Previous seasons: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 & 2007-11
Hello flyer fans!!
My name is Colleen Wilhelm, and I am a senior rightside hitter on Lewis Women’s Volleyball team. I am from Euclid, Ohio (right outside of Cleveland) and I am majoring in Nursing.
What is crazy to me is the fact I am sitting at my computer, typing my last player diary, after my final season at Lewis. However, no need to be sad for me, it was the thrill of a lifetime. This 2019 season was quite eventful, with some highlights including: hosting the Midwest regional tournament, finishing in the gold bracket of Colorado Premier Tournament for the first time, and winning 5 set thrillers when we had our backs against the wall. However, one of the coolest/most defining parts of season occurred before we even began official pre-season; everyone decided to come in three days early to practice without coaches, learn about Lewis volleyball, and spend more time together. If that doesn’t show the level of commitment this team has to doing big things, I don’t know what does! The most hilarious highlight was our bus breaking down in Springfield, Illinois. Clearly it was planned to allow us to choreograph a full dance routine which we later performed for the student body (#meanttobe).
Unfortunately, we knew the fun of our season could not go on forever. Our early ending after a loss vs. Rockhurst in the Midwestern Region Semi-finals was heart wrenching to say the least. What I love about this program is that we do not let losses define us, and this program will continue to be successful as long as it has the Lewis name on the jersey. Thanks for being the most amazing flyer family a girl can ask for these past four years, I cannot wait to see what Lewis accomplishes in the future/ tell everyone I am a part of the best program in the world.
Love always your Lewis Flyer,
Colleen Wilhelm #14
Hi Flyer Fans!!
My name is Andrea Zeiser and I am a freshman libero at Lewis this year. This week we came back from Thanksgiving break a little bit early for a few practices before the school week started. It was really nice going home for break even though it was only for a few days. A little time is better than nothing, and our team is lucky that we had the opportunity to spend the holiday with our families. Lots of teams don’t get that luxury.
Practices since coming back have been going really well and I think that has stemmed from everyone's excitement about HOSTING REGIONALS!!! I’m looking forward to the crazy atmosphere in the gym during our games and having our friends and family there to watch.
Many memories from this season stick out to me, a couple being the huge five set wins over Rockhurst and Drury. The wins weren’t the most important thing about those games, instead it was the whole team effort to come back in both games and fight to win together, not as individuals. This team is really something special and we are all so lucky to be a part of it! It continues to amaze me how close we all have gotten this season and I look forward to spending the next four years here as a flyer!
Stay tuned to see us fight to continue our undefeated home record this season!!
#12, Andrea Zeiser
Hello Flyer Fans,
We are about to take on conference tournament!!! This is one of the most exciting parts of the season because it means we have made it to post-season! It is crazy to think that some schools are done playing and we still get the chance to play/ practice! Our first postseason practice was great, it was full of energy, 100% effort, and positive attitudes! We recently had our senior day and I cannot believe my last semester of volleyball is slowly coming to an end. However, it has been one heck of a ride and I am honored to call myself a flyer and a soon to be an alum. The conference tournament is a blast, we get to dress up and go to the banquet where a bunch of awards is handed out and much more. As of right now, our team is fully embodying loving each little moment we have left because the final stretch of the season is never guaranteed and loving each is super important. We leave
Thursday at 8 am and our first match is
Friday at 2:30 pm against Illinois Springfield. It is going to be a tough fight for the entire tournament because you have to win to advance. If we win conference it is a for sure bid into the regional tournament but right now we are in a good spot to potentially get a bid even if we fall short at the conference tournament. This team is one of a kind and we have been putting in a lot of time on and off the court to reach this goal. Through numerous team bonders, such team breakfasts, potlucks, making warm-up shirts this family has grown closer as the season has gone on. The family environment here at Lewis is what has helped us win two tough 5 set wins. There is no other wolf pack I would want to be apart of and I am excited to see where the rest of the season takes us. Be sure to tune in on the rest of the season because it is going to be one wild ride! There ain’t no party like a flyer party!!!
#1 Ronni Katarzynski
Hello flyer fans!!
My name is Jamie Poppen and I'm a junior Libero on the Lewis Women's Volleyball team. I'm from St. Louis, Missouri, and I'm majoring in Health and Human Performance with aspirations to attend graduate physical therapy school in the future.
This year we've spent most of our time on the road, unfortunately, but it makes the home games that much more appreciated. We make sure to pass the time on the bus by doing headphone challenges, playing mafia, or even a 2 hour game of "would you rather" which equated to 2 hours of laughing. And while being on the road can make school more challenging at times, we implement team study halls which alleviates our workload and we are all also naturally motivated by our current rule -- 18 A's per week rewards us with starbucks before our weekend games!
