SCIAC CHAMPS!

FIRST FOR CMS SINCE 1993 

ATHENAS ALSO SCIAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS!

Dear Athenas Volleyball Alumnae, Parents and Fans:

Throughout the season the Athenas were ranked in the top 12 in the nation, moving to as high as seventh while on its late season skein.  This recognition was another in the "first-ever category" as CMS volleyball continues to make a national name for itself.

The 2015 roster once again showed signs of a youth movement with only one senior and two juniors while overloaded with seven sophomores and four first year players.  With ten players returning from the 2014 West Regional championship team, there was no concern about a lack of experience on the court.  There were many times during the season that five of the six players were first or second year student-athletes

Tanner Hoke (SR, CMC, Honolulu, HI) was the lone senior on the 2015 squad.  As team captain and one of the two setters as part of the team's 6-2 offense, she brought four years of CMS experience to the court.  She also had earned 2^nd team All-SCIAC honors as a junior.

Nicole Kerkhof (JR, CMC, Palos Verdes) also was 2^nd team All-SCIAC last year.  She now has moved into second place for most kills in a career.  She also served as team co-captain in 2015.

Natalie Creekmur (JR, CMC, Rancho Cucamonga) was the regular defensive specialist brought in to play the back row. She was one of the team's most consistent passers and also contributed in special serving situations.

One of the largest rookie classes in CMS history in 2014 meant now the Athenas had one of the largest sophomore groups in its history as seven members of the Regional championship team returned for the new season. 

Clara Madsen (SO, CMC, Santa Barbara) teamed with Hoke as the setting team in the 6-2 offense.  Shelbi Stein (SO, CMC, Laguna Beach) moved to the right side for the 2015 season and did not miss a beat in her kill percentage.  Crystal Anderson (SO, CMC, Sammamish, WA) became the second starting outside hitter.

Mariah Rigg (SO, CMC, Honolulu, HI) filled the middle as one of two starting middle blockers for CMS.  Her 2014 numbers earned her both SCIAC rookie of the year honors and a 2^nd team All-SCIAC selection.  Sarah Bruml (SO, Scripps, San Mateo) was the other starting middle blocker and once again proved to be a consistent attacker and defender for the Athenas. 

Margaux Arntson (SO, CMC, Puyallup, WA) returned as a starter on the right side as part of the CMS one-two punch as the opposite position.  She was the fourth member of the 2014 squad that earned 2^nd team All-SCIAC recognition.  Mikena Werner (SO, Scripps, Irvine) took over the libero position after seeing action as a defensive specialist in her first season with the Athenas. 

The first year class brought four quality newcomers to CMS all who contributed to the on-going record setting trend of Athenas volleyball.  Hannah Grobisen (FR, CMC, Rancho Santa Fe) found a role at middle blocker in addition to being called on to nail the tough serve in key match situations.  Kimmy Tuttle (FR, CMC, El Dorado Hills) substituted in both as an outside hitter and on the right side.  Megan Fuelling (FR, Scripps, La Verne) added more depth at the middle blocker position for CMS and Jenna McCune (FR, CMC, Orange) gave the Athenas experience both as an opposite and as the team's third setter.   

The 2015 season started with CMS ranked number 8 nationally in the coaches' pre-season poll.  That was another first for the Athenas – they never had been ranked nationally in the pre-season poll.  CMS would get as high as number 7 during the year.  It was a year of ranked teams as the Athenas' six losses all came against nationally ranked teams and they accumulated wins against teams ranked in the top five, including an upset of number 1 ranked Emory on its home court in Atlanta.  Also, it should be noted that four of the CMS six losses were matches that went the full distance to five sets.

Co-hosting the Pacific Coast Classic, the Athenas won three matches in the season's opening weekend.  All three of these matches were 3-set sweeps: New York University (17,15,11), Pacific (OR) (12,17,14), and Puget Sound (23,20,9).  The wins over Pacific and Puget Sound were important West Regional victories. 

After a SCIAC opening 3–set win over Caltech (16,13,15), CMS returned to the tournament circuit and traveled to Cal Lutheran to play in the annual Posada Classic.  This weekend brought four 3-set sweeps over Life Pacific (13,11,16), Northwest Conference regional opponent Willamette (14,18,20), Providence Christian (10,12,11), and UC Santa Cruz (yet another regional challenger) (14,19,18).

Based on the growth of the program and its performance in the 2014 NCAA tournament, the Athenas were invited to an Elite Invitational tournament in Atlanta hosted by Emory University.  Only the cream of the national volleyball scene was invited to participate in this weekend of outstanding volleyball.  CMS came away with three wins, including its exciting 5-set 0-2 come-from-behind victory over then number 1 ranked host Emory (21-25,29-31,25-20,25-21,15-7).  That weekend also saw 4-set wins over Wheaton (IL) (25-21,26-28,25-16,25-19) and Franklin & Marshall (25-20,20-25,25-16,25-7). 

After enjoying the excitement of the Emory Elite Invitational, the Athenas then settled into the tough SCIAC schedule, where three teams in the conference were ranked in the national top 25 and on any given night any team in the conference could rise to the occasion of an upset. 

The first half of SCIAC play saw 3-set sweeps over Whittier (16,9,16), Chapman (19,14,14), and Redlands (11,12,17) and 4-set wins over Occidental (25-23,25-21,21-25,25-12) and Pomona-Pitzer (25-12,25-16,20-25,25-14).  CMS was saving its best SCIAC play for the second round as the Athenas overcame a 2-game deficit to get into and remain in first place in conference for the first time in over 20 years.

