Favorites
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
Del.icio.us
Technorati
Reddit
Newsvine
StumbleUpon
MySpaceVolleyball
Rattlers Rule in Pink
Date: 2012-10-27 Author: Robin Johnson
SAN ANTONIO — The Rattlers made quick work of their Heartland Conference foe Oklahoma Panhandle State University Saturday, taking the victory in three with each set won by at least 10 points.
“We were told by Coach (Jenny Warmack-Chipman) to go out there and execute,” freshman Lauren Holman (Rowlett, Texas) said. “And that’s exactly what we did.”
St. Mary’s (16-8, 5-5 in conference) sweep of the Aggies (4-21, 0-11 in conference) marked its seventh sweep on the season and second of Oklahoma Panhandle State, denying the Aggies of ever breaking the 20-mark Saturday as its trumped the series with a 3-0 win, winning 25-14, 25-13, 25-15.
The Rattlers, wearing pink in honor of their Breast Cancer Awareness Day, followed that effort with another sweep of Southern Arkansas, adding an exclamation point to a day that saw them raise money for the San Antonio 1000 Genome Project.
In a do-or-die situation for the remainder of the season, which requires the Rattlers to will all of their games in order to make the Heartland Conference tournament, Saturday displayed a fierce court of Rattlers ready for the challenge.
“We executed on hitting, blocking and we picked up a lot of balls on serve receive,” said Holman, who led the Rattlers with two block assists against the Aggies. “We went out there and played our game. Our focus is to make the tournament. We need to win out these games.”
Karlie Ortega (Jr., San Antonio), who is one of the only two upperclassmen on the court, led Saturday along with Kelsey Huber (So., San Antonio), who each pulled away with seven kills to match seven points. Sophomores Melissa Heft (San Antonio) and Taylor Obermiller (San Antonio) each had five kills while senior Allie Murray (San Antonio) led with 17 assists and three service aces.
Fueling a season with a young cast that the conference predicted to finish sixth in this year’s preseason poll, the Rattlers are currently in fourth place in the league after the victory over the Aggies. They will continue to rely on their young blood in their fight for the title.
“It’s really hard being a freshman,” says Holman, who tallied six points Saturday. “But I’m expected and I have a really high expectation of myself to go out there and play the best that I can play. And as a team, this team has really come together and makes me not feel like I’m a freshman but as a part of the team. I go out there and do my job everyday I’m out there on the court.”
The Rattlers will play their next game against non-conference University of Texas A&M-Kingsville Tuesday in Kingsville, Texas at 7 p.m.
St. Mary’s University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence. The University has six athletic national titles: men’s basketball (1989–NAIA), baseball (2001–NCAA Div. II), softball (1986–NAIA and 2002–NCAA Div. II) and an individual national champion in men’s golf (2006–NCAA Div. II) and a national academic championship in men’s golf (2009–NCAA Div. II). St. Mary’s also had more than 40 percent of its athletes named to conference, regional and/or national honor rolls this past year. St. Mary’s student–athletes graduation rate is 65 percent, higher than the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent. To learn more about St. Mary's, visit www.stmarytx.edu/athletics.
Coaching Staff
Head Coach Jenny Warmack-Chipman
Jenny Warmack-Chipman achieved a lot of "firsts" in her first year at the helm of the St. Mary's volleyball program.
Putting the Lady Rattlers back in the national spotlight in her first season in 2010, Warmack-Chipman helped St. Mary's earn its first-ever NCAA regional-tournament berth after winning the Heartland Conference Tournament for the first time since 2000. In her second season, she made history again.
Last season, the Rattlers won their first 10 matches of the season, making it the best start in program history. Warmack-Chipman's 2011 season was a winning one, improving their 15-18 record in 2010 to 17-13 last season for their first winning season since 2006. Warmack-Chipman's second season as head coach also produced St. Mary's most efficient hitter.
