Quarterfinals: Heidelberg (32-5) vs. Greenville (26-5)
Thursday, Nov. 11 @ 3:00 p.m.
Wittenberg University - Springfield, Ohio
The latest edition of the Berg Report features head volleyball coach Jason Miller. Coach Miller sat down with Jeff Garvin to review the first OAC Tournament title in the history of the program and look ahead at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
Top Story: The Heidelberg University volleyball team is making its fourth straight trip to the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship. Heidelberg earned the Ohio Athletic Conference’s automatic bid after winning the league tournament for the first time in the history of the program. Its tournament title allowed the Berg to sweep the OAC hardware in 2010. Overall the Berg has won three OAC Regular Season titles (1986, 2009, 2010). Heidelberg enters regional play with an overall record of 32-5. Its 32 wins set a new single season record at the Berg, topping its 31 from 2008. It is the fifth consecutive season, and sixth time in seven years, that Heidelberg has recorded over 20 wins in a season. Eleventh-year head coach Jason Miller has guided the Berg to 11 postseason wins, either OAC Tournament or NCAA, heading into regional play this week.
NCAA Notes: Heidelberg will face Greenville College for the first time when it takes the court at the Great Lakes Regional. Both sides are coming off their inaugural tournament titles for their respective conferences. Heidelberg holds the upper hand as it has been in the NCAA postseason before, while Greeneville is making its first appearance. Of the rest of the bracket, Heidelberg has played 11 schools this season and have posted a 10-4 record. Included in that list are fellow Great Lakes Regional participants, as well as OAC members, Otterbein and Ohio Northern. Also in the same regional as the Berg is Hope and Calvin. Rounding out NCAA postseason participants that the Berg has faced this season is Wis.-Oshkosh, Carthage, Thomas More, St. Thomas (Minn.), Concordia-Moorehead and Case Western Reserve, Calvin and Hope.
Great Lakes Regional Participants
No. 1 (13) Heidelberg University (32-5)
No. 2 (2) Witternberg University (30-2)
No. 3 (6) Hope College (26-4)
No. 4 (10) Calvin College (26-4)
No. 5 Otterbein University (26-6)
No. 6 (23) Chicago University (30-12)
No. 7 Ohio Northern University (19-12)
No. 8 Greenville College (26-5)
2009 NCAA Recap: In 2009, Heidelberg participated in the Great Lakes Regional hosted by Hope College in Holland, Mich. In the quarterfinals the Berg faced North Central College and suffered a hard fought 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23) setback. It was the first trip to the NCAA Regionals that the Berg did not post a quarterfinal victory. Leading the way against North Central was Venessa Haase with 14 kills followed by Jacki Street with 11 and Marian Bevington and Amanda Atchison with 10 apiece. Jackie Reinhart and Brittany Donelan led the back row with 33 and 27 digs, respectively.
Follow Along: Fans can still follow along with the action. Listen to a live broadcast through WFOB-Sporting News 1430. WFOB-Sporting News 1430 will carry all of Heidelberg’s regional games. Josh Hohman ‘10 and Matt Cotman ’11 will be calling the action.
OAC Honors: In conjunction with the OAC Tournament hosted by Heidelberg last weekend, the league office announced its 2010 award winners, as voted on by the head coaches. Heidelberg was well represented led by Sheila Wallace-Kovalchik Player of the Year junior Jackie Reinhart and three-time Witte-Zicha Libero of the Year Brittany Donelan. It was the first time a ’Berg player was tabbed player of the year. Reinhart’s top honor joins her rookie of the year selection from 2008. Both Reinhart and Donelan were named to the first team as well. Earning a spot on the second team was junior Venessa Haase and sophomore Marian Bevington. Rounding out the list of honorees was sophomore Jacki Street.
Academic Accolades: Senior libero Brittany Donlean was honored as the OAC’s Scholar-Athlete of the Month in September and has rounded out her fall semester with a spot on the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District IV First Team. She is now on the ballot for Academic All-American honors. It was the third straight season she earned all-district recognition.
Double Duty: Heidelberg’s roster provides a lot of versatility. On a given day any member of the team can provide depth at multiple spots on the court. With the versatility come a handful of players that have racked up double doubles on the year. Leading the way on this season is Jackie Reinhart with 12 followed by Venessa Haase (11) and Rachel Ferguson (10).
National Caliber: Late in the 2008 season, Heidelberg emerged into the national rankings and have never left. According to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) the Berg enters regional play ranked 13th. In poll number three (Sept. 21) this season Heidelberg ranked a program-best 11th.
Record Season: Not only has Heidelberg set a new mark for wins in a season, but a host of players have inked their names in the Heidelberg annuals as well. Topping the list is senior libero Brittany Donelan. Donelan took over the career list for digs with 2,653 and sets played with 535. Juniors Jackie Reinhart (186) and Venessa Haase (184) are approaching the career service ace mark of 206. Haase (901) and Reinhart (879) have moved into the top-six in career kills as well. Haase became the 13th player in the history of the program to record 1,000 career digs. Reinhart accomplished the same feat a season earlier. In the single season record book sophomore Marian Bevington has moved into the top-10 in blocks and kills, while fellow classmate Rachel Ferguson is on the verge of being just the eighth setter to dish out 1,000 assists in a single season.