We are approaching the end of our conference games so the team is determined and excited to defend our reputation for success! Being a part of this close-knit family is easily one of the best things that has ever happened to me. The balance of maturity, competitiveness, unwavering support, and genuine love for the game that this group demonstrates is such an honor and pleasure to be a part of. My teammates and coaches have challenged me to grow in unimaginable ways both on and off the court, and for that, I am forever grateful.
Aside from volleyball, the campus offers a comfortable and central layout, allowing short walks in the cold winter. Furthermore, the classroom setting is personal which breeds a great learning environment in my opinion. The community at the school, especially the athletic community, is very welcoming and supportive and, therefore, has become a comfortable home away from home over the years for me.
Stay tuned for the rest of our journey :) Go flyers!!
Love,
Jamie Poppen #5
Hi Flyer Fans!
My name is Alexandra Preuss and I am Outside Hitter. This past weekend we came out strong after one of our few home weekends. This past weekend we played University of Missouri- St. Louis and Lindenwood and we won both matches! Our match on Friday was playing for Preemies, which is always fun to be a part of. On Saturday, our match was a Dig Pink match to support breast cancer awareness, since October is breast cancer awareness month!
This upcoming weekend we are traveling down to University of Southern Indiana and McKendree for two more conference matches. We are always excited to continue our conference playing and we are looking forward to coming out strong this upcoming weekend. It’s crazy to think that I am a senior and my remaining matches are narrowing down, but every moment on the court is a special one and I am looking forward to continuing strong throughout the rest of the season!
Love always,
Alexandra Preuss #2
Hey Flyer fans!
This is Tori Foster, senior middle hitter. I’m writing this after another pair of weekend conference wins! Last weekend we dominated at the crossover which put us back on track from the poopy weekend prior. We’ve got two more weekends to power through on the road before my last two home games as a Lewis Flyer… wow that just got real emotional real fast! On a lighter note, I’m also writing this in a pirate costume as it’s the weekend before Halloween!
For those of you who know me well, this year is really my bonus year. After breaking my foot before my junior season, I was granted an extra year of eligibility. But with all the extra things I have going on all the time like school and my campus jobs and finding a real job once December hits (SCARY), I didn’t think I would play during my ninth semester. I was originally only going to be a practice player a couple times a week and a knowledgeable bench voice to help the team out in the ways I could. But due to not very happy circumstances of injury, I decided after this preseason to travel and play with the team for the rest of the semester. I expected it to be a lot tougher than it has schedule wise. My weeks are still long and chocked full of assignments, newspaper stories, work items and the occasional job application, but all the stress on my shoulders still rolls right off when I hit the court.
The first time I joined a volleyball team was when I was 13 years old. It is pretty insane that the 10 years I’ve been playing competitively are about to come to an end. While I still hope to play beach in my free time and maybe one day far in the future coach a team of my own, I’m about to close a HUGE, extremely important chapter of my life. It seems like since that first team, my whole world has revolved around the sport, my athletic schedule and my team. I have learned so many things over the years like how to set goals, time management skills, how to push myself to limits I didn’t know possible, how to succeed, how to fail and get back up again, what it means to be a great follower, what it takes to be a great leader, how to bring up others with you and most importantly what it means to love yourself and your tribe. All of these lessons came with ups and downs that I would truly never replace, and I will never take for granted. The bonds I have built with every player that has come through this program during my time here have been beyond any friendships I ever dreamt.
With that, I will leave you with the best advice I have ever bought into: find your tribe and love them hard.
Love always, T #foreveraflyer
Hello Flyer Fans!
My name is Megan Schlechte and I’m a Freshman OH and I’m #11. This past weekend we played at UIndy and Bellarmine University. As you probably already know we absolutely did not have our best weekend. We experienced our first true off weekend in my opinion. Our record is now 16-3 and we are more motivated than ever! At Monday’s practice we all came and worked our butt’s off. I think that we are all just trying to get past the weekend and come out stronger this coming weekend.
This weekend we have the Crossover tournament in Indianapolis and we are all super excited! Hopefully we can pull out three good wins and get back on track with how we were playing towards the beginning of the season. Also at the crossover we all dress up in costumes for a competition and wear them to practice on Thursday so I think it’ll be a lot of fun.
The crazy thing is that I’ve only been with these girls for 2 months and I already feel so close to them. This team really is a family and I’m so excited to spend the next 4 years with them!
