flu but showed her toughness by battling through the entire match.
To finish out the day we would face Birmingham Southern, a much more physical team then Wisconsin, who would end the day knocking off SCIAC rival Cal Lutheran in 4 sets. But they were unable to find that same success against us as we continued to play well and pulled off a convincing 3-0 win to close out the day. Freshman Logan Boyer-Hayse tallied 31 kills in the two victories to continue to pace our youthful offense, as we now start four freshmen attackers and one sophomore, while Junior Kathryn Bockmon played phenomenally in her first start at Libero, picking up 40 digs on the day.
Next up came a trip back into conference, where are record was even tougher to admit as we sat at 2-6, with a home matchup against Pomona Pitzer who we had beaten in the first round of conference but the Sagehens came in sporting a 6-2 conference record. Good for 2nd place in the standings. Sometimes you really can't explain things with stats in sports, because sometimes things just click, because even though we should have been intimidated or nervous, we came out on fire taking the first set 25-15. Pomona answered right back and the match was a seesaw battle as each team would respond, setting up a dramatic fifth set, where my now even younger tiger lineup would have to hold together. And that's just what they did, clawing long enough to escape with a 15-13 win! After being knocked around the way we had been, and then coming back tonight, it was a huge victory for so many reasons!
A big weekend followed with three road matches, starting Friday night with a SCIAC win over Cal Tech and ending with a non conference win Saturday night over La Sierra University. But that Saturday afternoon match up would be with the University of Redlands, who sat atop the conference with a 9-1 record. Up 22-20 in the opener, we had a chance to steal the set and take control of the match, but our offense misfired late which would be the theme of a frustrating day as we could never hit our stride offensively. Which had a lot to with Redlands defense but our young team pressing did not help matters. Logan had another big night with 12 kills against the best defense in the conference. But we would come up short, falling in 3 to the now conference champion Bulldogs.
With three days before our next match up, we had time to realize we had clawed our way back into contention, our overall record now sat at 13-14 and at 4-7 we still had a shot at the top four. But we would have to come up big against Whittier College at home, a team that had swept us two weeks earlier. The Youth Movement was up for the challenge, sandwiching convincing first and fourth set victories around two tightly contested sets to pick up the win. Sophomore Gwynne Davis had a phenomenal match with 10 kills (.643 Kill Percentage) to go along with four stuff blocks. Also playing big roles were Freshmen Anna Kurnizki (8 kills) , Logan Boyer- Hayse (10 kills & 13 digs) and setter Megan Upp who did a great job distributing the ball.
We went from a six match losing streak to winning six of our last seven! I knew this team had heart, and now all their hard work was paying off. We now sit at 14-14 overall, the second most victories for an Oxy team since 1998, and at 5-7 in the conference we trail Pomona Pitzer and CMS by one match with two left two play. As both are tied for 4th place with 6-6 records.
We travel to second place Cal Lu tonight, hoping to keep our postseason hopes alive before coming home for Ashley Rosenbaum night (our lone senior) on Tuesday when we host CMS!
10/3/09
Week in Review:
Another review that actually will cover two weeks of volleyball, as we've hit a tough streak, and have dropped a few matches.
We actually set ourselves up for a bit of fall, as we played so well early on and well over our own expectations, that when some bad luck struck we lost our composure. About a month into the season my youthful squad have hit a wall, as that first month of college for a freshmen is so demanding, we were bound to lose some steam. Now I'm just hoping to weather the storm and stay in the hunt for a spot in the conference tournament.
Nine of our fifteen roster members our freshmen, but all fifteen of my athletes have never been able to compete with every team in the rugged SCIAC conference, so the mental and physical toll of having to play hard every night, is beginning to wear us down. We've never been in this position so we had no idea how to prepare, and the rest of the conference is making sure they take advantage of our inexperience, but they better enjoy it now as my team is learning its lessons quickly, plus with six starters returning for 2010 and what is shaping up to be a stellar recruit class as well, its not a question of if we'll be able to move up into the upper echelon of the conference and region, just a question of when!
