Lake Forest College Sports Information
Contact:  Mike Wajerski, SID

2005 Preview: Good News and Bad News
  

Janelle Balcerzak set the single-season
school record for aces last year.
The good news for Head Coach Beth Pier and the 2005 Forester volleyball team is that six of its members saw considerable playing time as the squad posted a 20-13 record and placed second at the Midwest Conference Championship Tournament. The bad news is that the team’s three graduates included its school record-setting setter, leader in kills, Most Valuable Player, and Most Improved Player, as well as two First Team All-MWC selections. “We obviously have a lot to replace,” begins Pier, “both on the court and in leadership roles. I think the players we have coming back, though, are capable of doing much more than just picking up the slack.”

Among the returning players Pier touts are Second Team All-MWC selections Meghan Miller and Nicole Baich. Miller enters her senior season already ranked first in school history with 1,465 career digs after tallying a team record 668 last year. While she was preventing kills in the back row, Baich was doing a pretty good job of making sure the attempts never even got that far. As a freshman she set school records for total (11) and solo (6) blocks in a match and solo blocks (60) in a season. She also ranked fourth on the team with 251 kills and led the squad with a .286 hitting percentage. Her totals for the season would have been even greater had she not missed the final seven matches due to illness. “Nicole’s kills and blocks show up on the stat sheet,” comments Pier. “But the attempts she changes because of her presence at the net are just as important to our success. And even when they do get one past the blockers, Meghan always seems to be in position to keep the play going. Having both of them is a coach’s luxury.”

What’s even better for a coach is when the team can score points without a block or dig even being necessary. Janelle Balcerzak set a school record last season with 67 aces and also ranked second on the team with 327 kills and 79 total blocks. Savanna Shumaker also had a breakthrough sophomore season, ranking fifth on the team with 244 kills.

Although she knows that she’ll need more breakthrough performances in 2005 to maintain the team’s level of success (five MWC titles in eight years), Pier is confident that will occur. “We always seem to play our best late in the season,” she explains. “I attribute that to the team’s attitude and work ethic and I look forward to that tradition continuing next year.”