TROJAN VOLLEYBALL

Trojans Lose Two at Nationals

11/24/09 - COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa

The Seminole State Volleyball team had a tough road in front of them at the national tournament. The Trojans were selected as the #13 seed in the tournament and were to take on #4 seed College of Southern Idaho.  The Golden Eagles proved to be too much for the Trojans as SSC fell 25-17, 25-12, 25-19. “CSI is a very good team with threats coming from all areas,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “Jessica Peacock (selected as the NJCAA National Tournament MVP) was literally unstoppable. We would start making a run then they’d set her the ball and she would put it away from the front or the back row. On top of that their middles were pretty much untouchable as well.” Iva Partaleva led the way for the Trojans with 9 kills. Kristen White tallied 14 digs in the match.

Although CSI was the fourth seed, they knocked out Northern Idaho, the #1 team in the NJCAA polls throughout most of the season, during their region tournament. “I knew going in that we probably got the toughest draw in the tournament,” said Coach Gillespie. “They hold the record for most national championships and have the experience of being there nearly every year. When we got to Council Bluffs I read a paper covering the tournament and it mentioned that CSI would be a team that would be standing at the end.” The newspaper got it right, after beating the Trojans in the first round of the tournament, CSI continued on to win the national championship in three games.

In the second day of the tournament, SSC took on Panola Junior College of Texas. The Trojans took the early lead and were up by a score of 16-10 before hitting a brick wall and dropping the first set 25-17. The Trojans never recovered as they dropped the second and third sets, 25-16, 25-16. “I’m not sure what happened to us,” said Coach Gillespie. “We were far from ourselves in this match and sadly it showed by the final results. It was a rough one to watch because I knew we were a far, far better team than what we showed and it’s unfortunate that it was on a national stage.” The Trojan attack was led by Partaleva with 9 kills. Hannah Herrstrom led the way defensively as she recorded 7 digs.

“It’s disheartening that our season ended this way. We had a great season and got the SSC Volleyball program back to the national tournament for only the second time in school’s history so we accomplished our goals. I hope that everyone on our team is as happy with that as I am and I hope that they know how proud of them I am as well.”

Trojan Volleyball Wins Region II, Headed to Nationals

11/7/09 - SEMINOLE, Oklahoma

After winning the conference, the Seminole State Volleyball team (22-15) had accomplished one of its goals but still had a very big one left. “We came into the season with the national tournament being our top goal,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “We agreed at one point that no matter how good of a season we had, if we didn’t go to nationals it would be a disappointment.” The Trojans kept that in mind as they played Redlands in the Region II Championship game on Saturday. The Trojans won the match in three close games, 25-22, 25-20, 25-16, to earn a spot in the 16-team national tournament. Despite being down 7-16 in the first set of the match, the Trojans fought back with all they had to pick up the game win. “We were clearly nervous and playing very uptight in the first set, but fighting back and getting that win was huge!”  The Trojans kept up the strong play throughout the second set, but in the third set the tension was back. The Trojans once again started off giving Redlands a 4-11 lead before they stepped up their level of play to grab the final win. “I’m not sure if we were just scared, or if we lost focus because we could see the end in sight. Either way the girls showed a lot of heart inching back to take the lead.” The Trojans fought back to tie the game up at 15-15 and forced Redlands to take their final time out. SSC came out of the time out fired up and never looked back. “I knew after that time out that the game was ours,” said sophomore middle hitter, Kelsey Erwin. “Winning the championship was one of the best feelings of my life. It was nice to prove people wrong.” The Trojans were predicted to finish second in the region and were ranked lower than Redlands throughout most of the season despite beating them 4 of the 5 times they played. Erwin was selected as the Region II Most Valuable Player. Joining her on the All-Region II team were Iva Partaleva and Kristen White. Selected to the Region II All-Tournament team were Partaleva, Kristine Bindule, and Halie Harrington. The Trojans will now travel to Council Bluffs, Iowa for the NJCAA Division I National Tournament on Nov. 19-21. “I’m ridiculously proud of these girls,” said Coach Gillespie. “Redlands came ready to play and we proved to others, and ourselves, just how good we really are. I hope this gives us the confidence we need to make some noise at nationals because this group really deserves it.”

