20 for 20: USCAA Championships - Part 2 - Volleyball, Women's Basketball, Cross Country
The 2020-21 athletic year is the 20th year that I (Paul Welker) have served as Alfred State's Sports Information Director. During this school year I plan on writing a 20-part series on my time covering the Pioneers.
In part one of highlighting the era that Alfred State was a member of the United State Collegiate Athletic Association I focused on the women's soccer team and their four straight trips to the National Championships. Here I will share memories of the three trips to nationals by the volleyball team, the women's basketball team's two trips to nationals, and the cross country teams history with the USCAA.
Volleyball:
Coach Gene Doorley and the Pioneers didn't waste much time getting into the national picture in the USCAA. The team put together a solid 17-13 record in 2013 and narrowly missed a chance to go to Nationals. Kay Pfleghardt became the program's first USCAA All-American.
Pfleghardt and the Pioneers came into 2014 determined to make the USCAA's and put together a solid regular season to claim the #3 in the Nationals that were held in Canton, NY. Pfleghardt, Lera Braun, and Jess Ramsey played to USCAA All-American honors. At Nationals, the Pioneers split their four pool play matches (They defeated Carlow and Tennessee Temple on day one but was tripped up by Berea and Florida College on day two). The team was able to bounce back and defeat Cincinnatti Clermont to advance to the national semifinals on day three. The Pioneers couldn't solve eventual champ Florida College in the semis and finished 4th in the nation after falling to SUNY Canton in the 3rd place match.
The blue & gold notched 28 victories in 2015 and qualified for a return trip to Canton as the #4 seed. The team went 1-3 in pool play (opened with a win over Penn State Brandywine and tough losses to Maine Fort Kent, St. Mary's of the Woods, and Florida) but still qualified for the quarterfinals where they took down Carlow for their second straight trip to the National Semifinals. The Pioneers couldn't get past St. Mary's in the semifinals and lost a battle with Rochester College in the 3rd place match to finish 4th in the nation for the second straight year. Braun repeated as an All-American and was joined by Janae Hamilton on the team.
The nationals moved to Virginia Beach, VA in 2016 but that didn't stop the Pioneers from earning their third straight trip to Nationals. The team was 25-9 and earned the #3 seed. Bryanna Godfrey, Madison Szpaicher, and Janae Hamilton earned a spot on the USCAA All-American team as the Pioneers finished the four years in the USCAA with nine All-Americans. The team never got in a rhythm after winning their opening match vs. NHTI and finished 1-4 in Virginia. Their season came to an end in the quarterfinals when St. Mary's ended the blue & gold's streak of making the national semifinals.
During the four year period of play in the USCAA, the volleyball team won 95 matches.
Women's Basketball:
Coach Gina Boyd and the women's basketball team made a pair of appearances at the USCAA Nationals hosted by Penn State Fayette in Uniontown, PA.
The 2014-15 team earned the program's first trip to nationals as the #7 seed after finishing the regular season 18-6. In one of the best games I have ever covered (you can read more about this game in Story #2 - Gina and Juice) the Pioneers upset #2 seed Iowa Wesleyan 84-79 in double overtime behind unbelievable efforts by Haley Witchella, Destiny Brito, and Brianna Meehan. In the national semifinals, the Pioneers led Berea for most of the game before the Mountaineers put together a 16-1 run to end the game and escape past Alfred State. Withcella became the second Pioneer to earn USCAA All-American honors, Marcedes Caver was named 2nd team All-American the year prior.
After a tough 2015-16 year, the blue & gold returned to Nationals as the 6th seed for the 2017 Championships. The team, led by USCAA Division I Player of the Year and 1st team All-American Catherine Bialecki, started slow and was knocked out of title contention after a loss to #3 Rochester College. The team played better in the consolation game vs. Dean College but ended the season falling by 14. The team, who won the ACAA title prior to the USCAA Championships, finished the season with a 15-11 overall record.
In total, the women's basketball team earned 53 victories in the four USCAA years and had five All-Americans (Bialecki and Breana Gleaton were named All-Americans after the 2015-16 season).
Cross Country:
Alfred State was represented at the USCAA National Championships in all four years that the Pioneers competed in the association. The men's team finished no lower than 6th and had their best performance in 2014 when the race was in Syracuse and hosted by SUNY ESF. The Pioneers finished 3rd in that race and had three runners, Keith Johnson, Jordan Rusek, and Jacob Hanss run to All-American honors. That same year the women's team recorded their best finish in their time in the USCAA by finishing 10th.
The 2013 championship was held in Syracuse and the men finished 4th and the women 13th. The 2015 championship was run in extreme heat in Lakeland, FL and the men finished 5th and Lindsey Thiel raced to a 36th overall finish to represent the women's team. The 2016 championship shifted to Virginia Beach, VA and competed at the same time as the volleyball and soccer championships. The men's team finished 6th with Hanss earning his second USCAA All-American honor while the women finished 11th and were led by Thiel who moved up ten spots from 2015 and finished 26th overall.
Other USCAA Tidbits:
The 2016 championship was very unique as it featured thousands of student-athletes competing in the USCAA Championships for men's and women's soccer, volleyball, and cross country. The awards banquet was an absolutely huge event that handed out athletic and academic awards to student-athletes in all those sports. The concept was quite exciting as well as teams stayed in hotels right on the Virginia Beach boardwalk and played within walking distance of each other. The four teams that competed that year for Alfred State traveled together as they condensed into two busses for the long trip to Virginia.
The two USCAA basketball championships that Alfred State competed in were held in Uniontown, PA but the highlight for the student-athletes was the lodging arrangement at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. Nemacolin was a huge resort that was on top of a mountain (experienced some very stressful winter drives up the hill to the resort) that featured breathtaking views, unbelievable accommodations, and even a zoo.
During this time the volleyball team also made a name for themselves in the ECAC. The team hosted the ECAC Tournament in 2014 and then earned the college's only victory in ECAC postseason action in 2015 to advance to the ECAC semifinals.
The wrestling team also competed in a USCAA Championship, which was a much smaller event. The Pioneers would travel to Penn State each year and compete vs. a dozen other schools that sponsored wrestling. The tournament took place in same venue as so many huge Big Ten match-ups. The Pioneers finished 2nd in 2014, 3rd in 2015, 4th in 2016, and 3rd in 2017. In the four years, the Pioneers had three wrestlers win their weight class titles. George VanValen won the title at 174 in both '16 and '17 while Matthew Sowers won 197 lbs. in 2014 and Riley Andrews won 235 lbs. in 2016.
The women's basketball team qualified for the USCAA Nationals twice but I worked the championships all four years. The championship featured four tournaments and 36 teams playing simultaneously in two gymnasiums. It was common to work 15 or 16 games during the three days I was at the tournament. On the middle day the first game would tip off at 9 a.m. and the last game of the day started after 11 p.m.
When reflecting on these teams and trips to USCAA Nationals, I sometimes struggled to remember the details of the actual games but I find it easy to remember the moments sharing a meal, the tournament banquets, the bus trips, and even the moment you watch a coach nail their head on a sign as you walk down the street (sorry Coach Hoover).
Previous 20 for 20's:
Story 1: The First Fall
Story 2: Gina and Juice
Story 3: Nose, Ear, Knee
Story 4: Football Tales
Story 5: Sand Storm
Story 6: The Voice of the Pioneers
Story 7: Homecoming