After our big win at Pomona Pitzer, we traveled to play (at the time) nationally ranked La Verne. In the opening set, we battled back from an 18-11 deficit to take a 21-20 lead and at 23-22 had a swing to put ourselves at set point. The leopards made a great defensive play and swung the momentum back in their direction and stole the opening set. This loss hurt us mentally, as we never really did recover and were swept for only the second time in eleven matches, but that was the best match we had played at La Verne in several years from what I was told.
Next we traveled to the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug Invitational, where we would face La Sierra, West Coast Baptist, Luther College (Iowa), and the host Slugs. Noteworthy, is that we spent the weekend at two beach houses, yes we travel in style!! We were able to pick up sweeps over La Sierra and West Coast Baptist, but faced a tougher challenge against the host squad! UC Santa Cruz was coming off a 22-8 campaign in 2008, and came in playing with a chip on their shoulder this season, as they were snubbed by the NCAA committee when the tournament field was announced in 2008. We came out and played great, able to hold off a late surge to steal set one, but then the Slugs showed why they are in the hunt for an NCAA tournament berth! Completely controlling the next three sets while feeding off a raucous home crowd, sending us home with a tough four set loss, but my team needed to play in that type of atmosphere. In the final match of the tournament we faced Luther College (Iowa), who actually upset UCSC earlier in the tournament, and we had another battle on our hands! Luther played so well in the first set, we really had no chance, but then we made a lineup adjustment and led 23-20 in the second before what we are affectionately calling "young mistakes" started to appear and Luther squeaked out a 2 sets to none lead. We weren't done yet, as we battled to take the third, in which our defense played great. But Luther played a flawless fourth set and with the win took home the tournament title.
We came home to face off with the University of Redlands, who finished one spot ahead of us in the 2008 conference standings, but returned six starters and were playing very well. We took the floor with a little more emotion, as we were fired up to being play at home and split the opening two sets, which didn't seem special at the time, but it had been seven years since we had taken a set from the Bulldogs. Up 19-15 in the third, our "young mistakes" decided to appear and we fell in a heartbreaker. Redlands played a near perfect fourth set and sent us to the locker room with a humbling defeat.
Our luck didn't change, as fifteen minutes before a showdown with Whittier College two days later, saw our starting setter sprain her ankle in warm ups. She taped it and was able to go, but we were never in sync, and had to drive home with another bitter loss.
Two nights ago the #24 ranked Cal Lutheran Regals traveled to Oxy, and we were ready for a huge match, giving Cal Lu everything they could handle in the opening two sets. Taking the opener, and being deadlocked at 23 all in the second, with a swing to go to match point! But Cal Lu's blocking would have none of it, and they were able to steal the set and with it deflate my team, as we were never able to threaten the Regals the rest of the night.
Funny thing is I must be the proudest head coach riding a losing streak! I know my team is giving me everything they have, and although I will continually demand more of them, I know right now we are doing the best we can with what we have to work with. When I took this job in 2008, we were coming off six straight losing seasons, and we averaged five wins a year. So I knew it would take time to build this program, but we are so far ahead of schedule, we have had chances to win every match we have played in. Unbelievable! Especially when most of my team was playing club volleyball four months ago!!
The quote that sits in our locker room and on my office door reads:
"Success stories do not happen overnight"
"When you are building something that is going to be really strong, it takes time ..."
My team is already a success in my eyes, but they will not settle for any moral victories, so teams better enjoy getting the best of us now - as it won't last for much longer!
9/19/09
Week in Review:
This one will actually summarize two weeks as we spent all week preparing for a showdown with conference rival Pomona Pitzer on September 19th, in what was one of the best matches I have ever been a part of! And not to give away the ending, but we're riding a 4 match win streak after tonight!!!!
Before that conference matchup we faced Chapman in a rematch of opening day on September 8th, although the outcome wasn't any different, it was a much closer match! After being swept by the Panthers to start the season, we made some adjustments and came within a few swings of a huge win, but Chapman came back to win 17-15 in the fifth set! It was a tough loss to swallow, as the young Tigers held a 12-10 lead in the fifth, but we could not maintain our composure and fell to 1-4 on the season. The freshmen duo of Logan Boyer-Hayse (13 kills) and Kasey Rose (17 kills) paced the offense.
