UNIVERSITY of ST. THOMAS Lady Celts Volleyball 2010
CELT FACTS The word Celts, pronounced Kelts, refers to people of several ethnic groups in Ireland and Britian. Converted by St. Patrick, the Celts were loyal to the Church s Christian teachings. Highly skilled in the visual arts, they produced intricate metalwork. True Celts were regarded as a military aristocracy defined by qualities of chilvary, courage and bravery. At the same time, they also prided themselves on their appreciation of music, poetry and philosophy. Information: Name: University of St. Thomas Location: Houston, TX Founded: 1947 Enrollment: 3,246 Mascot: Celts Colors: Scarlet & Gold Home arena: Jerabeck Athletic Center President: Dr. Robert Ivany Athletic Director: Todd Smith Sports Information Director: Trent Herman Volleyball Facts: National Affiliation: NAIA Division I & A.I.I. Head Coach: Trent Herman E-mail: hermantd@stthom.edu Volleyball office: 713-831-7220 1st Season: 2006 First Recorded Win: 9/2/06, Concordia University First Home Win: 9/9/06, Paul Quinn College Returning: 9 Newcomers: 4 Champions: 2008 & 09 A.I.I. Champions www.ustcelts.com UNIVERSITY of ST. THOMAS HOUSTON Educating Leaders of Faith and Character
Trent HERMAN Head Volleyball Coach Trent Herman, who brings 12 years of collegiate coaching experience, is entering his first season as the head coach at the University of St. Thomas. Herman became the school s second head volleyball coach after spending most of his coaching career in the Division I ranks at Iowa State University and Rice University. The Garden City, Kan., native comes to UST after spending the last two years as the technical director and coach at the Absolute Volleyball Academy in League City, Texas where his 18 s team won the Club National Championship in 2009 & his 17 s team took 9th in the Open National Championships in 2010. Before coaching at the Absolute Volleyball Academy, Herman spent five years as an assistant coach at Rice University where he helped them to their second ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008. He helped coach four Honorable Mention All-Americans, six All-Region Players, 10 All-Conference Players, and five Academic All-Region Players. Prior to Rice University, Herman coached for five years as an assistant coach and director of recruiting at Iowa State University where they had a Top 30 Ranked Recruiting Class in 2004 with 21 Academic All-Big XII selections and one Academic All-American. From 1999-2001, while at Southwest State University, Herman had back-to-back 20 win seasons with one All-American Selection and six All-Conference Selections. He graduated from Fort Hays State University in 1999 with a bachelor s degree in history. He and his wife, Lee-Anne, reside in Houston and welcomed their first child in August 2010. Everett ARMSTRONG Assistant Coach Everett Armstrong joins the UST Lady Celt s Volleyball Team this year as the assistant coach. Armstrong brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience to the program. While serving in the United States Air Force, he played for the UASF volleyball team. He continued playing with several USAV men s teams. After his playing career, Everett went on to become a club volleyball coach in the Houston area for the past 15 years. Armstrong has coached for five of the top volleyball clubs leading two teams to Junior National Olympic appearances. He has also coached many college-bound players. Everett is currently coaching club volleyball for the Texas Tornados Volleyball Club. Jose ORDONEZ Special Assistant Jose is a second year MBA student with concentration in finance for the Cameron School of Business program. He comes from the city of San Pedro Sula in Honduras were he obtained his B.A. in Business Management. He played the sport for 15 years as an OH competing in several Latin-American tournaments and obtained a MVP award in the Guatemalan national tournament in 1998. This is his first experience as a volleyball coach and his second year as an assistant coach for our volleyball team. 1
