Throughout the 2018-19 academic year, the Great Lakes Valley Conference will celebrate its 40th anniversary by recognizing 40 teams that made a significant impact both on campus and at the Conference level. This week’s featured team is the 2012 Rockhurst University volleyball squad.
40 TEAMS | 40 YEARS
WEEK 11: 2012 Rockhurst Volleyball
SEASON SUMMARY
The 2012 Rockhurst University women’s volleyball team entered the season with nine letterwinners from a squad that finished 16-15 overall and 9-9 in GLVC play the year before. The Hawks were coming off their seventh straight trip to the GLVC Championship Tournament, but the league coaches picked them to finish third in the GLVC West Division prior to the 2012 campaign. Enter freshman middle hitter Kelsey Stratman, who proceeded to lead the team in total points (441) and place second in kills (328), while guiding her Hawks to a 28-7 record, the program’s first GLVC Championship, and first NCAA Tournament bid since 2005. Stratman would share GLVC Freshman of the Year honors with Missouri S&T’s Krista Haslag and go on to earn third-team All-America accolades from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). The national honor made her just the fourth player overall and first freshman in the program’s history to receive All-America distinction. The Rockhurst newcomer wasn’t the only youngster to make an impact on the Hawks as fellow freshman setter Whitney Kostal and sophomore middle hitter Emily Ready joined Stratman on the 14-player All-Midwest Region First Team. Junior libero Victoria Mahl was named All-Region honorable mention. Rockhurst rebounded from a few hiccups in the middle of the schedule as the Hawks were swept at home by No. 9 UIndy on Oct. 7, went 2-1 the following week at the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover, and suffered back-to-back losses to UW-Parkside and Lewis the week after that. Following the loss to the Flyers, Rockhurst strung together seven straight wins to close out the year one win shy of the GLVC West Division title. At the GLVC Championship Tournament, they went the distance in the opener against Bellarmine, 3-2, and then beat No. 19 UIndy in the semifinal and Lewis in the title match by 3-1 scores. Despite winning the GLVC Championship on a neutral court in Indianapolis, the Hawks had to turn right around and come back to Circle City the following week to square off against top-seed and NCAA Midwest Regional host UIndy, which defeated the Hawks in three sets.
IMPRESSIVE INDIVIDUALS
Kelsey Stratman
- AVCA All-America Third Team
- All-Midwest Region First Team
- GLVC co-Freshman of the Year
- All-GLVC First Team
- All-GLVC West Division
Whitney Kostal
- All-Midwest Region First Team
- All-GLVC West Division
Emily Ready
- All-Midwest Region First Team
- All-GLVC West Division
Victoria Mahl
- All-Midwest Region Honorable Mention
Tracy Rietzke
- GLVC Coach of the Year
- Finished the 2012 season with an overall record at Rockhurst of 893-183 (.831)
- Finished the 2012 season with 1,065 career victories, which ranked him second among NCAA Division II coaches
- Finished the 2012 season with an all-time winning percentage of .817, which ranked him fifth among NCAA Division II coaches
LASTING LEGACY
The 2012 GLVC Championship will always be Rockhurst’s first, but it will also be known for laying the foundation for the success the program has had over the past six years. In 2013, the Hawks won the GLVC West Division with a 15-3 record and saw newcomer Morgan Rietzke, youngest daughter of head coach Tracy, named GLVC Freshman of the Year. Setter Whitney Kostal was named first-team All-GLVC and Rietzke was tabbed to the second team. After winning their quarterfinal contest in the GLVC Tournament, they were upset by eventual league champion Indianapolis in the semifinal, which dropped them to 26-7 overall. Despite the 79 percent winning percentage, Rockhurst was left out of the NCAA Midwest Regional. The following year, the Hawks finished second in the GLVC West at 16-2 and advanced all the way to the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship before finishing the year 28-5. In 2015, the Hawks ran the league slate with an 18-0 record and posted a 34-4 record after a loss to Western Washington in the NCAA national quarterfinal. Prior to that run, Tracy Rietzke earned his third GLVC Coach of the Year honor and senior middle hitter Preecy Seever was named the Division II National Player of the Year. The Hawks easily won the GLVC West by four wins with a 16-2 record and ended the 2016 season 27-7 and an NCAA Tournament bid. In 2017, Rockhurst advanced all the way to the NCAA national semifinals with a 32-8 record after claiming the GLVC West title with a 14-4 mark. And just last week, Rockhurst notched its 30th win of the season (30-6) by winning its second GLVC Championship in program history. The six years (2006-11) prior to the program’s first GLVC Championship in 2012, Rockhurst went 129-67 (.658). The six years post-2012, the Hawks have gone 177-36 (.831).