Right after that five game loss we stepped back on the floor to face La Sierra, and picked up an easy three game sweep. Lisa Fukuzato (6 kills) and Clare Bolton (5 kills) led the offense, as all 15 members of the squad contributed in the win.
Before hosting the Tiger Fall Classic we scheduled another tough non conference match against the Menlo Oaks on September 11th, a tough NAIA squad who was coming off a 20-9 season in 2008, and we got everything we wanted and more. We ended up playing in our third 5 set match, and although we held a 2-1 lead after winning back to back 26-24 sets in the 2nd and 3rd, we fell once again. We had our chances to win the match but we are still having trouble closing out matches. But every match we get a little closer to figuring out how to win the big matches. To our credit we play hard every time out, we just need to keep trying different line ups until we find the right combination. We had three players pick up a double double as Freshmen Logan Boyer - Hayse (18 kills & 22 digs) and Kasey Rose (10 kills & 16 digs) led the offense as they were the favorite target of junior setter Ginger Grimes (39 assists and 15 digs). We can play with anyone, but each match presents a new challenge and we're getting better at adjusting, to the point where our confidence continues to rise even though our record now stands at 2-5.
The 2009 Tiger Fall Classic presented three opponents, West Coast Baptist, Cal Tech and Bethany University. To read more about the tournament click on the link:
http://oxyathletics.com/sports/wvball/2009-10/news/091209vb_FallClassic
But after three matches the Tigers took home the tournament championship. We cruised in wins over West Coast Baptist and Cal Tech, but faced a tougher challenge from Bethany in the tournament final. After our final match, the all tournament team was announced, with Oxy having three players selected, freshman Kasey Rose and junior Kathryn Bockmon were named all tournament while freshman Logan Boyer-Hayse was chosen as the MOST VALUABLE PLAYER of the 2009 Tiger Fall Classic! We had played 10 matches over nine days, and came out with a 5-5 record, but we felt like we were really starting to come together and each match just helps us get closer to reaching our potential. With such a new squad we knew we were going to experience growing pains, but to have played so well so early has us excited about conference play.
We had a week off after the Tiger Classic to prepare for Pomona Pitzer. A squad coming off a 20 win season in 2008 and a 3rd place finish in the rugged SCIAC conference. We knew we'd be in for a battle, especially having to travel to their house, so we spent all week preparing. We probably needed more time, but we survived our second conference match to pick up our second conference win! After two and a half hours we escaped with a 26-24, 13-25, 26-24, 30-32, 16-14 win! The match was really that close, as the Sagehens are a stellar defensive team and their setter runs a great offense. It was our first win over Pomona since 2001, and after three bitter five game defeats, this one made all the preseason struggles worth it. Plus we went deep into our bench, as 13 of the 15 Tigers in uniform saw action, and our bench was so loud they helped us keep fighting even when the Sagehens started to pull away in the fifth set, up 8-4 and 13-9, before holding match point at 14-12. Great team win, and we had much better balance offensively, with three players breaking double digits in kills (Logan Boyer-Hayse 20 kills & 12 digs, Kasey Rose 17 kills & 20 digs and Kathryn Bockmon 10 kills) and a fourth almost hitting double digits (Gwynne Davis 9 kills). Anna Kurnizki made her first start of the season at libero and came up with 16 digs and 1 ace. But stats can't measure the heart and passion this group showed, especially after getting blown out in the 2nd set and being down 10-2 in the 3rd set, to still have enough in reserve to pull out this epic match!
We have a couple days to enjoy this win, before traveling to the University of La Verne to face the #18 team in the country on Tuesday, and then leaving Thursday for the UC Santa Cruz tournament. With the host school being one of the top teams in the region, the matches will get tougher, but I can't wait to see how we handle the next challenge ...
