St. Norbert junior outside hitter Crystal McClure (right) and Green Knights head coach Lori Sadewater (below left) both received the Midwest Conference’s highest honor following a volleyball season that saw St. Norbert win its league-best ninth MWC Championship. A trio of St. Norbert players were first team All-Conference selections, while four Green Knights received All-MWC accolades overall. MWC tourney qualifiers Beloit and Lake Forest matched that tally with four selections apiece, while Illinois College and Monmouth followed with three all-conference recipients. Lawrence and Ripon each landed two student-athletes on all-conference teams, while Grinnell and Knox rounded out the squads with one selection each.

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Joanna Mamayek led the Green Knights with nine kills in the match, but St. Norbert was unable to overcome a .055 team hitting percentage. Lori Sadewater’s team held UW-Platteville (29-7) to a .164 hitting percentage in the second game, but eventually dropped the game 30-23 after leading throughout most of it. Jess Radocay and Hannah Bona led the Green Knights defensively with 17 and 10 digs, respectively, while Hannah Bona led the team in assists (13) and Kate Meehan added seven kills.

St. Norbert closes the 2005 season with a 30-7 overall record, including an 8-1 mark in MWC play. The Green Knights won the 2005 MWC Championship and 2005 MWC Tournament.

Radocay (right), who holds a 3.82 cumulative grade point average with a major in biology, helped the Green Knights to a second consecutive MWC title and a 30-7 record in 2005. She led the Green Knights in digs (697) and became the seventh player in NCAA Division III history to register 2,500 career digs earlier this season. Her current total of 2,539 ranks sixth all-time in Division III.

Trimpe (left), a three-year starter, owns a 3.85 grade point average and is working toward a major in English. She set the Illinois College single-season assist record (1,328) in 2004 and is the only athlete in school history with three consecutive seasons of 1,000 assists or more. Trimpe helped guide the Lady Blues to a 21-12 record this season, as she recorded 1,108 assists, 217 digs and 130 kills.

Lori Sadewater’s (pictured) club secured an NCAA Tournament berth after winning its second consecutive Midwest Conference Tournament with a 5-game victory over Monmouth last Saturday.

UW-Platteville received an automatic qualifier to the tourney after wining the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship Tournament with victories over UW-Whitewater and UW-Eau Claire.

St. Norbert vs. UW-Platteville – NCAA Tournament Notes

* St. Norbert is making its fourth overall NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, and its third in the last four years, with a 2-3 all-time record. The Green Knights first advanced to what was then a 32-team field in 1993. St. Norbert beat UW-Whitewater 3-2 in the first round before falling to Benedictine 3-1 in the regional final. In 2002, St. Norbert beat Lakeland 3-1 in the Whitewater Regional before dropping a 3-2 decision to Elmhurst College in the second round. Last year, UW-La Crosse beat St. Norbert 3-0 in the first round.

* UW-Platteville is making its fourth trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament and first since 1997, with a 1-3 all-time record. The Pioneers earned an automatic bid to the tourney after winning the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

* UW-Platteville leads St. Norbert 9-7 in a series that began in 1981. The two teams last meeting came on October 4, 2004 at the UW-Platteville Tournament. The Pioneers downed the Green Knights in four games (22-30, 30-25, 30-28, 30-17).

* Half of St. Norbert’s six losses this season have come to NCAA Tournament qualifiers. The Green Knights fell to fellow Midwest Regional members Lakeland (3-1) and Carthage (3-0) during the regular-season, along with Southwestern (3-0) who was seeded in the south bracket.

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St. Norbert fell behind in both of its matches at the 2005 Midwest Conference Volleyball Tournament, but the Green Knights managed to rally and win each match in five games, including knocking off Monmouth in the tourney finals. The victory gives the Green Knights the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. St. Norbert will be representing the MWC in the NCAA tourney for the fourth time overall and second year in a row. Lori Sadewater’s team reached the 30-win mark for the fourth consecutive season, one week after winning the ninth MWC Championship in school history.

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A new year brings about new circumstances at the 2005 Midwest Conference Volleyball Tournament, which will be played on the St. Norbert College campus in De Pere, Wis., Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5. Since 1988, the MWC has brought together all member institutions in tourney play to decide the MWC Champion and beginning in 1999, the automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament. This season, St. Norbert (28-6, 8-1 MWC) enters the six-team tourney already having been crowned MWC Champion, but the NCAA bid still hangs in the balance for Beloit (16-16, 6-3), Illinois College (21-11, 5-4), Lake Forest (18-11, 8-1), Monmouth (21-12, 7-2), Ripon (13-19, 5-4) and the Green Knights.