Senior Stephanie Proske set the school's single-season mark for hitting percentage at .323 under Warmack-Chipman last season, making the All-Heartland Conference Team for the second year straight. The middle blocker led the Rattelrs in kills (274), hitting percentage (.323) and blocks (82) last season. Proske leaves the Rattlers as one of the best to ever square up to the net, but Warmack-Chipman found a freshman that will return for her own second season and try to keep that tradition of excellence alive.
Victorria Martinez became the freshman sensation last season, making an impact from the start for the Rattlers by filling the void at libero from Day One. She played all 30 matches, leading the team with 548 digs (4.94 per set) while adding 27 assists. Martinez also received conference honors for her work, earning the All-Conference Co-Freshman of the Year Award.
In her first year as head coach in 2010, Warmack-Chipman proved she could make the grade for the Rattlers, taking them all the way to the NCAA Division II South Central Region tournament.
Winning nine of their final 14 matches, the Rattlers posted a 15-18 mark. By qualifying for the NCAA Division II South Central Region tournament, St. Mary's advanced to the regional stage for the first time since doing so as a member of the NAIA in 1998.
Along the way, Warmack-Chipman helped setter Kori McCarver become the first Lady Rattler to be named Heartland Conference Player of the Year since Jennifer Cabanilla won the award in 2000. In addition to helping develop outside hitter Mallory Moeller into the Most Valuable Player of the Heartland Conference Tournament, Warmack-Chipman saw three of her Lady Rattlers earn all-conference honors.
A Texas native and former Longhorn volleyball player, Warmack-Chipman became St. Mary's eighth volleyball head coach when she was hired prior to the 2010 campaign. She holds a career record of 148-170.
Warmack-Chipman came to St. Mary's after spending the previous 10 years as the head coach at NCAA Division III Muhlenberg College (Allentown, Pa.). She also served as Muhlenberg's assistant athletic director, senior woman administrator and advisor to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Warmack-Chipman was the school's all-time leader in wins with a 133-152 record. During 10 seasons at Muhlenberg, Mule players earned All-Centennial Conference 17 times, 24 were named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll and one was named NCAA Division III All-American. In 2001, she led the Mules to a 20-11 record, a share of their first Centennial Conference regular-season championship and a second-place finish in the CC Tournament. The Mules returned to the playoffs in 2009, winning seven of their final 10 matches.
Before coaching for Muhlenberg, Warmack-Chipman was an assistant coach at Southern Methodist University and Wichita State University. While at SMU, she received her master's degree in liberal arts. Warmack-Chipman, from Plano, Texas, is a 1996 graduate of the University of Texas; she graduated with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology. While a student at UT, she played on a Longhorn team that was ranked No. 1 in the country and was named to the 1994 All-Southwest Conference team.
With two seasons under her belt that produced some of St. Mary's finest players and setting records along the way, season No. 3 figures to be just as good for Warmack-Chipman and her Rattlers.
Assistant Coach Gary Payne
St. Mary's assistant volleyball coach Gary Payne didn t start playing the sport until his mid-20s, when some of his friends thought they could use his natural jumping ability in a sand match."I couldn't hit or pass," Payne said with a chuckle, "but I could jump."
He quickly mastered everything else, becoming so enamored by the sport that he decided to become a coach.
And it's taken him all of two seasons to put those skills to use at St. Mary's. Assisting head coach Jenny Warmack-Chipman, Payne helped revive the Lady Rattlers' volleyball program in 2010, leading St. Mary's to its first-ever NCAA regional-tournament berth on the heels of winning the Heartland Conference Tournament for the first time since 2000. Last season, they added to that by achieving their first winning season since 2006 with a 17-13 mark.
Last season, the Rattlers won their first 10 matches of the season, making it the best start ni program history. Payne helped make Warmack-Chipman's 2011 season a winning one, improving their 15-18 record in 2010 to 17-13 last season for their first winning season since 2006. It also produced St. Mary's most efficient hitter, senior Stephanie Proske, who set the school's single-season mark for hitting percentage at .323.
