2008 Woodie Awards
Young talent enriches Bears' future
Players mature late in season for volleyball team
Jakob Rodgers
Issue date: 11/28/07 Section: Sports
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For the University of Northern Colorado women's volleyball team, it took one season.
The glass is half full for a young Bears squad after a season which defied expectations and witnessed the growth of a team that began the year with only two seniors.
Picked by coaches in the preseason poll to finish eighth in the Big Sky Conference, the Bears finished fifth, with a conference record of 8-8 and a combined record of 10-20.
UNC coach Lyndsey Benson, in her third year at UNC, said the maturation of the team as the season progressed was a major reason for her team's success down the stretch.
"The improvements we made from when we started until the end of the season were unbelievable," Benson said. "Seeing some very young players progress and take big steps and take on, you know, a bigger role - the future's exciting with those freshmen and sophomores."
Among that group of up-and-coming players who emerged this season were sophomore outside hitter Kenzie Shreeve and sophomore outside hitter and middle blocker Allison Raguse, who earned Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors for the week of Oct. 22-27. In doing so, Raguse became the first volleyball player to earn the award since the team joined the conference two years ago.
Shreeve led the Bears in total points and kills, averaging 3.51 points and 3.2 kills per game. Raguse finished the season averaging 3.49 points and 2.69 kills per game, while leading the team in service aces, with .22 per game, and attack percentage, hitting .249 per game.
Another player who improved this year, sophomore outside hitter Taylor Smith, led the team in blocks, averaging 1.07 per game, barely beating Raguse, who finished with 1.06 blocks per game.
"Their future's bright," Benson said. "They both have a lot of talent; I mean they're athletic. Kenzie has the size, Allison has the quickness - they have some of those natural tools to be great."
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