9/7/2009
Week in Review -
With nine new faces on the roster, and our first competition being the Pacific Coast Classic, one of the toughest tournaments on our schedule and on the west coast for that matter, saying we were anxious about our first matches of the 2009 season was an understatement.
Preseason camp had been completed, but with such a young team, we were worried our lack of experience would be an issue. But we were really happy with our performance in the tournament, as we gained valuable experience and have come into the second week of the season with a renewed energy as we now know how good we can be.
Vs. Chapman ( Loss 21-25, 14-25, 20-25)
Chapman handed us our first loss last season, and unfortunately they were able to repeat the performance in 2009. But this time around we were able to put up a fight for most of the match, but our inexperience and lack of a set lineup, didn't allow us to compete at a high level all match. In the opening set, we trailed 21-20, before our defense made a couple of crucial mistakes, allowing the Panthers to take the opener. A sloppy second set left us in an 0-2 hole, but unlike last year this team has plenty of heart and we fought back in third set and tried to extend the match. Chapman was just a little sharper then we were down the stretch and picked up the win. Freshmen outside hitter Logan Boyer-Hayse (Boulder, CO) led the Tigers with 15 kills in her first college match, also leading the defense with 10 digs, while junior setter Ginger Grimes (Honolulu, HI) tallied 23 assists.
Vs. Fontbonne (Win 25-19, 25-17, 25-17)
After shuffling our lineup in all three sets of the Chapman match, we seemed to find the right combination and it showed in a sweep of Fontbonne from the SLIAC conference in St. Louis. We established a much quicker rhythm on offense early on and were able to play much better team defense. By the end of day one all fifteen members of the squad had seen action, meaning all nine of our freshmen had competed in their first college match, which was great to see as the entire team has been working so hard. The offense was paced by two freshmen, as outside hitter Boyer-Hayse shared top kill honors with freshmen outside hitter Kasey Rose (Santa Ynez, CA) with 11 kills apiece while junior setter Grimes posted 29 assists in the sweep. Also noteworthy is that junior opposite Kathryn Bockmon (Anchorage, AK) and sophomore middle blocker Gwynne Davis (Los Gatos, CA) hit over .500 for the match (Bockmon 8-16-0 .500 / Davis 8-12-1 .583). The defense was led by freshmen libero Carin Montelongo (Tustin, CA) who finished with 14 digs.
Vs. Lewis & Clark (Loss 25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 19-25, 9-15)
On day two of the Pacific Coast Classic, we faced the daunting task of playing a team fresh off a five game loss to the #3 ranked La Verne Leopards, so we knew this one would be a tough match. But what we hope to be a sign of things to come, we played amazing for the first two sets and hung with a great team, opening up a two set lead and what looked like a huge win. That's as close as we would get, though, as a combination of youth and timely runs by Lewis & Clark, would hand us a bitter five game loss. Although humbling, we could not believe how quickly this team was developing, as the team that fought through a five set two and a half hour match did not resemble the squad that took the floor against Chapman less then 24 hours ago. Freshman outside hitter Boyer-Hayse notched her third straight double digit kill performance, as she smashed home a team high 21 kills and recorded her second double double as she also led the defense with 17 digs, while junior setter Grimes posted 44 assists to go along with 12 digs of her own.
Vs. Umass Boston (Loss 22-25, 21-25, 26-24, 15-25)
Nothing would come easy in this final match, as twenty five minutes after our five game loss, we were back on the floor facing UMass Boston. The Beacons were chosen as the preseason favorite to win the Little East conference and are coming off a 25-9 season in 2008. Although noticeably fatigued, the young Tigers put up a fight, even after going down 0-2 we were able to battle back and take game three before the hard hitting Beacons were too much to handle. Freshmen Megan Upp came in early in set two to help get the offense under control, and did a great job settling us down as we trailed by six early in the set. The offense was paced by freshmen outside hitter Rose (18 kills and 7 digs) and the double double of junior opposite Bockmon (10 kills and 11 digs). Once again freshmen libero Montelongo led the defense with 15 digs and junior setter Grimes posted 31 assists.
