Lady Apaches fall in second round
By Holli L. Rapp
The 1999 version of the Lady Apaches volleyball team finished with a 10-21 record overall with first year college head coach Laurie Polte.
Polte's team advanced into the second round of the Region IV tournament, Nov. 5 and 6,
where they came up against the No. 1 rated team in the nation, Kishwaukee. The Lady Apaches fell to Kishwaukee 8-15, 4-15, 1-15.
"Kishwaukee is very, very good," said the head coach.
The Lady Apaches defeated Black Hawk College on October 30th 11-15, 16-14, 15-7, 6-15, 15-9 in the opening round. A day earlier, the Lady Apaches finished their regular season with a loss to Black Hawk 8-15, 11-15, 3-15.
A bright spot for the Lady Apaches was Nicki Huettemann and Amy Kozikowski's placement on the Arrowhead Conference All-Conference Team. Huettemann led the team with 215 kills and 260 digs.
Huettemann is a sophomore academically but a freshman in athletic eligibility.
The head coach said that she believes Huettemann is going to be attending ISU in the fall.
With a laugh, Polte said, "I think Nicki has had enough of me. I was her coach all four years at Hall High School."
Kozikowski finished the year with 632 assists, 49 aces, both team highs and 170 digs.
"Amy is such a good leader, along with her setting, and she has coached so she can tell the ladies what and where to go on the court," said Polte.
Rounding out the stats for the Lady Apaches were Jane Matthews with 211 kills, and 43 block kills which led the team; L-P grads Carrie Claudnic and Tammy Thompson with over 115 kills while Kim Zimmermann added 212 digs and Thompson had 192.
Looking to the future, Polte has been to numerous area high school games watching volleyball players. In addition to recruiting area players, Polte believes that she has a solid core of players in Matthews, Claudnic, Thompson and Zimmerman to build on for next year.
"The girls have seen what I am like and hopefully they will talk to their friends that are still in high school, about playing at IVCC," said Polte.
"We have a huge pool of volleyball talent in the Illinois Valley area," said Polte. "If we can get them to play at IV."
Despite the 10-21 record, IVCC showed great improvement and everyone got along well, according to the head coach.
"Next year, I will be far more comfortable (having had a year as a college coach)," said Polte. "I will have more time to prepare for the season; I was on vacation when the season started, plus I will be able to recruit."