This time there were five 3-set sweeps in the eight rematch meetings.  Caltech (12,12,16) and Pomona-Pitzer (22,15,21) were on the road and Chapman (21,15,18) was at home.  The win over La Verne at home was revenge of an earlier loss as CMS came back from being down 13-18 in the first set to take the lead at 22-21 and never look back in its 23,17,10 sweep of the Lady Leos.

On the road, the Athenas turned in 4-set wins over Whittier (25-19,25-20,27-29,25-19) and Occidental (25-7,17-25,25-16,25-22).

The most exciting match of the SCIAC schedule came at the Linde Activity Center when Cal Lutheran came to town holding onto its one game lead in the conference standings.  CMS showed it was ready for the Regals as the Athenas jumped ahead 2-0 on 25-16 and 25-21 wins in the first two sets.  However, Cal Lutheran showed its resilience as it tied the match in 30-32 and 20-25 wins in sets three and four.  The match heated up and the over-flow crowd heated up with it as CMS prepared for the shorter rally scored fifth set.  And with the Regals up 12-14, the Athenas turned up their own heat.  A side-out and then three straight service points on offense turned the tables on Cal Lutheran and gave CMS the 5-set win at 16-14.

There was one last road match at Redlands that stood in the way of the Athenas and their SCIAC championship.  Not to be denied at this juncture of the season, CMS swept the match in three sets (15,11,16) and the SCIAC title returned to CMS. 

It now was time for the Athenas to return to the conference post-season tournament.  The automatic berth to the NCAA national championships was at stake and CMS was poised not to let that opportunity slip away.  This was the third straight year the Athenas were in the tournament and second straight year of facing La Verne in the semi-final match.  CMS picked up where it had left off in its last match against the Lady Leos to win the first set 25-20.  The momentum got even stronger as the Athenas won the next two sets 18 and 13 to move into the final match against Cal Lutheran for the third straight year.

The emotions were high as CMS was determined to change the fate of history from the previous two post-season tournaments and to show that both its win over the Regals at home and its championship status were no flukes.  Similar to three weeks prior, the Athenas jumped out early capturing sets one and two (21,20).  This time CMS was ready for the third set and kept its strong play going and the heat on Cal Lutheran in the third set.  There was no Regals comeback this night as the Athenas closed out the tournament championship match 25-19.  This marked the first SCIAC post-season tournament title in CMS volleyball history.

This championship also gave the Athenas an automatic qualification into the NCAA championships and the West Regional tournament.  CMS drew Southwestern University (TX) in the quarterfinal match.  The Athenas had played the Tigers earlier in the season and had lost a heartbreaking 5-set decision.  But as CMS had done many times already this season, they learned from past experiences and made the necessary adjustments.  There was no question as to the outcome of this match as the Athenas came out energized and determined to make amends.  They dominated the first set 25-14 and then never slowed down with wins in the next two sets 16 and 17 to sweep the match.

In its semi-final match against Washington University (MO), the Athenas overcame huge deficits in both the first and second sets only to be outlasted 27-29 and 24-26.  An untimely injury in the third set hurt the team's chances of a comeback this time and the season ended 14-25.

But there was nothing to be sad or disappointed about with CMS enjoying yet another record-setting season at 27-6 (.818).  The 81.8% winning percentage was an Athenas record and the 27 wins equaled the record set for most win in a season from just a year ago.  In addition, the 14 SCIAC wins also tied the record from 2014 for the most wins in a conference season. 

The All-SCIAC selections as usual were made at the conclusion of the intense conference season.  CMS had another strong showing with five all conference selections.  Setter Clara Madsen was named 2^nd team All-SCIAC for the first time while middle blocker Mariah Rigg and right side Margaux Arntson received second team All-SCIAC honors for their second straight year.  Nicole Kerkhof returned to the All-SCIAC first team after being named to the second team in 2014. She had been SCIAC Rookie of the Year and 1^st team All-SCIAC in 2013.  Joining Kerkhof on the first team was libero Mikena Werner who received her first honors on the all-conference team.

There was more recognition for the 2015 Athenas when the West Region awards were released shortly after the Regional tournament.  Kerkhof was named to the All-West Region first time while Werner received honorable mention accolades.  In addition, head coach Kurt Vlasich was honored as West-Region Coach of the Year for 2015.  This is the second time in the past three seasons that Coach Vlasich was so recognized.  Finally, Kerkhof was named 3^rd Team All American – the first time an Athenas had been so recognized in over 20 years.

The team met shortly after the season and handed out its own team awards.  Hannah Grobisen was chosen by her teammates as the Rookie of the Year.  Arntson was voted as the team's Most Offensive Player while All-SCIAC libero Werner was named as the team's Most Defensive Player.  The last team award was given to Kerkhof who was honored as team Most Valuable Player. 

With only one senior lost to graduation and 13 players returning along with a promising recruiting class, the picture is nothing but optimistic for CMS volleyball.  The 2016 season should be another exciting one for the Athenas.

With Roberts Pavilion soon to be completed, the 2016 season will be the first played in this new state-of-the-art facility.  CMS is looking forward to hosting its own elite tournament in September as the new season gets underway.

We close by again thanking you, our alumnae, for your continued support throughout the years.   It always is appreciated to hear from you.

In addition, we want to remind you that you can follow the Athenas on the web.  Most matches are being streamed live and all of the results from the season are posted as soon as available throughout the campaign.

Looking forward to an exciting and successful 2016 season, we remain sincerely yours. 

Sincerely,

Mike Haas CMC '79

Contact: kurt.vlasich@cms.claremont.edu