Trojans Finish Regular Season With Win

11/3/09 - SEMINOLE, Oklahoma

Seminole State Volleyball (21-15) wrapped up their regular season play on Tuesday as they took on Northern Oklahoma College-Enid at home. The Trojans rolled to their twenty first win 25-15, 25-22, 25-10. “I’m glad that we came away with another win against NOC, especially with it being our sophomore night,” commented Head Coach Amy Gillespie.  “It’s hard to play a team that many times and to keep beating them and playing well. I was very impressed with the play of Kyla Rollins. She did some good things and looked very impressive tonight.” Rollins recorded 7 kills and three blocks on the night. The Trojans had a balanced attack through the evening as Halie Harrington had 9 kills, Kelsey Erwin tallied 8 kills, Iva Partaleva totaled 7 kills, and Kylie Haag added 3. Defensively, Erwin blocked 4 balls and Harrington added 3. Kristen White totaled 17 digs and Hannah Herrstrom added 10.

Trojans Lose Tough 5 Set Match

10/29/09 - PARIS, Texas

The Seminole State Volleyball team (20-15) fought in a tough battle against Paris Junior College on Wednesday in the Dragons’ sophomore night. The Trojans played hard but were unable to come away with the win as they lost 24-26, 25-13, 25-18, 16-25, 11-15. “We competed well tonight. I think that is a game we should have won but Paris was on top of their game and made it tough,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “We played very, very well in games 2 and 3. I think we just lost our momentum at the end and with it being their sophomore night their full crowd helped to keep them going.”  Iva Partaleva was dominant in the Trojan attack as she recorded 18 kills on the night. Following Partaleva, was Kelsey Erwin with 10 kills, Kylie Haag with 9 kills, and Kristine Bindule chipped in 8 more. Kristen White was stellar on defense once again as she tallied a 40 digs throughout the match. Erwin recorded 6 blocks on the night and Partaleva added 4. “Tonight’s match was fun to be a part of. Both teams worked hard and fought well. Obviously I wish we would have won but I think this will be good for us in the long run.”

Trojans Take Out Redlands
 
10/23/09 - SEMINOLE, Oklahoma

The Seminole State Volleyball team (18-13) fought a battle against conference rival Redlands Community College on Thursday. The Trojans came out on top with the 25-18, 29-27, 25-18 win. “This was a good win for us,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “I’m glad that we were able to win in three. I am very proud of the way that they fought through set 2 when Redlands was at game point on two different occasions. We showed some guts to come out on top of that one.” Laisha Davis was dominant defensively at the net recording 8 blocks on the night. Offensively, SSC had a well balanced attacked throughout the match. Leading the way was Kristine Bindule with 9 kills; Iva Partaleva followed with 8, Davis had 6 kills, Halie Harrington had 5 kills, and Lynsay Greer added 4 kills. With this win, SSC earns a first place finish in the conference. “I’m happy that we have competed so well in the conference this season. Our athletes have done a great job of showing up ready to play for every match and I’m very proud of them.”

Trojans Take NOC-Enid

10/14/09 - ENID, Oklahoma

The Seminole State Volleyball team (16-13) took on fellow bi-state conference team Northern Oklahoma College-Enid on Tuesday. The Trojans were on their “A” game as they took the win 25-18, 25-9, 25-13. “We had the opportunity to play everyone on the team and everyone did a great job of competing when they stepped on the court,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “We adjusted well to the changes and our level of talent never dropped off. I am very proud of all our athletes for their performance tonight!” Leading the way on defense were middle blocker Laisha Davis who recorded 6 blocks, and Halie Harrington who added 4 blocks. Kristen White chipped in 24 digs and Hannah Herrstrom had 12. As for the offense, SSC was attacking from all angles with Harrington leading the way with 10 kills. Iva Partaleva followed with 7; Herrstrom, Kristine Bindule, and Davis each added 4; Lynsay Greer added 3; and Kyla Rollins and Kylie Haag each had 2.