What's next:
Although our record stands at 1-3, we're pretty happy with our performance this weekend and can't wait to get back in the gym, but we have a busy week ahead of us as we play six matches over a five day span. We need the game experience, but a rematch with Chapman on Tuesday awaits, and we'd love to have a few days to prepare but will make due with one day. After Tuesday, we'll host the 2009 Tiger Classic this weekend, before finally being able to get back in the gym for a week and sharpen our overall system before facing Pomona Pitzer to really kick off conference play on the road.
8/30/2009
2009 Occidental Tigers Volleyball - Roster Preview
With the start of the regular season only six days away, the 2009 squad has been work hard in the gym to prepare for a challenging season. With a huge infusion of new players, the Tigers have been practicing with a renewed sense of purpose following a tough 2008 season. But with the level of athleticism on the squad, the high energy and competitive practices, the future looks very bright!
12 Ashley Rosenbaum Senior Middle Blocker 6'1"
BRIEFLY: Ashley Rosenbaum is in her third season with Oxy volleyball. She is a senior middle blocker who has been a starter the last two seasons. Ash has also been named captain of the team for her senior year. HIGH SCHOOL: Ashley graduated from Clackamas High School in 2006 where she played volleyball for two years and basketball for four. OTHER Ashley played club volleyball for Nike Northwest Juniors. PERSONAL: Ashley was born in Portland Oregon Nov 25, 1987 to parents Mike and Sherie. She has one sibling; 13 year old Bryce. Ashley is a Sociology major who plans to attend law school next fall.
1 Kathryn Bockmon Junior Opposite 6'0"
BRIEFLY Kathryn Bockmon is in her third season with Occidental Volleyball.... as a first year played right side.... second year played setter and outside hitter.... is currently a team captain.... came to Occidental after playing high school volleyball and for the club team Midnight Sun Volleyball.... HIGH SCHOOL a 2007 graduate of West Anchorage High School in Anchorage, Alaska...Kathryn was a four year varsity volleyball player serving as team captain her sophomore, junior and senior years for head coach April Hydak .... As a freshman received honorable mention on the All Conference Team and was All Conference as a sophomore, junior and senior... named to the First Team All State as a sophomore and junior and was the State Finals Player of the Game both years ... twice named Anchorage Daily News Athlete of the Week ... received her high school team MVP award two years and also received the Coaches Award.... Also multiple all tournament team recognitions...Played two years of varsity soccer.... received her teams defensive MVP award. OTHER played two years for Midnight Sun Volleyball Club's 14's team and four years on the 18's team.... traveled to the Reno Volleyball Festival on the 18's Gold team three times.... Played for the Alaska State Gold Medal team in the 2006 Arctic Winter Games. PERSONAL Kathryn Ann Bockmon was born on November 23, 1988 to Chris and Judy Bockmon in Anchorage, Alaska.... has an older sister Emily (22) ... A history major and education minor hoping to become an elementary school teacher.
10 Gwynne Davis Sophomore Middle Blocker 6'0"
BRIEFLY Gwynne Davis is entering her second season as a member of the Oxy volleyball program ... Started at opposite as a freshman. HIGH SCHOOL: 2008 graduate of The Harker School where she played for head coach Theresa Smith. In her senior season, Davis helped her team to a CCS regional title game, a Northern California championship, as well as an appearance in the CIF State Championship game. Davis was named to the state all tournament team as well as regional and league first team. OTHER Came to Oxy after playing club volleyball for team Stingrays from the NCVA power region where she played middle blocker PERSONAL Gwynne Anne Davis was born 5-22-1990 and is the daughter of George and Nancy Davis. Sister of Christopher (23) and Michael Davis (21). Born in Pasadena, CA but moved to England before returning to California for high school. Currently lives in Los Gatos, CA and is planning to major in Sociology.
