Published: Nov. 29, 2014
KML grad thriving at Marquette
Niemann becoming elite player
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
MILWAUKEE — Meghan Niemann, a 2012 Kettle Moraine Lutheran
graduate, and her Marquette volleyball teammates weren’t liking how the first
two sets were going so they decided to change it up.
They changed uniforms.
Niemann is used to changing things up.
The Golden Eagles rallied from an 0-2 deficit to tie the
match and came up just short in their quest for a repeat Big East Conference
Tournament championship, losing in five sets to Seton Hall on Friday, 25-23,
25-12, 19-25, 18-25, 15-11, in the semifinal of the conference tournament at
the Al McGuire Center.
Seton Hall will play Creighton today for the conference
tournament championship and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Marquette was the defending tournament champion.
“I thought we got out-executed in Game 5,” Marquette coach
Ryan Theis said. “I tip my hat off to Seton Hall.”
After a 10-minute break after the second set, the Golden
Eagles trotted onto the court in new uniforms. For whatever reason, it worked
as they tied the match by winning the third and fourth sets.
In the fifth set, Marquette led 3-2. Then tied at 5, Seton Hall
took the lead for good. Marquette nearly pulled off the comeback as it trailed
13-11 in the fifth set, forcing a timeout by Seton Hall. But a service error
and a kill gave the Pirates the victory.
“It would’ve been nice to not be in that situation,” Theis
said.
For Niemann, who had seven kills, three solo blocks and
seven block assists, just to be here is something special. She has gone from a
little- known barely recruited volleyball player to one of the top players in
the nation.
Coming out of KML, Niemann drew little interest for a
volleyball scholarship, especially from Division I programs. Even Marquette’s
interest was minimal. Bond Shymansky, Marquette’s coach at the time, told her
that he doubted whether she could play at that level.
In one way, it was easy to overlook Niemann. After all, she
didn’t start playing volleyball until she got to eighth grade.
In another way, it was puzzling as to why she was being
overlooked. She was an All-Conference performer in three sports and a state
champion in the high jump.
What turned Shymansky onto Niemann her impressive
competitive spirit. By the time he realized it, a scholarship wasn’t available
for Niemann and she was ready to head to Martin Luther College in Minnesota.
Then it all changed.
Shymansky came up with an offer Niemann couldn’t pass up.
Niemann was offered a spot in the program as a walk-on, earning a scholarship
the following season. Niemann took the offer. It has been an unbelievable
blessing.
“It has been an experience of a lifetime,” she said. “I
couldn’t asked for anything different. I’m so blessed.”
Unfortunately for Niemann, there was some resentment for her
to go to Marquette.
She dreamed of going to Martin Luther College, which KML is
a feeder school for, to become a teacher. She seemed pretty set on that path.
Then, the offer from Marquette, a Catholic university, came along.
Niemann prayed for days trying to figure out the right path.
“It was really tough,” she said. “I had a lot of great
support around me, my parents, my teachers at KML. I’m happy with my decision.”
Niemann, who was the WIAA Division 2 state champion in high
jump as a senior, redshirted in 2012 and absorbed coaching like a sponge.
In 2013, as a redshirt freshman, she was first-team All-Big
East, an All-Big East Tournament pick and an honorable mention American
Volleyball Coaches Association All-American.
This season, she was a preseason All-Big East pick, and on
Tuesday, the conference announced its All-Conference teams and Niemann, once
again, got a first-team All-Big East nod.
“It was great,” she said, adding it was neat to have two
teammates also get recognized on the first team, which included Autumn Bailey
getting the Player of the Year award.
“I had no idea I would be at this point,” Niemann said,
adding when she held the Big East championship trophy is when she realized she
made the right choice.
This year, the Golden Eagles got a new coach — Ryan Theis.
Theis was hired in the offseason after a successful six-year
run at the University of Ohio of the Mid- American Conference. At Ohio, Theis
went 144-57 and entered this season with the 18th-best active winning
percentage in NCAA Division I. The Bobcats went to the NCAA Tournament four
times under Theis.
He’s taken Niemann’s game to another level.
“Ryan’s always had very good blocking teams,” Niemann said.
“He changed a lot of my techniques and worked with me a lot on reading
(offenses).”
“When she gets going, we’re tough to handle,” Thies said of
Niemann. “She a leader on the team, a motivational leader.”
Of course she can’t help but thank Shymansky, who is now the
head coach at the University of Iowa, for what he did for Niemann. He changed
her life.
“It’s too good to be true,” Niemann said, adding she’s
enjoying the journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment