At Ridgewater College, the view just gets better every year. The hardwoods and scrubs edging Foot Lake grow fuller and the city in the background all but disappears under the shimmering green carpet. By late September the colors are electric.
It's a good view especially for the Lady Warriors volleyball team, which is in rehearsals for defense of its national championship won in last November.
Coach Joe Sussenguth doesn't dwell on it, but I asked him to consider its meaning the other day after a practice.
"I think it's something we can be proud of and the school can be proud of," he said. "For those coming back it's a huge amount of experience gained, playing in the top four and then in the championship game. But just being part of it all is the best reward."
A national championship was quite a way to launch his college coaching career following successful tenure at Minneota High School.
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He inherited a vigorous program from his stepmother, Val Swanson. The Tribune Hall of Famer had coached for 26 seasons, posted over 700 victories and a national title in 2002.
"Val kept the program at a high level for all those years," said Joe. "The great thing about Val is that she adapted as the game got more physical and faster. She kept volleyball here at such a high level so long there wasn't a lot I had to do when I got here."
It all starts with recruiting. The quest for quality individuals took Sussenguth to high school games throughout the fall season. The Ridgewater summer league was an additional tool to get potential players on campus.
In what is his first full year of recruiting, Sussenguth lists nine incoming athletes. Six of them played for teams in the Tribune coverage area and the other three are from no further than Gaylord.
Sussenguth drew especially on MACCRAY for Kari Caspers, Danielle Goeman and Brittany TerWisscha (a transfer from Concordia-St. Paul). They join second-year player and former Wolverine teammate Hilary Groothuis.
Also from the area are first-year players Jordan Olerud of Redwood Valley, Ashley Schmeling of Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City and Leah Miller of BOLD.
The team spent Wednesday at Brainerd in a scrimmage with the other state junior colleges. The Lady Warrior opener is Sept. 1, the second day of a home invitational.
The team dropped out of the College of DuPage Tournament after many years traveling to Chicago for an August opener. This year the team will jet to Arizona for a tournament at Eastern Arizona in Thatcher, against Division I and II teams "much better than us," according to the Ridgewater coach.
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"We were seeing the same teams at DuPage we'd see in the regular season and playoffs," said Sussenguth. "This tournament will give us a chance to play more matches in two days than we did in trips to Chicago and Texas last year, and against even better competition."
On the fly
n The Willmar boys and girls cross country teams are at the Central Lakes Jamboree today in Sartell. Co-head coach Jerry Popp saw five of the top seven runners from the two-time state champion boys team graduate. The girls are deeper and stronger than last year and could enjoy a breakout year if they get "a little tougher mentally," Popp says. The season opener is Monday in Marshall.
n Lady Warriors basketball coach Carrie Ogdahl expects to have as many as 10 players, not counting the volleyball players who will join after their season concludes in November. Freshmen prospects include Lisa Nielsen of Willmar, Patina Queenan of Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, Brooke Busack of Yellow Medicine East, Emily Mathiowetz of Cedar Mountain/Comfrey and Lisa Chinander of Coon Rapids, who was slated to play for Anoka-Ramsey's national championship team but wanted to attend school outside the metro.
n The Cardinal boys soccer team will play games at three levels when it opens the season at Mankato East at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Varsity, JV I and JV II will play the same day and location whenever the other program has similar numbers. Only conference foes Alexandria and St. Cloud Tech can be counted on to play three levels (9-12) each season.
n McBroom Construction of New London began the overcoats on the new asphalt track at Hodapp Field on Wednesday. The work is expected to last 10 days.
n Ridgewater College is seeking a community volunteer to help coach baseball during the fall season. Contact Dwight Kotila at 320-222-6075.