7 Lysa Sim Sophomore Defensive Specialist 5'4"
BRIEFLY Lysa Sim is in her second season with Occidental volleyball... comes to Oxy after playing for club team Metrowest on the East Coast. HIGH SCHOOL a 2008 graduate of Bishop Feehan High School, MA.. was named on the E.A.C All-Star Team and Sun Chronicle All-Star First Team... also received Coach's Award ... PERSONAL Lysa Sue Sim was born November 19, 1989 in Attleboro, MA... greatest support and biggest fan is her grandmother Sue Alexander... aspires to be a middle school math teacher for the inner city.
11 Anna Kurnizki Freshman Opposite 5'11"
Briefly: Anna Kurnizki is entering her first season with Occidental volleyball. High School: She came to Oxy after four years of volleyball at Chico High School in Chico, California. Anna played four seasons starting setter until her last season senior year, when she played right-side hitter. She was moved up to junior varsity her freshman year and voted All-League her senior year. Other: Anna also played one year of club volleyball on the top "black" team. She also plays doubles with her sister Carolyn; the two recently won a grass doubles tournament in Sacramento. Personal: Anna Kurnizki was born September 18th, 1990 in San Francisco, to parents Bill and Kim Kurnizki. She has an older brother, Zander, who plays volleyball at UC Merced, and a younger sister Carolyn, who plays at Chico High School. Anna is undecided on a major, but she has great hopes for volleyball and her education at Occidental College!
15 Clare Bolton Freshman Setter / Outside Hitter 5'8"
BRIEFLY Clare Bolton is enterting her first season with Occidental volleyball... She is a right side, setter, and outside hitter. HIGH SCHOOL Clare graduated in 2009 from Santa Catalina, a boarding school in Monterey, California. She was a four year varsity starter and senior captain leading her team to a league championship. Also named MVP of the league and part of the All County Team. PERSONAL Clare Wyler Bolton was born July 31, 1991 ... Daughter of Roy and Michele ... Brother Evan (20). Born and raised in Los Gatos, California.
16 Emily Repsher Freshman Defensive Specialist 5'9"
BRIEFLY Emily Repsher is in her first season with Occidental Volleyball ... HIGH SCHOOL a 2009 graduate of Sacramento Country Day School in Sacramento, CA ... A four year varsity starter for head coach Brian Contreras ... Throughout her career she played setter and libero ... Was captain of the squad her senior year, named 1st team all league and was voted team Most Valuable Player ... PERSONAL Emily Catherine Repsher was born December 28th, 1990 in Thousand Oaks, CA to parents Stephen and Paula... Has a younger brother named Dylan who is 16 years old and is an avid tennis player... Plans to major in Economics.
5 Carin Montelongo Freshman Libero 5'5"
BRIEFLY: Carin Montelongo is going into her first year at Oxy and will be playing as a DS/Libero. HIGH SCHOOL: Carin graduated from Irvine High in Irvine, CA. She played volleyball at Mater Dei her freshman and sophomore years, and then continued to play her junior and senior years at Irvine. She was captain of her JV team and received MVP awards both her junior and senior years. Senior year she also received the IHS Scholar Athlete Award. OTHER: For the past four years, Carin has played club volleyball for Saddleback Valley Volleyball Club and after graduating from Oxy, she intends on returning to SVVC as a coach. PERSONAL: On October 20, 1990 Carin was born in Orange County, CA. She is one of nine kids, and plans on attending Medical School after graduation.
14 Megan Upp Freshman Setter 5'9"
BRIEFLY: Megan Upp is in her first season with Oxy volleyball. HIGH SCHOOL: Megan graduated from Mission Bay High School in 2009 where she was the 3-year varsity setter and co-captain. Senior year, she earned the titles of Most Valuable Player and First Team All League. She also led the team to three consecutive appearances in the CIF Division Playoffs. OTHER: Megan played club volleyball for Epic Volleyball Club. PERSONAL: Megan was born in San Diego, California on Dec 4, 1990 to parents Kerry and Steve. Her 21-year-old brother Erik is a senior at UCSB.