2 Lady Celts Roster # Name Pos Ht Class College/High School 1 Kirsten Kubicek OH 6 0 FR Living Stones Christian HS 2 Lauren Poe OH 5 9 SR Cinco Ranch HS 3 Evon Welch MB/OH 6 0 RS-FR Southern University 4 Brittany Downs DS 5 10 JR King HS 5 Catherine Loth RS/OH 5 10 JR Seton School 6 Shirley Paul DS 5 7 FR Clear Springs HS 7 Kinzie Van Voorst OH 5 6 JR University of Sioux Falls 8 Kayla Weaver S 5 9 SO Los Fresnos HS 11 Sarah Curiel-Thompson S 5 5 SR Incarnate Word HS 13 Courtney Johnson S/RS 5 9 SR Barber s Hill HS 16 Mallory Wendel MB 5 11 SR Anderson HS 19 Monica Litle DS 5 7 SO Bishop Lynch HS 20 Casey Mulryan MB 5 11 SR Anahuac HS Team Manager: Lorraine Hotze 2010 Lady Celts
#1 Kirsten KUBICEK Freshman 6 0 Outside Hitter Manvel, Texas Living Stones Christian HS Kirsten joins the Lady Celts as a freshman. She was named First Team All-State and to the All-State Academic Team while leading her team to a second place finish at the TAPPS 2A state playoffs at Living Stones Christian High School in Manvel, Texas. As a junior, she received All- State Second Team Accolades as well as team MVP honors. As a sophomore, she made All-State honorable mention while being named the team Offensive & Defensive Player of the Year. Kirsten played club volleyball at Texas Revolution Volleyball Club. #2 Lauren POE Senior 5 9 Outside Hitter Katy, Texas Cinco Ranch HS Lauren, an outside hitter, is entering her senior season for the Lady Celts. As a freshman, Lauren led the team in total kills and total digs and was awarded the Offensive Player of the Year award for 2007 season. During her sophomore year, Lauren continued to score high marks in kills, digs, and led the team to a new record in service aces, earning her a spot in the national rankings for NAIA. Lauren was accepted onto the All Conference First Team for A.I.I. and the All Region Team. Last season as a junior, Lauren continued to make her mark by being named the A.I.I Player of the Year and to the All Region Team for the second straight year. Lauren graduated in 2007 from Cinco Ranch High School where she played volleyball for four years. She also played for the Texas Tornados volleyball club for seven years. Lauren is majoring in Communication. #3 Evon returns to Houston after a redshirt season at Southern University in Baton Rouge. Evon joins the Lady Celts ready to make a difference with her versatility as an outside hitter or middle blocker her freshman year. A four-year player at Westfield High School, she received All- District honors her senior year. As a captain for her junior and senior years, the team had great success. Evon played club volleyball for Texas Select Volleyball Club. She is majoring in accounting. Evon WELCH RS Freshman 6 0 Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter Spring, Texas Westfield HS 2010 Lady Celts 3
Brittany DOWNS Junior 5 10 Libero Corpus Christi, Texas King HS #4 Brittany, a defensive specialist, retuns for her third season with the Lady Celts. Brittany s role on the UST volleyball team as a defensive specialist enabled her to assist the team in their back-to-back conference titles and the opening rounds of nationals. She looks to expand her role on the floor this year in a leadership role. Brittany sees her opportunity to play volleyball for UST as a vital part to her success as an athlete and well-rounded individual. She attended King High School in Corpus Christi, where she played three years of varsity volleyball experience in a 5A school district. She received First Team All-District two times and in her senior year she received All- Catherine LOTH Junior 5 10 Right Side Manassas, Virginia Seton HS Catherine returns to the Lady Celts for her junior year, looking to expand her role after playing in 74 games last season. She came to UST from Seton School in Manassas, Virginia, where she spent four years playing volleyball. She is a three-year letter winner, playing in the State Tournament each year. Catherine received All-Tournament, All-Conference, All- Metro Area and All-State her junior and senior years. She also played three years of club volleyball, one for Arlington Volleyball Club and