Trojans Split in Triangular

10/9/09 - SEMINOLE, Oklahoma

The Seminole State Volleyball team (15-13) hosted a Triangular at home on Wednesday against two tough, highly ranked teams in the NJCAA. The Trojans first took on NJCAA DI #16 ranked Frank Phillips College. SSC fought hard but ended up losing 20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 21-25. “I thought our middles did a good job of scoring points for us against Frank Phillips and really helped keep us in the game when our outside hitters were struggling,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie.  Middle Hitter Kelsey Erwin had another solid game at the net recording 6 blocks and 9 kills. The Trojans other middle Halie Harrington added 1 block and 7 kills. Adding to the offensive attack was Kristine Bindule who added 10 kills and Kylie Haag who had 5. Defensively, Kristen White covered a lot of ground digging up 30 balls in the game.

In the Trojans second match of the night they faced NJCAA DIII #1 ranked Brookhaven College. SSC came out with the win 25-19, 25-17, 25-18. “I thought we did a good job of coming back a little more focused than what we were when we faced Frank Phillips. Our offense did a good job of mixing up our attack and scoring points against Brookhaven’s scrappy defense,” said Coach Gillespie. Leading the way on offense was Iva Partaleva who recorded 12 kills; she was followed by Erwin and Harrington who each recorded 6 kills, and Kylie Haag and Lynsay Greer each added 5. Erwin was tough on defense as well as she tallied 6 blocks.

SSC Volleyball Beats Redlands in Four

10/7/09 - EL RENO, Oklahoma

The Seminole State Trojan Volleyball team came ready to play when they faced Bi-State Region rival Redlands Community College. It was a close battle throughout the whole match but the Trojans took the win 27-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-18. “Redlands has improved since the first time that we faced them,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “They did a lot of good things but we did a great job of making adjustments and stopped making hitting errors.”  The Trojan offense was led by Iva Partaleva who recorded 13 kills. Kelsey Erwin and Kristine Bindule followed with 8 apiece, Halie Harrington added 6, and Allison Hart had 4. Bindule had an impressive night behind the serving line as she put down 5 aces. Defensively, Kristen White and Hannah Herrstrom each had 17 digs; Hart followed with 13, and Partaleva and Bindule each added 8. “Our defense definitely improved throughout the night. Redlands did a good job of hitting away from our Libero and the rest of our defense stepped up and did their jobs. It was definitely a group effort for us tonight. I’m very proud of them and the way they fought!”

Trojans Finish 2-1 on the Weekend

10/5/09 - OTTUMWA, Iowa

The Seminole State Volleyball team (13-12) traveled to the Indian Hills Invitational Tournament this past weekend to take on Graceland JV, Indian Hills Community College, and Illinois Central College.  In their first match up, SSC rolled past Graceland JV 25-17, 25-9, 25-17. Leading the way offensively was Iva Partaleva with 9 kills, Kristine Bindule with 8 kills, and Halie Harrington with 6 kills. Allison Hart recorded 6 aces and 29 assists. Defensively, Harrington blocked 4 attacks, and Kristen White added 23 digs. “I was very happy with the way that Halie Harrington played,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “She really stepped up in this game.”

On the second day of the tournament, the Trojans beat host Indian Hills Community College 25-22, 25-17, 15-25, 25-14. “We had a problem with focus in the third game, but besides that snafu we played very well against a good team. This was a great win for us.”  Kelsey Erwin was in charge at the net as she tallied 7 blocks and kills. Adding to the offensive attack was Partaleva with 12 kills, Harrington with 8, Bindule with 7, and Kylie Haag with 6.

