Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Dec. 5, 2013
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
Even her future college coach questioned whether former
Kettle Moraine Lutheran standout Meghan Niemann could hang with the big girls.
“She came to our team camp going into her junior year (of
high school),” said Bond Shymansky, Marquette University’s women’s volleyball
coach. “I told her I’m not sure she could play at our level.”
She was a late bloomer in a lot of college recruiters’ eyes.
She didn’t start playing volleyball until about the time she started high
school.
At KML, she developed into a solid volleyball player, named
to the 2011 Daily News All-Area Girls Volleyball Team, was All-State by the
state coaches association and was the unanimous Wisconsin Flyway Conference
Player of the Year that season. She was also a star on the basketball team and
a high jump state champion as a senior.
At 6-foot-2, she was a bit undersized to be a middle hitter,
especially in the Big East Conference. Shymansky helped Niemann with her
recruiting, introducing her to coaching colleagues throughout the country.
Niemann kept turning them down, leading Shymansky to wonder: “What gives?”
Niemann didn’t want to play for anybody but Shymansky and
Marquette.
“I absolutely loved the coaching staff, loved the facility,”
Niemann said.
After watching Niemann play in a club volleyball tournament
in Florida, where she made the alltournament team, he knew Niemann could play
at Marquette.
“She just wowed me,” Shymansky said.
There was something Shymansky couldn’t ignore.
“She really impressed me with how hard she worked,” he said.
“It was kind of a gamble,” he added.
The gamble paid off for Niemann and Marquette.
On Friday, Niemann will lead Golden Eagles into the NCAA
Tournament for the third year in a row, when they play Louisville at 4:30 p.m.
in Champaign, Ill. This season, as a redshirt freshman, Niemann was selected
First-Team All-Big East Conference. She is second on the team in kills (295),
and first in blocks (84) and attack percentage (.347). She is also one of five
players to play in all 109 sets for Marquette.
“Meghan has been phenomenal for us,” Shymansky said. “It’s
been a great surprise to us. She came to us as a walk-on. I was taking a chance
on her. When the door opened for her to get a starting position, she kicked it
down with both feet.
“She’s kind of the unsung hero. … She took a huge risk and
really defied the odds. It’s amazing.”
It’s been just as fun for Niemann.
“To get First-Team All-Big East was not expected at all,”
Niemann said. “That’s thanks in large part to the Big East Conference Player of
the Year, who is my setter. She’s very, very talented and really gives me good
opportunities to get kills.” Because Niemann wasn’t a heralded recruit, the
honor made the gamble worth it.
“Coming to Marquette has been worthwhile,” Niemann said. “I
can’t wait for what the next three years hold for me.”
This season, the Golden Eagles won the Big East regular
season and tournament championships for the first time. The three NCAA
appearances in the last three years are also a first.
Niemann has surged into national relevance.
“She has a competitive streak in her more than any girl we
have,” Shymansky said. “I’ve very rarely seen that competitiveness.”
“I don’t have to make Meghan do anything. She wants it more
than any player I’ve ever coached,” he added.
When Niemann arrived, she wasn’t on scholarship. Whether or
not she would get one remained to be seen. In her first year, it took her less
than a week to realize she was in the right place, academically and
athletically.
However, like many freshmen, she was getting cold feet in
the weeks leading up to her first day at Marquette.
“I definitely didn’t know what I was getting myself into,”
she said.
Once on campus, her feet warmed up.
“All the girls really took me in and helped me adjust to the
academic level of college, the athletic level,” Niemann said. “It felt like
home.”
However, working against her was a trio of talented senior
middle hitters who had more experience. At practice, Shymansky barely used her
in a scout team setting. Niemann didn’t get discouraged. She stood by the side,
remained patient and worked hard when called upon.
When the seniors graduated, there were concerns about how
the program was going to move forward. The concern of whether Niemann was ready
to compete was potentially greater because of that lingering fear of the
unknown.
“I never envisioned that she’d be a go-to player,” Shymansky
said.
A solid spring season put many doubts to rest, and she is
now on scholarship.
“I’m just humbled by players like her,” he said.
Niemann earned a starting spot and hasn’t slowed down since.
The Golden Eagles don’t appear to be slowing down as the
team leader in kills, Autumn Bailey, is also a freshman, as are four of the top
six hitters.
“It was honestly the best situation that could’ve happened,”
Niemann said. “Marquette has been the perfect fit for me.”
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