25 Kasey Rose Freshman Outside Hitter 5'9"
BRIEFLY: Kasey Rose is in her first season with Oxy volleyball. She is going to play pretty much wherever she is needed - but mostly she plays outside hitter and defense. She came to Occidental after playing at a small high school in the Santa Ynez Valley - Dunn School. She also played for Sports Shack and SYV Volleyball all throughout high school. HIGH SCHOOL: She played varsity volleyball for four years at a small liberal arts school (Dunn School) in the Santa Ynez Valley. She won the honor of All CIF Second Team and MVP during her volleyball years at Dunn School. She was also volleyball captain her senior year. She helped lead her volleyball team, 3 years in a row, to the quarterfinals in CIF. OTHER: During the 4 years of high school, Kasey and her beach partner, Samantha Maas, have won a few beach tournaments for the 18 year olds (when they were only 16). PERSONAL: Kasey was born on Feb. 25th 1991 and lived 13 years of her life in Brentwood, Los Angeles before moving up to the Santa Ynez Valley. She has no siblings but has a TON of animals (chickens, horses, dogs, cats, and a rabbit). Kasey also used to be a dancer until 7th grade, when she first started to play volleyball. Kasey plans on becoming an anesthesiologist in her future, but for now is undeclared and is trying to find a major that suits her, while getting all the requirements to get into med-school.
3 Logan Boyer-Hayse Freshman Outside Hitter 5'11"
BRIEFLY Logan Boyer-Hayse is starting her first season with Occidental volleyball...Comes to Oxy after playing club for Colorado Performance in Denver, CO...HIGH SCHOOL a 2009 graduate of Shining Mountain Waldorf School in Boulder, CO...Logan was a four year varsity player...Team captain Junior and Senior years...Senior year led team to a League Championship...Named 1st team All-League as a sophmore, junior, and senior...As a senior, Logan was named Athlete of the Week, Honorable mention All-Region, All-Star Team, All-State Team, and Player of the Year. OTHER played for Flatirons 15-1??s, DPR 16-1??s, Colorado Performance 17-1??s and 18-1??s...As a junior won the Reno Farwest National Tournament...placed 13th at Junior Olympics...As a Senior won the Region..took 2nd at Kansas City...placed 10th at Junior Olympics. PERSONAL Logan Rae Boyer-Hayse was born on September 15, 1990 to Keith Hayse and Jean Marie Boyer in Boulder, Colorado...has a younger sister Madison (16)...Is currently undeclared.
18 Elke Teichmann Freshman Libero / Outside Hitter 5'7"
BRIEFLY Elke Teichmann is in her first season with Occidental Volleyball. She comes to Oxy after playing club for Eclipse and PJV in Palo Alto, CA. Her club experience included the Colorado Crossroads and Reno Far Western tournaments. HIGH SCHOOL a 2009 graduate of Castilleja School in Palo Alto, CA, she played for Tracie Meskell her junior and senior year. She was voted co-captain on her freshman team. Known for her versatility, she throughout her career has played setter, OH, Opp, and libero. In her senior season, she helped her team win a Northern California championship in addition to the school's first CIF State Championship. She also played soccer and helped her swim team to two WBAL championships. PERSONAL Elke Vanessa Teichmann was born on May 9, 1991 to Sonia Moroder and David Teichmann in Palo Alto, but shortly afterwards moved to the Netherlands for three years. She has a younger sister Katja (11). She thanks her parents for being such great supporters throughout her volleyball career. Teichmann hopes to gain a solid background in languages and international relations so she can use her photography skills to bring about social change in developing countries.
8 Maggie Berrigan Freshman Middle Blocker 6'2"
Briefly: Maggie Berrigan is in her first season
at Occidental College. She is a freshman middle blocker.
High School: Maggie graduated from Athenian
High School in Danville, California in 2009. She played on the
varsity volleyball team there for all four years. She was
captain her junior and senior year. She was named All League
her sophomore, junior, and senior year.
Other: Maggie played club for Arugula
14-1,
Norcal 15- 1, Norcal 16-2 and West Coast 17-1.
Personal: Maggie has two younger siblings named
Patrick and Kate. She is a biology major and plans on going to
medical school after Occidental.
