Index of Sports Press Releases

April 30, 2009

Viney adds six more to 2009 recruiting class

Coach Eric Viney

MITCHELL, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan University head volleyball coach Eric Viney strengthened his 2009 recruiting class Thursday when he announced six new signees who have committed to play for the Tigers this fall.

Viney’s latest group of recruits features three transfers and three incoming freshmen from South Dakota. Carina Fesenmaier transfers to DWU from Ridgewater College, Sarah Stahlke is a transfer from North Dakota State College of Science and Lexi Townsend has decided to resume her volleyball career after a year as a student at The University of South Dakota. Incoming freshmen Nikki Gleich and Andrea Johnson both come to Dakota Wesleyan from Rapid City and Amber Turner has committed to DWU from nearby Hanson High School.

This latest group of recruits brings Viney’s 2009 class to nine players, and the talent and athleticism he’s added to the program has the second-year coach endlessly excited for fall camp to begin.

“Looking at our recruiting class overall at this point in time gives me chills,” Viney said, “We have a lot of strong, tall, athletically gifted, multi-position players that will present match-up problems for our opponents. We have a wonderful mix of highly talented transfers who have big-match experience and some young in-coming freshman that will help continue to build a solid foundation for future success.”

Headlining Viney’s latest group is Fesenmaier, who excelled as Ridgewater’s setter during her two-year junior college career. The 5-9, St. Cloud, Minn., native, recorded 2,443 set assists (10.14 per game) while leading the Warriors to back-to-back appearances in the NJCAA Division III National Championship match.

Fesenmaier was named to the All-State Tournament Team, the NJCAA Div. III Region XIII Team, the NJCAA Div. III National Tournament Team and the All-Conference team following both of her seasons at Ridgewater. She was also an All-State Second Team pick, and she helped the Warriors win two conference titles, two region titles and one state title. Fesenmaier will have junior eligibility this fall, and she plans to major in sport exercise and wellness. She is the daughter of Lee and Lori Fesenmaier.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have someone with Carina’s talent level and big-match experience join our program,” Viney said. “Carina has the athleticism, talent, fundamentals, leadership, attitude and experience to take this team to the next level in the GPAC. She has the potential to make a big difference in our offense starting this fall.”

Stahlke is another JUCO transfer who could make an immediate impact. A 6-2 hitter, Stahlke will immediately add height and athleticism to the Tigers’ front line following a great career at NDSCS. In 2007, she was named to the All-Region Tournament Team and in 2008 she was both an All-Conference and an All-Region selection.

Stahlke is originally from Waconia, Minn., where she starred for three years at Mayer Lutheran High School. At DWU, she plans to major in business. She is the daughter of Rick and Shelley Stahlke.

“It isn’t every year that DWU signs a tall, strong, athletic, dominating force at the net,” Viney said. “Sarah can play all three positions at the net along with having solid backcourt skills. Sarah has the potential to be the ‘x-factor’ for us night-in and night-out and she could be a great GPAC player.”

Townsend, originally from nearby Canistota, returns to volleyball after a year off at USD. The 5-4 defensive specialist was an All-Conference First Team pick as a senior at Canistota and the recipient of her team’s Best Defensive Player award. Viney is excited she chose Dakota Wesleyan to resume her volleyball career.

“Lexi comes to us after taking a year off to focus on academics at USD,” Viney said. “She will come in with a new-found passion for the game and open mind to learning. Lexi has some solid athletic ability that will help her achieve great success within our program.”

Gleich comes to DWU following a decorated career at Rapid City Stevens High School. She helped the Raiders win the 2007 Class “AA” State Championship, and she led Stevens back to state in 2008, where she was named an All-State Tournament Team selection. She was named to the Rapid City Journal’s Best of the West team and she was an All-Conference Second Team selection. As a senior, she set a school record with 770 digs and she led Stevens with 59 aces. Her 84 digs at the 2008 state tournament led the field. She will participate in the South Dakota All-Star game in July.

At Dakota Wesleyan, Gleich plans to major in elementary education with a minor in special education. She is the daughter of Ted and LuAnne Johnson. Gleich will join former Stevens teammates Brooke Warne and Cassie Brinker at DWU, and the three former Raiders will all compete for the Tigers’ starting spot at libero.

“Nikki is a fiery competitor and a very solid serve-receive and defensive player,” Viney said. “Nikki adds instant depth and options and will help solidify our core of defensive specialists. She will be in a tough battle for our libero position with, interestingly enough, two of her former teammates from Stevens.”

Johnson also joins DWU from another Rapid City school, Central High School. As a senior, Johnson was named the Cobbler’s Most Improved Player. The 6-0 hitter was second on her team in blocks and third in kills. She plans to major in pre-med at DWU, and she is the daughter of Ricky and Debra Johnson.

“Andrea is another pure athlete with the potential to play all three positions in the front row,” Viney said. “She allows us to have a lot of flexibility with our lineups. She has the potential to develop into a top tier volleyball player within the GPAC. We are excited to have Andrea on our roster.”

Rounding out Viney’s latest group of recruits is local product Amber Turner from Canova. As a senior, the 5-3 defensive specialist led Hanson High School to the Cornbelt Conference Championship. She averaged 2.2 digs per game with a high of 22. She was named the Cornbelt’s Outstanding Defensive Player to go along with All-Conference Second Team honors and her team’s Hustler Award.

Turner plans to major in criminal justice at Dakota Wesleyan. She is the daughter of Robert and Jessi Kampshoff of Canova.

“Amber is a local kid with a great competitive spirit,” Viney said. “We’re hoping she can catch on to the fast pace of the college game so that we can take advantage of her athletic ability on the court.”

Though Viney will likely add a few more key pieces to his 2009 recruiting class, he feels great about the direction the program is heading as he enters his second season. He said that the combination of newcomers and returners should help his team improve in the always-tough GPAC.

“The addition of this recruiting class with the key returners we have will make us very deep at nearly every position on the court,” Viney said. “We will look more intimidating to other teams next fall with our size and athleticism.”