Winning nine of their final 14 matches, the Rattlers posted a 15-18 mark in 2010. By qualifying for the NCAA Division II South Central Region tournament, St. Mary's advanced to the regional stage for the first time since doing so as a member of the NAIA in 1998.
As St. Mary's assistant coach, Payne focuses much of his time on recruiting, breaking down film, working with the outside hitters/right-side hitters, and teaching passing and defense.
Payne, a native of Chappell, Neb., joined the Rattlers' coaching staff in July 2010 after spending the past two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, a program that is consistently nationally ranked. Prior to that, he spent two years as the head coach at McCook Community College in McCook, Neb., and five years as an assistant at Weldon Valley School in Weldona, Colo. He has also coached club volleyball off and on for the previous 14 years.
As a player, the leftie played in the AVPNext, the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour s membership-based grassroots program, where he was a step away from turning pro in 2-on-2 grass competition.
Payne received both his Bachlor of Arts in Education and Masters of Arts in Education from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Before embarking upon a career in volleyball, Payne spent "two years, nine months and 17 days" in the Army, including serving a tour in Iraq in 1991.
Student Assistant Stephanie Proske
Stephanie Proske enters her first year as student assistant after leaving a four-year Rattler career at the volleyball net and the best hitting percentage in program history.
Proske's career definitely hit a high note in her final year as she helped the Rattlers to the best start in program history, winning their first 10 games of the season in 2011. But it was her efficiency as a blocker that earned her a spot in St. Mary's history as she rose to hold the No. 1 rank in the Record Books for the best hitting percentage in a single season at .323 her senior year. Her skills earned her an All-Heartland Conference Selection, which she also won her junior year, as well as the Female Athlete of the Year as voted by fellow St. Mary's athletes.
In addition to her All-Conference selection her junior year, Proske was also selected Academic All-Conference, earning a spot on the Commissioner's Honor Roll. Her junior season was the year the Rattlers were crowned the Heartland Conference Champions while she maintained a .270 hitting percentage.
As she progressed over her four-year Rattler career to become the best hitter St. Mary's as seen at the net, Proske adds value and experience to an already creditable coaching staff during the 2012 season.
2012 St. Mary's Volleyball Roster
| No. | Name | Pos. | Cl. | Ht. | Hometown |
| 1 | Julie Kells | RS | RS-So. | 5'10" | Red Deer, Alberta, Canada |
| 2 | Karlie Ortega | OH | Jr. | 5'7" | San Antonio |
| 3 | Hannah Fields | DS | Fr. | 5'7" | Helotes, Texas |
| 4 | Melissa Heft | RS | So. | 6'0" | San Antonio |
| 5 | Victorria Martinez | DS | So. | 5'4" | Arlington, Texas |
| 6 | Mikayla Bass | S | Fr. | 5'9" | Coppell, Texas |
| 7 | Jenna Paul | OH | Fr. | 5'10" | Alvin, Texas |
| 8 | Kelsey Huber | OH | So. | 5'9" | San Antonio |
| 9 | Lauren Holman | MB | Fr. | 6'1" | Rowlett, Texas |
| 11 | Allie Murray | S | Sr. | 5'7" | San Antonio |
| 12 | Melissa Dahle | DS | Jr. | 5'7" | San Antonio |
| 13 | Taylor Obermiller | MB | So. | 6'0" | San Antonio |
| 15 | Devan Hartung | OH | So. | 5'11" | Hondo, Texas |
| Head Coach: Jenny Warmack-Chipman |
| Assistant Coach: Gary Payne |
| Student Assistant Coach: Stephanie Proske |
The preseason polls place the St. Mary’s Volleyball team at fifth in the Heartland Conference based off of the team’s overall record of 7-22 last season. With 10 returning players, plus four new Rattlers, there will be plenty of strong talent on the court this season — not to mention leaders on and off the court as well.
St. Mary’s will have six juniors and three seniors, providing the squad of 14 with plenty of experience and leadership. Three of the newcomers are freshmen, but their inexperience is not expected to prevent them from making an immediate impact on the team by assisting with ball control and defense.
