The 2012
calendar is just around the corner, and so is another season for the
Northland men’s volleyball program. The team will enter its twelfth
season in the Wisconsin Volleyball Conference. The last two seasons, Northland
has made it to the Division II championship match only to lose to UW Oshkosh, a
perennial powerhouse. Northland begins the season with a very different look
from the last two years. Coach Herron saw five of six starters leave and nine of twelve players move on.
“I knew this
was coming and thoroughly enjoyed the great play from the last two seasons.
That was a special group, but now the attention is on helping these players
learn to not just play but compete,” stated Coach Herron. Andrew Summers is the
only player on the 2012 team that has any experience at the level of play that
the Pioneers will be facing. He will be one of the captains and will be
playing at the outside hitter and middle hitter position. Andrew commented, “I know we will struggle
early, but we cannot shrink back from the challenge. We have to play with
passion and improve every week.”
Other
players that Coach Herron will depend on for significant contributions are
Byron Aynes, a sophomore setter; Cory Jones, a sophomore outside hitter; Bryce Guerrero, a
sophomore right side hitter; Min Shik Park, a sophomore middle hitter; Jason Lorch, a junior middle hitter; and Josh
Netz, a sophomore outside hitter/libero. There are players that have one year of experience from
last year’s B squad who will need to offer honest efforts as well: Arren
Quezada, a sophomore defensive specialist/libero and Matt Burns, a sophomore right side/middle hitter. This year brings a whole
cast of new players with good physical talent but technique that will be improved over the course of the season. These players are Lawrence Ensminger, Michael Stephansen,
Nathanael Isola, Ben Toomer, Micah Bender, Mikey Hoffman, and Andrew Shaulis.
Coach Herron
summarized, “Right now, practice is very slow and tedious. The learning curve is
something every player has to go through. If they maintain a good attitude and
are willing to learn, they will learn.” Northland competes in a preseason WVC
tournament at Lakeland College on Saturday, December 3. They then
host Michigan Tech in a preseason dual match on Monday, December 5
in a 7:30 p.m. match at the Pioneer Athletic Center.