gustavus adolphus volleyball team
The Gustavus Adolphus volleyball team has changed in many ways throughout history. From the time the program began in 1969, they have won four MIAC championship titles and have had four females named All-American athletes. Five coaches have contributed their knowledge and talents to this thriving, young program that the Gustavus Adolphus volleyball team is today.
The volleyball program began in 1969 by a woman named Gretchen Koehler. A well-known female in the athletic department, Koehler also was named the head coach of the Gustavus volleyball team. Koehler would guide her team, referred to as the “Gustavus Bees,” for 26 years. During the years 1977 and 1990, Koehler temporarily stepped down from her coaching position for personal reasons; Gayle Hanson took over the role in 1977 and Stacy Godwin in 1990.
However, it wasn’t until 1996 that Koehler decided that she permanently needed to hand over her head coaching job, and that’s when she named her assistant at the time, Kari Eckheart, the new head coach of the Gustavus volleyball team. With the loss of Koehler also came the loss of the name “The Bees.” Eckheart simply wanted to stick with the Gustavus Gusties, similar to every other athletic team on campus. Kari Eckheart coached the volleyball team from 1997 until 2009 when she got offered a full-time job at Gustavus Adolphus which did not allow time for her to continue coaching. After countless applications of potential coaches, Rachelle Dosch was chosen to lead the Gusties, and currently holds the title of Gustavus Adolphus head volleyball coach.
Back when the program began, there was no conference known as the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The team competed in the NAIW conference, which consisted of all the women’s volleyball teams in the state of Minnesota. The team made an appearance at the state tournament every year but whenever they faced the University of Minnesota, they could not seem to pull out a win. The squad placed 2nd at the state tournament in 1975 as well as 1976, which was their two best finishes on record until the MIAC was established in 1981.
The MIAC was created to provide a somewhat more fair playing ground for the smaller schools throughout Minnesota. Rather than playing the University of Minnesota, Gustavus would face smaller schools such as Augsburg, Macalester, and St. Bens. The Gustavus volleyball team has four 1st place MIAC finishes in 1982, 1984, 1985, and 1986. The team won three years in a row due to the extreme amount of talent they had on the squad those years.
The Gustavus Bees had a record of 33-1 in the conference from 1984-1986 along with three NCAA National Tournament appearances. Leading the squad to this incredible record were Linn Erickson and Val Flom. Both of these athletes were inducted to the hall of fame for their stellar careers while members of the Gustavus Bees. They both received all-conference honors three times and were both two-time All-Americans. Their senior year, Deb Jungwirth joined both of these outside hitters when she received an All-American honor as well. These three excellent athletes competed in their final season in 1986 when they led the team to their fourth MIAC title. After these women graduated, the team consistently struggled to get back to the top.
The year immediately following, 1987, the Gustavus Bees ended up falling into 7th place in the MIAC. In the years to come, the closest they would get to the top again would be a 2nd place finish in 2006. From 1986-2006, there was one athlete named MIAC defensive player of the year (Chrissy Homeier, 2001) as well as one athlete named to the All-Region team (Rachel Batalden, 2004). Kari Eckheart also received MIAC coach of the year honors. Besides that, the volleyball team continued to rack up a lot of mediocre seasons until the fall of 2008.
The Gustavus volleyball team ended up as runners up in the MIAC conference standings in the 2008 season. The squad was led by outstanding senior libero, Emily Klein. Klein was a three time MIAC defensive player of the year and also received All-American honorable mention honors her senior year along with teammate Bridget Burtzel. After a 2nd place finish and a 9-2 record in the conference, the team continued their success with a trip to the NCAA tournament and ended their season with a final record of 26-5 and graduated four exceptional seniors, including standout Emily Klein.
After a 9th place finish in the 2009 season, head coach Kari Eckheart got offered a full-time position at the college and decided to step down and hire a new head coach for the Gustavus volleyball program. Rachelle Dosch filled in those shoes and led the Gusties for her first season the fall of 2010. Although the team struggled and unfortunately ended up with a 12th place finish in the conference, the team learned a lot and Dosch will be sure to lead the program to great things in the future. The Gustavus volleyball team has changed a lot since they originated as the Bees in 1969. There have been some outstanding athletes and great coaches throughout the years, and there is guaranteed to only be more great things in the future for this program.
Coach Gretchen Koehler
The Gustavian 1985
Coach Kari Eckheart
Current head coach, Rachelle Dosch