In the final match of the tournament, SSC faced the NJCAA Division II #3 ranked Illinois Central College. “I had the opportunity to watch them play the night before and I knew that it was going to be a close game.” The Trojans ended up losing the tight match 25-23, 23-25, 20-25, 25-16, 11-15. “The difference-maker in the match was the amount of errors that we made. Typically we are a very solid volleyball team and rarely commit errors but we gave them too many free points. When you do that against a good team it’s hard to win no matter how good you are yourself.” Halie Harrington had another solid match as she recorded 5 blocks and 8 kills. Also aiding in the Trojan attack was Bindule with 14 kills, Partaleva followed with 10 kills, and Erwin added 8. Defensively Kristen White mounted 27 digs and Hannah Herrstrom had 14.

“I’m not sure if it was the long drive or what but we made a lot more silly errors than what we are accustomed to making. Despite those errors we did a lot of good things. I was very happy with Halie stepping up and being a real threat on offense and defense. I thought Kristine also did a great job of being a threat offensively.”

Trojans Have Strong Showing at Home

9/30/09 - SEMINOLE, Oklahoma

The Seminole State Trojan Volleyball team was a force to be reckoned with as they beat Northern Oklahoma College-Enid 25-14, 25-12, 25-16. “We’ve been having trouble keeping our focus and playing all the way through games,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “I challenged them before the game to come out and play solid volleyball from point 1 to 25. I thought we did a much better job of that tonight and I’m proud of them for stepping up to the challenge.” 

Leading the way for the Trojans on offense was Iva Partaleva who recorded 16 kills on 23 attempts for a hitting percent of .696; Halie Harrington recorded 8 kills on 11 attempts for a hitting percent of .727; Kristine Bindule hit 8 kills on 17 attempts for a hitting percent of .470; and Kelsey Erwin hit 6 kills out of 7 attempts for a hitting percent of .857. Setter Allison Hart put up 33 assists. Defensively, Kristen White had 15 digs, Partaleva added 9, and Lindy Neal posted 5. The middle hitters were dominant at the net as Erwin recorded 6 blocks and Harrington recorded 5.

Rough Road Leaves Trojans with Four Losses

9/28/09 - HUTCHINSON, Kansas

The Seminole State College volleyball team played in the Caribbean Tan Invitational tournament this weekend against a stacked field of opponents. “We knew going into the tournament that it was going to be tough competition and that we were going to having to be playing,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “Despite some moments of greatness, we unfortunately had a rough time putting it all together this weekend.”

The Trojans first game of the tournament was against NJCAA #5 ranked Iowa Western Community College. SSC fought a tough battle but ended up falling 20-25, 16-25, 25-23, 21-25. Defense helped keep the Trojans in the game as Kristen White tallied 34 digs and Hannah Herrstrom added 14. The offense attack was lead by Kelsey Erwin who put down 12 kills. Iva Partaleva and Kristen Bindule followed with 10 each.  “Overall I think we played well in this match. We did a good job of competing defensively and getting touches on a lot of balls,” said Coach Gillespie

In the second match of the tournament, SSC fell to NJCAA #8 ranked University of Missouri-West Plains 16-25, 25-27, 14-25. “We simply didn’t show up focused and ready to play for this match,” commented Coach Gillespie. “We had a tough time offensively of putting a ball down. Our highlight was Kelsey who continued to play solid volleyball.” Erwin recorded 5 blocks, and 6 kills with no errors on only 11 attempts hitting a remarkable .545.

On day two of the tournament, the Trojans had trouble as they faced Jefferson College and lost 21-25, 17-25, 21-25. “Unfortunately we carried over the poor focus we had the previous day,” said Coach Gillespie. “In two of the three games we gave them an early 7 point lead, we fought hard to get even but just as we did we made a mental error that would start a lapse again.” Iva Partaleva found her offensive killer touch as she recorded 15 kills in the match, Erwin chipped in 8, and Bindule had 6. Kristen White calculated 21 digs to lead the Trojan defense.

