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GIRARD —
The name of the new Girard High School volleyball coach may ring a bell to Pittsburg State volleyball fans.
Emily Vosseler finished her four-year playing career (2006-2009) second all-time on the school’s assists chart with 3,497 and she played a central role on the last Pitt State volleyball team in the NCAA Division II Tournament (2009). She recorded a team-high 1,530 assists her senior year, one of the best individual seasons for a setter in program history.
“I sat out my first year and I played four years after that,” Vosseler said. “It was a great experience. It’s one of those where you look back . . . it’s a job and you work hard day-in and day-out. It’s not always easy. A lot of times you’re there until dark and then you’re there the next morning before the sun comes up. So, looking back, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life being able to go through five years and succeed and win a game in the NCAA (South Central Regional).”
Pitt State volleyball went through an evolution over the five years Vosseler spent in the program.
“Each season was different in its own way,” Vosseler said. “My freshman year, when I redshirted, we had a losing record so every year after that it was like we don’t want to have that feeling ever again.
“By the time of my junior year, all the people I came in with were seniors and it was an awesome year because we had worked so hard for 3-4 years and finally, you get to show how much we’ve grown.
“Then, my fifth year was really special. When we returned, it was only Pam (Cartagena), me and Cassie (Wilson). It was like nobody expects anything out of you and to be able to come out and have a successful season, it’s special.”
Pitt State went 13-20 overall in 2005. That was followed up by 22-12 in 2006, 28-9 in 2007, 28-8 in 2008 and 25-11 in 2009.
Vosseler said that her time at Pitt State afforded her the chance to play with some of the best volleyball players and to be coached by Ibraheem Suberu.
“He’s the most knowledgeable volleyball person I have met,” Vosseler said of Suberu on Saturday.
Vosseler coached her first three matches Saturday morning against Columbus, Fort Scott and Pittsburg since taking over the Girard volleyball program. Lori Ferguson and Janet O’Brien are her assistant coaches.
The name of the new Girard High School volleyball coach may ring a bell to Pittsburg State volleyball fans.
Emily Vosseler finished her four-year playing career (2006-2009) second all-time on the school’s assists chart with 3,497 and she played a central role on the last Pitt State volleyball team in the NCAA Division II Tournament (2009). She recorded a team-high 1,530 assists her senior year, one of the best individual seasons for a setter in program history.
“I sat out my first year and I played four years after that,” Vosseler said. “It was a great experience. It’s one of those where you look back . . . it’s a job and you work hard day-in and day-out. It’s not always easy. A lot of times you’re there until dark and then you’re there the next morning before the sun comes up. So, looking back, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life being able to go through five years and succeed and win a game in the NCAA (South Central Regional).”
Pitt State volleyball went through an evolution over the five years Vosseler spent in the program.
“Each season was different in its own way,” Vosseler said. “My freshman year, when I redshirted, we had a losing record so every year after that it was like we don’t want to have that feeling ever again.
“By the time of my junior year, all the people I came in with were seniors and it was an awesome year because we had worked so hard for 3-4 years and finally, you get to show how much we’ve grown.
“Then, my fifth year was really special. When we returned, it was only Pam (Cartagena), me and Cassie (Wilson). It was like nobody expects anything out of you and to be able to come out and have a successful season, it’s special.”
Pitt State went 13-20 overall in 2005. That was followed up by 22-12 in 2006, 28-9 in 2007, 28-8 in 2008 and 25-11 in 2009.
Vosseler said that her time at Pitt State afforded her the chance to play with some of the best volleyball players and to be coached by Ibraheem Suberu.
“He’s the most knowledgeable volleyball person I have met,” Vosseler said of Suberu on Saturday.
Vosseler coached her first three matches Saturday morning against Columbus, Fort Scott and Pittsburg since taking over the Girard volleyball program. Lori Ferguson and Janet O’Brien are her assistant coaches.
“It’s one of those things where the JV coach’s returning and the freshmen coach was an official, so we’re all very knowledgeable about the sport and everyone around here is very helpful,” Vosseler said. “Girard has a great support system.”
Vosseler touched on her positive interaction with the Girard community during her short time as head coach.
“The community is like no community I’ve met before,” Vosseler said. “Everybody in the community supports everything that the school does. I don’t know how many times I’ve had people come up to me and tell me, ‘Hey, good job’ or ‘Glad to have you here.’ They’re so supportive. It’s a great feeling and it takes some of that pressure off when you know you have a community who is going to be behind you and support you.”
Vosseler was not the only recent Pitt State volleyball player in Girard coaching high school volleyball. Fort Scott features new assistant coach Cassie Wilson, a Pittsburg High School graduate and Pitt State libero from 2007-2010 who ranks third all-time in career digs (1,889).
“We saw a lot of each other this summer during scrimmages or tournaments,” Vosseler said. “It’s great to see not only her but other people I played with getting out in coaching and making an impact on volleyball.”
Girard next plays Tuesday in Uniontown against the host and Erie.