Love Always
#11 Megan Schlechte
Hello Flyer Fans, this month has been pretty great with volleyball and school. It has been about 5 weeks since the start of school and I have seen myself grow in ways that I didn’t think I could grow as a student. I have seen my knowledge improve, seen my skills increase such as becoming more of a listener and note taken than just sitting there and trying to understand everything right away, and also have been able to grasp onto things easier. I don’t know if it’s because it’s my second year of college, or if I am trying extra hard to be where I should be as a student. In the volleyball world my life is amazing right now! We are 15-1 which is pretty awesome. We are also on a win streak of 9 games which is so amazing to show everyone who thought less of us since we graduated two amazing players, that we are still Lewis Vball and we are still very good. I am just so happy with everything going on whether it is volleyball, or school. Just happy I came to Lewis and glad to be a part of something so successful.
#13 Mikah Freppon
Hello Flyer Fans,
My name is Aliza Van Den Elzen and I honestly feel a little more homesick this week compared to others. The home sickness is definitely because its fall break and I see everyone going home and it makes me miss it a little extra. Honestly my favorite moment so far this season isn’t just one moment its more so part of my favorite trip which was this past weekend when we went to Missouri. We had a lot of obstacles on the trip, but as a team made the best of the situations. I loved hanging out at Jamie’s and playing mafia on the bus, I feel like we became closer as a team during that weekend. It also made me fully realize the ups and downs of traveling and appreciate the road trips that go smoothly.
Worst moment was honestly probably this weekend getting called out for being a poor teammate. I felt like absolute crap and was embarrassed. As hard as it is to be called out it allowed me to reflect and realize I needed to do more as a teammate. The next match I did everything in my power to be a great teammate. I told the middles places that I thought were open to swing, filled up water bottles, was loud cheering on the bench and gave one on one compliments to people. As crappy as I felt on the bus being called out a good thing came from it.
My favorite trip was actually the Missouri road trip because I felt like a got closer with the team and I came out of my shell a little more. The runner up is definitely the trip to Florida for multiple reasons, to start with it was the first time I was able to experience traveling as a team. I did not really know what I was going to think of being in an airport, staying in hotels and living out of a suitcase for a couple weekends, but I actually really enjoyed it. I also got the go, go, go and rush of having one thing after another, but the one day off was great. I loved soaking up the sun and hanging out with the team, swimming in the ocean, tanning and shopping. My favorite meal so far is not a campus meal, but I really like Covo even though I have only been there twice. I think a big momentum changing play in a game is when we get a block straight down, shutting the other team’s hitters down, or when we get a killer dig to a monster kill. Those are the times when we need to run with it because as the other team it sucks when it happens to you. I honestly took a little bit of a risk coming to Lewis because it was farther away and more out of my comfort zone, but I am so thankful I did. I really love the campus, my professors, coaches and the team. I didn’t realize what a true team was until I came here. In high school everything was politics and individual stats. Playing here I see the love everyone has for there teammates and the support they have for everyone. Everyone wants the best for each other by giving constructive feedback to everyone. That’s why I think our team is special because we are not afraid to call each other out because we want the team to be better. This is kind of all over the place, but that’s how my brain is sometimes just random stuff comes up. I just wanted to say that my biggest motivator and I think should be other people’s as well is to not disappoint a coach, teammate or parent. Whenever I would get in trouble at home the one thing, I hated hearing was that my parents were disappointed, because that means I in a way “failed”, and I let them down. I always want to make the people around me proud. I think that is actually one of my biggest motivators is to make my coaches and teammates proud and my parents in the bleachers.
#4 Aliza Van Den Elzen
Hello Flyer Fans!
It’s Gisela here reporting how the season has been going. Well its week two of our official season, so we are still very much in the beginning. So far, we are 7-1! Last weekend we were in Florida and there we went 4-0 which was a great start. This weekend we were in Colorado where we went 3-1. Not what we wanted but we have to remind ourselves that this is the toughest preseason DII tournament with all great nationally ranked teams. A positive is that we were in the gold bracket which has not been a thing until now. This upcoming week we have practice and then we leave again Thursday for New York for our last preseason tournament. So, this week will entail of getting better at what was exposed this weekend along with ways to beat the teams in New York.
Last weekend when we were in Florida I was just hanging around in the back of the group. When in the back I was just observing everyone and everything and while watching everyone I realize that I am so lucky to have this group of people as my second family. Everyone is different in their own way but somehow, we come together as one. It’s nice to see. From being on different teams in past years I have never felt so close to a team before. I had this realization last year after the final four, but I had it again when in Florida this year. Everyone is respected whether you play or not. Everyone is valued and seen as important. Also, I have never had team chemistry like this. So all in all I am very lucky to be a part of such an amazing family and team. And I am excited to see what the future has to hold for us.