In the last match up of the tournament, SSC faced host team NJCAA #14 ranked Hutchinson Community College. The Trojans put up a tough fight but fell 25-23, 18-25, 16-25, 25-22, 12-15. “I was proud of our fight in this game,” said Coach Gillespie. “We came out much more focused than what we had been in the other tournaments. Unfortunately we were a little too up and down to pull off the win.”  The Trojans were tough defensively as White dug up 32 balls; Partaleva and Herrstrom each added 14 digs. Erwin recorded 7 blocks and Partaleva posted 5. Offensively Partaleva pounded out 23 kills and Erwin added 11.

“I think we once again had a chance to see that we are right there and are able to compete with some of the top teams in the country. We need to do a better job of having energy and playing focused volleyball for a full match. We are a good volleyball team and I have no doubt that we will keep improving and fixing the problems we are having.”

Trojans Fall to Redlands

9/24/09 - SEMINOLE, Oklahoma

On Wednesday night, the Seminole State Trojan Volleyball team (10-7, 1-1) lost a heartbreaker to conference foe Redlands Community College falling 25-15, 20-25, 25-22, 17-25, 14-16. “We played great in the first game then just lost our momentum and could never gain it back,” commented Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “We made a couple of unforced errors at crucial times in each set. Those really kill any momentum that you might have or are trying to build up.” Leading the way for the Trojan attack was Iva Partaleva with 16 kills and Kelsey Erwin with 9 kills. Erwin was also a force at the net defensively as she posted 5 blocks in the match.  Kristen White played stellar defense in the back row as she tallied 28 digs.

The Trojans are back in action on Friday as they head to Hutchinson, Kansas to play in the Caribbean Tan Invitational Tournament. “This tournament is one of the top in the country. We’ll see some great competition and face several ranked teams,” said Coach Gillespie. The Trojans open with #5 ranked Iowa Western Community College at 10:00 on Friday and follow with #8 ranked University of Missouri-West Plains. On Saturday, the Trojans take on Jefferson College and #14 ranked Hutchinson Community College.

Volleyball Earns Two Road Wins

9/18/09 - FARMERS BRANCH, Texas

The Seminole State Trojan Volleyball team (10-6) picked up two wins on Thursday as they took on Brookhaven Community College and Vernon College. In the first match of the day, SSC powered through Brookhaven taking the win 25-23, 25-17, 25-21. Several players aided in the Trojan attack including Iva Partaleva with 8 kills; Kelsey Erwin and Kristine Bindule followed with 7 kills; Laisha Davis posted 5 kills; and Lynsay Greer and Allison Hart each chipped in 4. Defensively, Kristen White led the way with 21 digs. “I was pleased with our all-around solid attack,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “Everyone did a good job of chipping in a little here and there.”

Trojans Take Out NEO

9/17/09 - SEMINOLE, Oklahoma 

The Trojan Volleyball team (8-6) faced Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in their home opener on Wednesday. NEO entered the contest at 7-1 but the Trojans came out ready to play and took the win 25-19, 25-19, 25-13. The Trojan offense was lead by Iva Partaleva and Kelsey Erwin who both posted 7 kills. Defensively the Trojan block was dominant as Erwin recorded 6 blocks, Allison Hart and Laisha Davis both recorded 5. “We set a couple of goals before the game,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “Two of those were to serve tough and to put up a solid block. We did both of those things very well.”  Hart recorded 4 aces, Partaleva had 3, Kristine Bindule had 1, and Erwin had 1 each contributing to the Trojans prevailing serving efforts.  “It was a fun match; our crowd was super loud and simply amazing! “

Trojans Go 3-2 at NCTC Invitational Tournament

9/15/09 - GAINESVILLE , Texas

The Trojan Volleyball team (7-6) traveled to North Central Texas College for its annual Invitational Tournament this weekend.  The Trojans opened pool play against Tyler Junior College and won the match 26-24, 23-25, 15-11. “This was a great win for us and I’m very proud of our girls for pushing through to earn it. We see Tyler each year and they always seem to have our number,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “It was nice to finally beat them.”  Leading the way for the Trojans was Iva Partaleva with 9 kills and Kristine Bindule with 8 kills. Allison Hart finished with 28 assists and 3 aces. 

