2008 Woodie Awards
Lakeland continues to shine
Muskies go 10-1 in two tournaments
Brian Moser
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
The Lakeland College men's volleyball team is riding high with only one blemish on their 13-1 record: a loss in the Midwest 10 Tournament to UW-Oshkosh, the number one ranked team in the nation. The Muskies are still a perfect 3-0 in conference matches.
Lakeland is ranked number five nationally in the first National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) poll of the season that was released on February 1. The next poll will come out on March 1.
"It is where we want to be," said Coach Chad Schreiber about being ranked number five. "Based on previous years, this is the most talented team I've coached, but I am not sure about is how good the east and west coast teams are because I haven't seen them yet."
The next opponent is UW-Platteville, who is 3-3 in conference matches. The game will be at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 18.
On the next weekend, Lakeland will be competing in the Hoosier-Illini Classic Tournament in Bloomington, IN, which is the biggest regular season tournament of the year. Forty team will be competing, including all of the top five teams of the nation.
"There is a trend with this tournament recently," explains Schreiber. "The past two teams that have taken second at this tournament the year before have gone on to win this tournament and become national champions."
The previous two national champions, UW-Oshkosh and Marquette, won the Hoosier-Illini Classic that same year and took second in that same tournament the year before.
According to the trend, Lakeland should be the next in line to win the Hoosier-Illini Classic and the national championship because they took second in the tournament last year.
Lakeland has traveled to Madison and DeKalb, IL for two tournaments in the past two weeks. They have compiled a 10-1 record during the outings while losing only six games during their eleven matches.
The Muskies main strength has been blocking. "We have put a lot of time into blocking," said Schreiber. "We have more length [taller players] than other teams, too."
One area of work that needs improvement is when they serve.
"We are not good enough in that department, yet," said Schreiber. "Too many players are not understanding what level of server they are at. Some are serving too weak and some are trying for the killer serve when they aren't good enough. It just takes repetitions to get it right."
The Lakeland team does have a lot of team chemistry this year, which is exemplified by the great blocking and communication.
"This team seems more focused than past team I have had before," said Schreiber.
Lakeland is ranked number five nationally in the first National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) poll of the season that was released on February 1. The next poll will come out on March 1.
"It is where we want to be," said Coach Chad Schreiber about being ranked number five. "Based on previous years, this is the most talented team I've coached, but I am not sure about is how good the east and west coast teams are because I haven't seen them yet."
The next opponent is UW-Platteville, who is 3-3 in conference matches. The game will be at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 18.
On the next weekend, Lakeland will be competing in the Hoosier-Illini Classic Tournament in Bloomington, IN, which is the biggest regular season tournament of the year. Forty team will be competing, including all of the top five teams of the nation.
"There is a trend with this tournament recently," explains Schreiber. "The past two teams that have taken second at this tournament the year before have gone on to win this tournament and become national champions."
The previous two national champions, UW-Oshkosh and Marquette, won the Hoosier-Illini Classic that same year and took second in that same tournament the year before.
According to the trend, Lakeland should be the next in line to win the Hoosier-Illini Classic and the national championship because they took second in the tournament last year.
Lakeland has traveled to Madison and DeKalb, IL for two tournaments in the past two weeks. They have compiled a 10-1 record during the outings while losing only six games during their eleven matches.
The Muskies main strength has been blocking. "We have put a lot of time into blocking," said Schreiber. "We have more length [taller players] than other teams, too."
One area of work that needs improvement is when they serve.
"We are not good enough in that department, yet," said Schreiber. "Too many players are not understanding what level of server they are at. Some are serving too weak and some are trying for the killer serve when they aren't good enough. It just takes repetitions to get it right."
The Lakeland team does have a lot of team chemistry this year, which is exemplified by the great blocking and communication.
"This team seems more focused than past team I have had before," said Schreiber.
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