Sincerely, Gisela Bode
Hello Flyer Fans!
What a change my life has experienced in the past 4 weeks. Words to describe my days at Lewis are: hard, stressful, rewarding, exhausting, incredible, challenging and fun.
I was nervous about attending Lewis and playing vb for the Flyers. I knew it was going to be such a huge change for me. New people, school, environment. But after a week of being here, I was happy with my decision. Being on the volleyball team made making friends easy and that makes me happy.
Volleyball has been a sport I have played since 4
th grade. When I think back to my 1
st club vb game in 4
th grade, I thought I was going to play one match and go home. Little did I know, I wouldn’t get back until 8pm that night. I was wiped out. I thought, this is tough, do I really want to do it? But I stayed with it and eventually learned to love the weekends of volleyball. I feel like playing vb for Lewis is the same thing, but just on a bigger scale. It’s hard, it’s demanding, but also greatly rewarding and satisfying. For example, I was so terrified of going to the dunes. I thought it would kill me after the stories I heard, but I made it through and lived to say it was incredibly fun and rewarding. I can honestly say I want to go back.
Rookie night was my favorite night with the team. The upperclassmen were caring and welcoming to all of us. I also realized this team of girls has each other’s backs and look out for each other – that is what makes teams special.
Florida was fun. It was nice to get away for a few days. Our team played well and it was neat to see us come from behind to win. It was nice to have the last day to chill at the beach and hangout. It was relaxing and I’m glad to have experienced it.
I do have to say I do not like living in a dorm. I love Ratka as a roommate, that is not the problem. I just enjoy being alone and being able to decompress after a long day and having my own bathroom. I also try to be an organized person and having such a small room makes it hard to stay organized.
In volleyball, I wish I knew more of how things should be done on the court. I wish I could hit harder and sometimes feel like I lack in ability when compared to others. I am not used to feeling like this. I was a starter on high school varsity as a freshman and a captain as a sophomore. All the girls looked to me to lead them on the court. I do know this: this feeling makes me want to work harder and become a better player.
When someone tells me to do something a different way or change my approach or angle, I try my hardest to apply it. Although, later in practice sometimes I forget what they told me and go back to my old way and this is something I’ve really tried hard to change.
School is another added stress. In high school I never studied super hard to get good grades and now that I am in college my study habits have to change, which is something I need to work on. Missing classes for vb is difficult and having to make up tests on certain dates is something that is difficult for me, because of my busy schedule. I am hoping next year will not be so much of a challenge with school, because I will know what is expected.
My mom is my best friend and being away from her is sometimes super hard. She did a lot for me at home and now that I am on my own I realize how hard being away from her is. But, I feel like I am getting the hang of everything and what it is like to be independent.
Overall, the first few weeks of volleyball and school have been a great, fun, learning experience. Being so busy has actually kept me on track with studying. If I didn’t have volleyball in my life, I would just wait until the last minute to finish assignments and study for tests. Now, any free moment I have is spent studying and trying to get ahead in classes. I am very happy with where I am right now and look forward to what the future brings.
Thanks for being a caring coach. I have learned a ton about volleyball and that is because of the coaching staff and all my teammates. It's one big happy family supporting and helping each other to become better people and volleyball players. I know that if I have any concerns about school or vb, you are the first person I can come too!
Josie Kleekamp #8
Hello Flyer fans!
My name is Haley Sobieralski I’m #7 and I am a junior setter. Right now I am a little tired because we just finished our third Creig workout of the preseason, but I have never felt better or more confident at the start of a season! This year we only got a week and a half of preseason which is shorter than normal, but all the girls have been working super hard and we’re off to a great start!
So far my favorite part of season has been the dunes, or what we like to call it “Dunes day”. Although it is a tough workout coaches always find a way to make it fun and interesting. Our theme for the season is cards, so while we were racing up and down the dunes we were also playing games like blackjack. Once you finished a hill you got a card and the person with the best hand at the end won! Sadly it wasn’t me but I still enjoyed it.
We have had one preseason match so far against Parkland which went pretty well. We had it the second day of preseason so some things were a little shaky. However, everyone was busting their butts out on the court and working hard allowing us to go 3-1. Next up we have UIC tomorrow which will conclude our preseason games.
The worst part so far has been realizing that I am in fact a junior. Time really does fly when you’re having fun, and I never want the fun to stop. I have loved every second that I have been here at Lewis even the times that seemed terrible at the moment because they have shaped me into the person I am. I am so happy to call this place my home and start my third year at the best program there is.