two for Clash Volleyball Club. Catherine made the Dean s List after each semester at UST and plans on majoring in mathematics. Catherine s family has a history at UST. Shirley PAUL Shirley joins the Lady Celts as a freshman. At Clear Springs High School, she was named Second Team All-District 24-5A both as a senior and junior as well as her high school teams MVP. As a junior, she earned honorable mention All-Galveston County and defensive player of the year. Shirley graduated Magna Cum Laude. She was a member of the Spanish National Honor Society, a Distinguished Achievement award winner and former president of the National Honor Society. Shirley has also been selected to participate in the Honors program at St. Thomas. Shirley played club volleyball for Gulf Coast Volleyball Academy. Metro and All-South Texas awards. She played club volleyball for six years on BRVC and CC Wave where the CC Wave team qualified for the Tour of Texas and the Junior Olympics. Her grandparents, Henri and Julie de Ybarrondo, are both alumni as well as two of her sisters, Angela and Rebecca. Catherine s amazing attitude, blocking ability and sometimes unconventional hitting style makes a huge positive impact on the team. Freshman 5 7 Defensive Specialist League City, Texas Clear Springs HS #5 #6 4 2010 Lady Celts
#7 Kinzie VAN VOORST Junior 5 6 Outside Hitter Hull, Iowa Boyden-Hull HS Kinzie enters her junior season at St. Thomas after two years at the University of Sioux Falls. Kinzie had a solid sophomore year where she totaled 201 kills and 487 digs. She is a native of Hull, Iowa, and attended Boyden-Hull High School. She was Second Team All-State, First Team All-Conference and All-District her senior year. Kinzie was voted MVP twice at Hull-Boyden High School. Kinzie will bring depth and college playing experience to an already experienced Lady Celt team. She is majoring in general studies pursuing a minor in psychology. #8 Kayla WEAVER Sophomore 5 9 Setter/Outside Hitter Brownsville, Texas Los Fresnos HS Kayla returns for her sophomore year ready to a make difference at the setting position. After playing in 72 games last year and recording 187 assists, she looks to make an impact this season. Kayla was captain of the Los Fresnos High School Volleyball team, received 1st team All-District honors in both her junior and senior years and was named the MVP for District 32-5A in 2008. She was also named the 2008 All-Metro Player in her senior year and was the captain of her District and Bi-District championship team, advancing to the Area Finalist round of the playoffs. Academics are also important to Kayla. She was selected for the 2008 Texas Academic All State Team. In addition to her achievements during the 2008 season, she was named to the All Tournament Teams at both the Donna and PSJA Tournaments. Kayla played for her local club volleyball team, South Texas Juniors, and #11 enjoyed success at both state and national tournaments. She was named to the Rio Grande Valley All- Valley Team and participated in the annual East-West All Star game. She is majoring in biology. Sarah CURIEL-THOMPSON Senior 5 5 Setter San Antonio, Texas Incarnate Word HS Sarah Curiel-Thompson returns to the Lady Celts for her senior season. In her junior year, Sarah lead the team posting 668 assists and recording a solid 258 digs. As a sophomore setter, Sarah led the Lady Celts as Assists Leader and Co-Offensive Player of the Year. She was also named A.I.I. 2008 First Team All-Conference during the A.I.I. Conference Championship in Arizona. Originally, Sarah comes to UST from Incarnate Word High School in San Antonio, Texas. Her team was State Semi-Finalists for the past two years, and ended their 2006-2007 season as All-District 6A champions. It was during that season which Sarah lead the city of San Antonio in assists. In addition to this achievement, she was given the Uvalde High School All Tournament and Incarnate Word High School All District award. Since junior high school, Sarah has played for a variety of club volleyball teams, such as Home Court America, Texas Juniors, and San Antonio Heat. Her years of experience have given Sarah an undeniable love for the game on and off the court. She eagerly anticipates another successful season with the Lady Celts. She is majoring in communication. 2010 Lady Celts 5