In their second match of pool play, SSC played North Central Texas College and took the win 25-21, 25-23. “NCTC is a tough team. They are scrappy and have a great setter who runs a solid offense,” said Coach Gillespie. The Trojan defense held tough in the match up and Kristen White recorded 20 digs and Hannah Herrstrom followed with 10.

On Saturday, the Trojans faced Independence Community College and rolled to a 25-13, 25-14 win.  Kelsey Erwin was a dominant force at the net recording 5 blocks and hit 100 percent getting 4 kills off 4 attempts. Lynsay Greer led the Trojan attack offensively with 6 kills.

In the last game of pool play, SSC faced #15 New Mexico Military Institute falling 21-25, 18-25. “We simply did not show up ready to play in this match,” commented Coach Gillespie. Middle hitter, Laisha Davis was the spark for the Trojans defensively posting 5 blocks. Bindule chipped in on offense recording 6 kills.

The New Mexico Military loss placed the Trojans at third in their pool, and facing #11 ranked Frank Phillips College who finished second in their pool. The Trojans fought hard but lost the match 25-22, 17-25, 11-15. “We played well in the first game but hit a brick wall and got stuck at point 16 in the second game. We didn’t recover until Frank Phillips scored their 8^th point in the third match but by that time it was simply too late,” said Coach Gillespie. Defensively, the Trojans played tough with White posting 19 digs, and Partaleva 16 digs. Davis had 5 blocks and Erwin recorded 4. Offensively, Partaleva tallied 7 kills and Erwin 6. Erwin’s performance earned her a spot on the All-Tournament team.

“Overall I’m pretty pleased with our performance this weekend,” said Coach Gillespie. “We need to start believing that we cannot only compete with but also beat these teams that are ranked in the top 20 before we will finally be able to become one of them.” The Trojans face Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College at home on Wednesday, Sept 16 at 6:00pm.

Trojans Pick Up Two Wins at Redlands

9/8/09 - EL RENO, Oklahoma

The Seminole State Volleyball team (4-4, 1-0) traveled to Redlands Community College to take on the Cougars and North Central Texas College. The Trojans took on Redlands in their first conference match of the year. “I was a little worried because we hadn’t beat Redlands since I’ve been here,” said Head Coach Amy Gillespie. “And on top of that we were facing some team adversity with sickness bringing a couple of players down, and a couple of poor practices. I knew that Redlands was a strong defensive team and that our offense might struggle but we did a good job doing what we needed to score points.”  The Trojans came out slow but picked up the win beating Redlands 27-29, 26-24, 25-16, 25-21. “I’m glad we have this win in the books. I hope it will give us some confidence from here on out.”  Defensively, Laisha Davis dominated at the net racking up 7 blocks. Iva Partaleva led the offensive charge with 20 kills and Kelsey Erwin followed with 10, while Allison Hart dished out 42 assists.

In the second match of the day, SSC took on North Central Texas College and earned another win 25-18, 18-25, 25-19, 25-15. “I thought we played fairly well in this game and had a lot of players step up and play some keys rolls,” said Coach Gillespie. “We need to do a better job of putting together a full match and cutting out the mental lapses.” Libero, Kristen White led the Trojans with 21 digs while Hannah Herrstrom added 14. Partaleva led the offense 14 kills while Kristine Bindule followed with 10, Erwin 7, and Lynsay Greer 6.

The Trojans will travel to Gainsville, Texas this weekend to play at the NCTC Invitational Tournament. They open with pool play Friday at 11:15am against Tyler Community College, then follow at 1:00pm vs. North Central Texas College, Saturday at 10:00am vs. Independence Community College and 12:30 vs. New Mexico Military Institute. Depending on how the Trojans finish in pool play, possible bracket play will follow.

Trojan Volleyball Opens Season at Lamar Tournament

9/1/09 – LAMAR, Colorado