Women’s Volleyball Finishes Strong, Advances to NCAA Semifinals
Volleyball head coach Tracy Rietzke, center, speaks to his players.
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he 2019 Rockhurst women’s volleyball season will be one of the most memorable seasons in school history. The Hawks (33-8) advanced to the NCAA national semifinals for the second time in three seasons and finished seventh in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II Top 25 poll. Rockhurst captured the Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season and GLVC Tournament titles for the first time since joining the GLVC in 2005. The Hawks defeated three nationally ranked teams to win their third NCAA Midwest Regional championship since 2015. Head coach Tracy Rietzke was named the 2019 U.S. Marine Corps/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II National Coach of the Year. Rietzke ranks first all-time in Division II with 1,277 victories and stands fourth in career victories for all three levels of NCAA women’s volleyball head coaches. “We had a great team with great assistants who did a great job preparing the team,” Rietzke said. “And the players; that’s what makes the team. Our five seniors did a great job with their leadership. I appreciate them so much. It was a great ride.” Senior outside hitters Karli Reichert, from Kansas City, Missouri, and Alyssa Woodman, from Omaha, Nebraska, finished their college careers as two-time AVCA All-Americans. Reichert was also named a first team CoSIDA Academic All-American with a 3.98 cumulative GPA. Over the past six years, the Hawks have compiled a 240-53 overall record. Rockhurst has appeared in six NCAA Tournaments and captured three Midwest Regional titles while winning 15 of 21 NCAA matches since 2014.
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WINTER 2020