“I think defense might have been lacking in the past,” new head coach Jennifer Warmack-Chipman said, “so hopefully we will be able to add some more depth to the ball-control aspect of the game.”
The Rattlers return four players to the outside hitter position: Luisa Rodrigues (Sr., Belo Horizonte, Brazil), Katelyn Kershner (Sr., San Antonio), Mallory Moeller (Jr., Geronimo, Texas) and Stephanie Proske (Jr., La Grange, Texas).
Rodrigues returns this season after a great start with the Rattlers in 2009, averaging 1.79 kills and 2.21 digs per game over 28 matches. Rodrigues reached double figures in kills six times and double figures in digs seven times throughout her first season with the Rattlers.
Kershner continued to have an impact with the Rattlers last year, seeing action in all 29 games. Kershner averaged 2.43 digs and 2.40 kills per set, which was the highest average for the Rattlers last season, and reached double figures in kills and digs 11 times.
The middle blocker is a position is a significant one for the Rattlers, bringing back a lot of experience and depth. Kirsten Chapman (Jr., Jourdanton, Texas), Mallory Moeller (Jr., Geronimo, Texas), and Stephanie Proske (Jr., La Grange, Texas) all return for another season. The Rattlers also add a talented newcomer to the mix in Kelsey Davis (Fr., San Antonio).
Both Chapman and Proske return for their third year with the team, with each having played in 29 matches last season. Chapman averaged 2.20 kills and 0.63 blocks per set, while Proske provided the Rattlers with an average 1.06 kills and 0.40 blocks per set.
Moeller, in her first season with St. Mary’s Volleyball team, made a big impact. Moeller, who also plays Basketball at the University, saw action in all 29 games and averaged 1.53 kills and 0.87 blocks per set last season.
Davis is a newcomer from San Antonio, where she played at Claudia Taylor “Lady Bird” Johnson High School, earning all-district honors. As a senior, she led her team in blocks and was named team Most Valuable Player.
The setter position has been revamped, bringing back player in Kori McCarver ( Sr., San Antonio), who used to be an outside hitter, plus newcomer Nicole Canales (Jr., Copperas Cove, Texas).
McCarver enters her forth year as a Rattler after a great showing last season. As an outside hitter, McCarver averaged 1.71 kills and 1.10 digs per set over 29 matches. McCarver also reached double figures in kills five times during the 2009 season.
Canales comes to St. Mary’s from Hill College, where she was a first team all-conference and first team All-Region V honoree. She saw action in 88 sets, averaging 1.89 assists and 1.25 digs per set.
The defensive side for the Rattlers has a great mix of experience and talent. Two Returning players, Allie Murray (So., San Antonio) and Stephanie Flores (Jr., San Antonio) are joined by a pair newcomers: Karlie Ortega (Fr., San Antonio) and Melissa Dahle (Fr., San Antonio).
Flores returns for her second season as libero for the Rattlers. Last season, Flores played in 29 matches, averaging 4.21 digs per set. As an experienced libero, Flores will provide the knowledge needed to guide the team this season.
Murray returns for her second season with the Rattlers, but she will be playing a new position. Last season as a setter, Murray averaged 2.14 digs and 4.64 assists per set over 29 matches. This season, Murray will help add more depth defensively as a defensive specialist.
Ortega and Dahle both join the Rattlers this season after being teammates at Louis D. Brandeis High School in San Antonio. Dahle earned first team all-district honors and all district recognition her junior and senior years. Ortega was a two-time all-district honoree, including first team honors as a senior.
On the right side this season, the Rattlers welcome back Adrianna Keys (Jr., San Antonio), and introduces newcomer Julie Kells (Fr., Red Deer, Alberta, Canada).
Keys returns to the Rattlers for her third year after previously playing the middle blocker position. Last season with the Rattlers, Keys averaged 1.18 kills and 0.45 blocks per set in 29 matches.
Kells previously attended Hunting Hills High School, where she was a two-sport athlete, participating in Basketball and Volleyball.