Courtney JOHNSON Courtney returns for her senior season with the Lady Celts. As a junior, she was a player, recording 413 assists, 213 digs, and 92 kills. As a sophomore, Courtney played setter for the first time, and she surpassed all expectations. Courtney was awarded the NAIA Champion of Character Award. She has earned the title of UST Ironwoman award two years in a row and is tied for the team maximum bench press. Courtney also leads the team Bible study. As a freshman, Courtney was a medical redshirt. At Barbers Hill High School, Courtney received 1st team All- District and Academic All-District Awards for both her junior and senior Senior 5 9 Setter/Right Side Mont Belvieu, Texas Barbers Hill HS Mallory WENDEL Senior 5 11 Middle Blocker Austin, Texas Anderson HS Mallory returns for her senior season with the UST volleyball team. In her junior year, Mallory recorded 67 blocks and 178 kills. During her sophomore year with the Lady Celts, she led the team in solo blocks while playing middle blocker. Her freshman year, Mallory led the team in kill efficiency and had 151 successful kills. Once again she led the team in solo blocks and helped assist with 52 additional blocks. She played both middle and right side during her freshman season at UST. Mallory attended Anderson High School in Austin where she received Academic All-District volleyball awards. Her senior year, 2007, she received Female Athlete of the Monica LITLE #13 years. In her 2005 season, her team finished as District Champions in 3A and Regional Finalists. As captain during her 2006 season, she led her team in her school s first undefeated 4A District Championship where they finished as Regional Semi-finalists. Courtney was named to the Santa Fe All-Tournament and was voted by her teammates as team MVP receiving the Dare to Soar Award as a senior. She played club for South Shore Juniors for two years. She is majoring in psychology. #16 Year for Anderson High School. Throughout high school Mallory played with a local Austin club volleyball team, AIM, where she participated in many out of state national qualifiers. Mallory s net play is essential part of the growing success to this program. She is majoring in communication. Sophomore 5 7 Defensive Specialist Dallas, Texas Bishop Lynch HS #19 Monica returns for her sophomore season at UST. As a freshman, Monica saw limited time as a defensive specialist. But with the key loss of defensive players, she looks to step in and make an impact. She played local club volleyball five years for Dallas Juniors Volleyball Club and three years for Nitro Volleyball Club. She competed in numerous national qualifying tournaments. She was captain of her first season with Nitro. That same year she received the Coaches Award. In her senior year, Monica decided to share her knowledge and assistant coach a 15 s team as well as helping with skills clinics throughout the year. Academics are important to her as well as she kept honors all throughout high school and graduated from Bishop Lynch High School with a 4.0. She is majoring in political science and history. 8 2010 Lady Celts
#20 Casey MULRYAN Senior 5 11 Middle Blocker Anahuac, Texas Anahuac HS Casey returns for her senior season with the Lady Celts. Casey s net play and aggressiveness should continue to make UST a very competitive team in her senior season. As a freshman with the Lady Celts, Casey started as a right side hitter and had one of the highest max block jump verticals. Her sophomore year, Casey started as middle blocker and was listed as the most efficient hitters of the A.I.I. and ranked the 34th most efficient hitter in the entire NAIA. Casey was named to the A.I.I. First Team, All-Region Team - Honorable Mention, and the A.I.I. Player of the Year. She was also named to the Coca- Cola Classic First Team, awarded Co-Offensive Player at UST, and two time VSN player of the week. Casey led the team in solo blocks. As a junior, Casey led the team in kills with 345 and blocks with 73. She was also named to the All-Region Team in 2009. She is majoring in history. 2010 Lady Celts 9
