April 24, 2001
Truman Volleyball Squad Signs Three More Players
Head volleyball coach Qi Wang announced today the signing of three new players for the 2001 season.
Lauren Dickbernd, Brandy Mreen and Annemarie Nickolai, all from the St. Louis area, have signed national letters-of-intent to join the Truman volleyball squad, joining Jessica Sears, of Colchester, Ill., as the latest additions to the Bulldog squad. Sears joined forces with the 'Dogs in the November early signing period.
Nickolai, a 5-11 right-side hitter, comes to the Bulldogs from Villa Duchesne High School in St. Louis. She has received all-conference, all-district and all-metro honors and is a two-time Villa Classic all-tournament honoree. She has also been named Villa's best offensive player twice in her career.
"She has great potential to be an ideal right-side hitter to fit in our program," Wang said. "Annie also has solid skills for both front and back row."
Mreen is a 6-0 middle hitter from St. Peters, Mo. and attended Fort Zumwalt South High School, where she has played volleyball all four years and earned second-team all-conference accolades.
"Brandy has decent height, agility court sense, spirit and jumping ability for a great middle hitter," Wang commented.
Dickbernd played her high school volleyball at St. Charles West High School in St. Charles, Mo. She's a two-time first-team all-district performer and has been on the all-academic team all four years as well. A first-team all-conference player as a senior, she served as team captain for two years.
"Lauren has been working hard to build a solid foundation for her college volleyball," Wang said. "She has good ball control as an outside hitter/defensive specialist."
The three newest signees should be quite familiar with each other they all played on the same club team, Express 181, in St. Charles.
Sears led her Colchester team in most statistical categories throughout her high school career, including kills, digs and hitting percentage. She helped her squad into the Illinois state championships as a senior and has earned all-state and all-area honors throughout her high school career.
The Bulldogs ended the 2000 season ranked No. 19 in the AVCA Division II Top 25. Truman finished with a 30-6 record, including a 15-1 mark in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association for its first-ever volleyball conference championship. The 'Dogs also advanced to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional championship game, set team records for best winning percentage (.833), longest win streak (20 matches) and longest conference win streak (26 matches, dating back to 1999 season), and captured their 11th consecutive season with 20 or more victories.
Truman is slated to open the 2001 season, Wang's first as head coach, on Aug. 24-25 at the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Classic. The 'Dogs are expected to return 10 players, including all-region performers Cassy Felkerson, Eliza Hoerner and Monica Marlowe, from the 2000 squad.