2004 KCAC Honors

Marquette leads Lady Bulldogs' All-KCAC picks

McPherson College sophomore Jennifer Marquette led the Bulldogs' 2004 post-season volleyball picks as she was named the All-KCAC (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) first team. Sophomores Kelsey Crist and Kendra Stephenson also received All-KCAC honors, being named to the all-conference honorable mention squad.

“All three of these young ladies are very deserving of the honors that they have received,” said Nathalea Stephenson, McPherson College head volleyball coach.  “They are part of the reason that we were successful this year.  However, they couldn't have won these awards without their teammates helping them.”

Jennifer Marquette , a 2003 graduate of Valley Heights High School , led the Lady Bulldogs with 107 blocks, 75 of which were solo and 32 assisted. She ranked third among the Bulldogs in kills with 259 and posted a kill percentage of .153. Jennifer is the daughter of Russ and Myrna Marquette of Waterville , Kan. , and is majoring in art.

“It is only fitting that Jenny would be voted to the first team all-conference,” said Stephenson. “She was named to two all-tournament teams. Jenny has a very strong work ethic and strives everyday in practice to better herself.  She is a very dedicated player and does the things she needs to do in order to help our team be successful.”

Kelsey Crist , 2003 graduate of Bennington High School in Bennington , Kan. , was named the KCAC “Libero of the Week” three times during the 2004 season. She topped the Lady Bulldog 2004 dig list with 672, an average of 5.87 per game which led the KCAC. Kelsey also contributed 30 kills, 15 assists, and 17 service aces to the Bulldog attack. Her 96.9% success rate in serve receptions ranked second in the KCAC as she had only 18 receiving errors in 581 attempts. Kelsey is the daughter of Jeff and Barb Crist of Bennington . She is majoring in elementary/special education.

“Kelsey's role changed a few weeks into the season as we moved her from being a back row player to being our Libero,” Stephenson said..  “She does a great job of reading the hitters and seeing where they are going. She is another player that spends countless hours in the gym preparing herself for our matches.  Kelsey's determination to be the best passer earned her the KCAC “Libero of the Week” recognition.”

Kendra Stephenson , a 2003 graduate of Central High School in Salina , Kan. , was named the KCAC “Setter of the Week” twice this past season. She led McPherson 1210 assists and 59 service aces in addition to coming up with 299 digs, 72 kills, and 26 blocks. Her 9.59 assists per game ranked her fifth in the KCAC while her 96.36% serve percentage was tops among conference players averaging more than 0.4 aces per game. Kendra was the only Lady Bulldog to play in all 126 games contested. Kendra is the daughter of Tim and Nathalea Stephenson of Salina , Kan. She is an accounting/business finance major.

“The many hours of working on setting in the off-season plus the coming in early or staying late, made a big difference in our play this year,” offered Coach Stephenson.  “Kendra is a very unselfish player whose main goal is to get the ball to our hitters in a position where they can be successful. That she was able to do that was reflected by her being named “Setter of the Week” twice.

“We have several players that, I felt, should have been on one or the other of the two all-conference teams, Stephenson added. “But, because of the number of players in the conference and only being able to have 12 on each team, it wasn't possible.  Still, I feel that all our players are first team players.”

The Lady Bulldogs finished the 2004 regular season with an 11-7 KCAC mark, good for a fourth place conference finish, after finishing sixth in 2003. That fourth place finish was the highest by a Lady Bulldog team since 1989. Defeated in a five-game match in the first round of the KCAC post-season tournament, McPherson ended the season with an overall record of 18-16. The 18 wins equaled the Bulldogs' 2003 total, which was the greatest number of wins in a season for a McPherson team since 1985.

CONTACT
Athletic Director
LaMonte Rothrock
Asst. to Athletic Director
Karen M. Caylor
Sports Information
Carol Swenson



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