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The Green Knights, who now have nine titles total, become the fifth team in MWC history to repeat as champions and the second St. Norbert squad (1989-90) to accomplish the feat. Lori Sadewater’s (pictured right) team has captured the MWC crown in three of the last four seasons, including tourney titles in 2002 and 2004.

St. Norbert (26-6, 6-1 MWC 8 points)
Remaining Schedule – Oct. 26 vs. Beloit, Oct. 28 at Carroll - Scenario – St. Norbert controls its own fate. The Green Knights are the only MWC team with two conference games remaining and two victories will equal a conference championship for St. Norbert. The Green Knights could beat Beloit and lose to Carroll and still win the title if Monmouth and Lake Forest both lose. A loss to Beloit eliminates St. Norbert from title and tourney host contention.

Monmouth (18-10, 6-2 MWC 9 points)
Remaining Schedule – Oct. 26 vs. Knox - Scenario - A Monmouth victory and St. Norbert loss seals the Midwest Conference Championship, the top tourney seed and hosting duties for the Fighting Scots. The Scots defeated Lake Forest and Beloit head-to-head this season and hold the tiebreaker over both in the case that all three finish with 11 points.

Lake Forest (17-9, 7-1 MWC 9 points)
Remaining Schedule – Oct. 29 at Grinnell - Scenario - A Forester victory coupled with losses from Monmouth and St. Norbert fits the Foresters with the conference crown. Lake Forest defeated Beloit and holds the tiebreaker over the Bucs.

Beloit (16-11, 6-2 MWC 9 points)
Remaining Schedule – Oct. 26 at St. Norbert - Scenario – The Bucs need to defeat St. Norbert and have Monmouth and Lake Forest both fall to win the conference title.

The second and final Midwest Conference Volleyball Playdate of the season did little to resolve the postseason picture under the new conference tournament format. In the past, all 10 MWC schools qualified to play in the MWC postseason tourney, but this season the top six teams based on points, regardless of division, will play for the MWC’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth. Teams receive two points for victories within their division and one-point for Playdate victories over squads from the opposing division.

Lake Forest was the only team to go through the five-match Playdate schedule unscathed, as the Foresters downed Lawrence and Beloit in three games apiece on Saturday in Monmouth. St. Norbert also won both of its contests in three games, making a loss to the Foresters at the first Playdate the lone setback for Green Knights. St. Norbert (6 points) and Lake Forest (5 points) currently sit atop the North and South Divisions, respectively, with 5-1 conference records.

Beloit, Illinois College and Monmouth all remain in the mix with five points apiece and identical 4-2 MWC marks. Monmouth won both of its contests at the second Playdate, while the Bucs and Lady Blues each split a pair of matches. Illinois College’s victory came over Ripon, who rebounded later in the day with a win over Knox. The Red Hawks have also accumulated five points and hold a 4-3 record.

A five-game victory over Carroll pushed Grinnell (2-4, 3 points) one point ahead of Lawrence (2-4, 2 points), who failed to add to its Playdate win total on Saturday, in the overall point standings. Knox (1-6, 1 point) defeated Carroll, who is still in search of its first MWC victory, at the first Playdate, but went 0-2 on Saturday.

The MWC divisions consist of; North: Beloit, Carroll, Lawrence, Ripon, St. Norbert. South: Grinnell, Illinois College, Knox, Lake Forest, Monmouth.

The first playdate features each MWC school playing three teams from the opposite division over a two-day span. The second playdate will matchup the remaining two teams from each opposing division.

In the past, the MWC elected to a play a single weekend Crossover where teams played all five teams from the opposite division.

The complete MWC Playdate #1 schedule is located on the left side of this page.

St. Norbert (31-9, 8-1 MWC) and Lake Forest (20-13, 6-3), who represented the North and South Divisions, respectively, in the 2004 MWC title match, are both picked to return this season. Both teams were the recipients of four first-place votes, although St. Norbert edged Lake Forest in total voting to take the title of league favorite. The two remaining first-place votes were split between Ripon (21-15, 8-1) and Monmouth (22-12, 7-2), as the Red Hawks topped the Scots by a point for third place. Beloit (26-12, 6-3) fell just two points behind Monmouth to round out the Top 5 and Illinois College (18-22, 4-5) finished one tally behind the Buccaneers to finish in sixth. The #7 and #8 slots were also separated by a single point, as the final four poll positions went to Grinnell (6-29, 1-8), Carroll (8-24, 2-7), Lawrence (8-25, 2-7) and Knox (5-29, 1-8).

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