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Printer-Friendly ModeStanton wins Coach of the Year honors in light of second-ever GLIAC tournament berth
November 19, 2007 —
After leading SVSU's spikers to a breakout season in 2006 in which the team posted its first plus-.500 record since 1998, Coach Will Stanton has been named GLIAC Coach of the Year by his peers.
Stanton's 2007 Cards team posted an overall record of 20-12 while going 9-9 in the GLIAC. The 20 wins the team recorded was the second-most in team history. Perhaps most importantly, Stanton led SVSU to its first GLIAC tournament berth since 1997.
And while SVSU lost to eventual runners-up Hillsdale in the first round, Stanton thinks the team has the building blocks to compete - and win - in 2008.
"I don't see any reason why we can't continue to improve," he said.
The team managed to secure the playoff berth with only four seniors: setter Jessica Conley, outside hitter Danielle Dryer, setter Amy Howard, and middle hitter Amanda Jablonski. Howard finished her last season with a team-best 807 assists, and 49 service aces. In her career at SVSU, she recorded 3,025 total assists, the third highest in school history.
As good as the team's 2007 season was, it could have been better.
"We overcame a fair amount of adversity due to some key injuries," Stanton said.
The team lost then kills leader Allison Schlinkert to a knee injury right before the season started to heat up. The team went on to slip in the GLIAC, struggling to make adjustments in Schlinkert's absence.
"Losing her was a shock for a little while," Stanton said. "It took us a while to recover."
But the Cards stepped up to fill the void. Younger players, including junior outside hitter Sarah Redoute, who finished the season with the most kills, and sophomore middle and outside hitter Alex Hamm came through with big games for the Cards.
The squad went .500 in the conference, but posted respectable numbers in virtually every stat category, indicating how competitive the GLIAC has become. Several SVSU players were among the top five in their respective positions. Schilinkert, who played just over half of the season, still managed to place in the top ten among points leaders.
"The fact that we struggled against GLIAC teams after doing very well outside of the conference isn't anything new for anyone inside the conference," Stanton said. "It's just an extremely competitive conference. It wasn't like we did anything worse, it's just that the competition stepped up."