LADY CELTS VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE DATE DAY OPPONENT LOCATION TIME AUGUST 20 Fri Lee College, Galveston, San Jacinto UST 12, 3 & 5 PM 21 Sat Lee College Lee College 10:00 AM 26 Thur Bacone College Bacone 7:00 PM 27 Fri Peru State College Bacone 1:00 PM 27 Fri Haskell Indian Nations Bacone 3:00 PM 28 Sat St. Gregory s University Bacone 10:00 AM SEPTEMBER 2 Thur East Texas Baptist University ETBU 6:00 PM 3 Fri Mississippi Valley State Texas Southern 1:00 PM 3 Fri Arkansas Pine Bluff Texas Southern 5:00 PM 4 Sat Texas Southern Texas Southern 9:00 AM 4 Sat Texas Wesleyan University UST 2:00 PM 7 Tue Our Lady of the Lake University UST 7:00 PM 10 Fri Concordia University Tourney Concordia TBA 17 Fri Wiley College UST 7:00 PM 18 Sat Texas College UST 3:00 PM 21 Tue University of Mary Hardin-Baylor UMHB 7:00 PM 24 Fri Texas Wesleyan University Texas Wesleyan 2:00 PM 24 Fri Southwestern Assemblies of God SAGU 7:00 PM 28 Tue Huston-Tillotson University UST 7:00 PM 30 Thur University of Texas-Brownsville UST 7:00 PM OCTOBER 1 Fri Loyola University Loyola 2:00 PM 1 Fri Spring Hill College Loyola 4:30 PM 2 Sat Xavier University Loyola 9:00 AM 5 Tue Our Lady of the Lake University OLLU 7:00 PM 8 Fri University of Texas-Brownsville UTB 7:00 PM 16 Sat Texas College Texas College 11:00 AM 16 Sat Wiley College Wiley College 4:00 PM 19 Tue Houston Baptist University HBU 7:00 PM 20 Wed Dallas Christian University UST 7:00 PM 23 Sat Southwestern Assemblies of God UST 2:00 PM 29 Fri Concordia University Southwestern 2:00 PM 29 Fri University of UT-Tyler Southwestern 7:00 PM 30 Sat Southwestern University Southwestern 1:00 PM 30 Sat Eastern University Southwestern 3:00 PM NOVEMBER 2 Tue Huston-Tillotson University HTU 6:30 PM 11-14 Thu-Sat Association of Independent Tourney TBA TBA 10 2010 Lady Celts
2009 LADY CELTS STATS ATTACK SET SERVE PASS DEF BLOCK GEN No. Name GP Kills E A SA SE RE DIG TOT BHE 2 Poe, Lauren 115 286 099 008 77 61 28 237 31 00 3 Smith, Keanne 123 022 014 020 42 56 66 595 00 06 4 Downs, Brittany 112 038 019 009 29 27 23 200 12 02 5 Loth, Catherine 074 053 038 025 01 00 02 018 28 04 6 Hardy, Heather 124 342 120 011 16 33 37 267 29 04 8 Weaver, Kayla 072 022 007 187 08 12 08 067 05 08 10 Huvar, Amber 101 115 043 018 00 08 04 033 39 10 11 Curiel-Thompson, Sarah 125 018 010 668 24 19 03 258 01 27 12 Hotze, Lorraine 017 011 009 000 00 00 01 006 03 02 13 Johnson, Courtney 113 092 039 413 09 16 13 213 33 26 16 Wendel, Mallory 113 178 049 002 19 30 12 046 67 01 19 Litle, Monica 031 000 001 000 01 05 04 035 00 00 20 Mulryan, Casey 125 345 059 008 10 11 00 049 89 05 Totals 126 1522 507 1371 236 278 201 2024 185 95 Opponents 126 0714 318 0630 106 155 176 1122 155 18 Kills Heather Hardy 380 Casey Mulryan 345 Heather Hardy 342 Lauren Poe 328 ALL-TIME INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Assists Sarah Curiel-Thompson 908 Sarah Curiel-Thompson 668 Laura Welch 488 Heather Bowden 468 Digs Keanne Smith 595 Keanne Smith 451 Heather Hardy 341 Lauren Poe 341 Block Assists Casey Mulryan 73 Mallory Wendel 62 Mallory Wendel 56 Heather Hardy 53 Kill Percentage Casey Mulryan.396 Casey Mulryan.336 Heather Hardy.265 Lauren Poe.265 Aces Lauren Poe 77 Lauren Poe 63 Sarah Curiel-Thompson 48 Keanne Smith 44 Blocks Solo Casey Mulryan 26 Mary Ann Shaw 16 Casey Mulryan 16 Mallory Wendel 15 Total Blocks Casey Mulryan 89 Casey Mulryan 73 Mallory Wendel 71 Mallory Wendel 67 2009 Stats 11
REACHING OUT TO FUTURE GENERATIONS When your dreams are big, every now and then, you need a hand. Every hour volunteered in the classroom and every dollar donated to outreach programs and scholarships enriches young minds. We realize that helping young adults today can impact everyone s tomorrow. For more information on our community involvement, log on to CenterPointEnergy.com. tenergy.com. 2010 CenterPoint Energy 101865