Marshall University Athletics
MAC Tournament Birth Caps Kuethe's Career
11/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
MAC Tournament Birth Caps Kuethe's Career
11/13/2002
By Steve Cotton, for the Herd Insider
When a kill by Marshall senior Grace Jones finished off a three-game sweep over Toledo Saturday night it meant more than just another volleyball win for the Herd.
The victory over the Rockets clinched a MAC Tournament berth for the Marshall, and the biggest smile in the Cam Henderson Center belonged to Heidi Kuethe. The Herd?s senior captain from Normal, Ill., gathered her teammates for a quick congratulatory huddle and then posed for an impromptu photo shoot with Marco.
?It?s so exciting,? Kuethe said. ?The last two years we didn?t have a prayer. We just came in this year wanting to show people we could play - not even necessarily with our eyes on the tournament.
?Then we started out so well and continue to have success. Making the tournament just caps off the season.?
Marshall?s record of 19-8 overall and 10-4 in the MAC, a solid mark on its own merits, is nothing short of spectacular when you consider that the team?s combined record the last two years was 11-47 overall and 6-31 in conference action.
The ride has had even more ups and downs for Kuethe, who has seen the highs and lows of being a collegiate student-athlete.
After lettering in volleyball, softball and basketball and Normal University High School, Kuethe signed with former Herd coach Steffi Legall to play her college ball at Marshall.
?Steffi did a great job recruiting me,? Kuethe said. ?I liked her and when I came to campus the team was great. I like the atmosphere in Huntington. It just fit me perfectly.?
Kuethe?s volleyball skills fit Marshall, too. In her first season the outside hitter finished second on the team in both kills and blocks and was a member of the MAC?s all-freshman team, helping the Herd to a 15-15 record and berth in the MAC Tournament.
Her promising career hit an unexpected detour, however, when she felt a bad twinge in her shoulder while lifting weights in the offseason. She tried to play through the pain, but eventually required surgery to repair a torn labrum. The injury, which plagued her for the next two seasons, was hard to take.
?It was extremely frustrating,? Kuethe said. ?I battle with it to this day, thinking about how I could have played if I hadn?t had the injury.
?Last year I thought I could come back right away and get into the flow, but I had to give it time. Thankfully, with the help of our training staff and a lot of rehab it hasn?t given me problems this season.?
Then, just as Kuethe was returning to form physically, Steffi Legall resigned as Marshall?s coach to become an assistant at the University of Georgia. When Mitch Jacobs was hired to lead the program it meant that Kuethe and the other returning players were all starting anew.
?It makes you feel like a freshman all over again,? Kuethe said. ?Going into the preseason you have the same jitters you did the first year because you had no idea what to expect.
?In the past two years I knew what to look for, we did things a certain way. Then this year it was like we were a whole team full of freshmen.?
But while she felt like a freshman, Kuethe also knew that her teammates were looking to her - a senior - for leadership.
?I just tried to be an example through the way I did things in practice, to bring a lot of intensity and emotion to the team,? Kuethe said. ?I had to avoid showing discouragement, either with my injury or with the way I was playing, and just be an encouragement to the team.?
It didn?t take long to see a change in the Herd volleyball program.
?Coach Jacobs has brought a new intensity to the court,? Kuethe said. ?You come in every day and everyone is working a lot harder with more focus and direction.?
Kuethe says that this season?s results - more than just the won-loss record - have given her a great college experience.
?This team has been the greatest thing for me,? Kuethe said. ?When we were going through some rough times and I was struggling with my rehab there were days I wanted to quit, but the team got me through that and I?ll never forget it.
?I?ve learned a lot of patience through my experience here. A lot of people helped me through that. (Assistant athletic trainer) Sara Melby made me laugh a lot of times when I was really down. The coaches, both Steffi and Mitch, gave me great encouragement to do whatever I had to do to get better.?
The top four teams in the MAC get to host a first-round tournament game, and with four matches remaining in the regular season the Herd is right in the midst of a battle to grab one of the top four seeds. That means Kuethe has had to yet again update her goals for the season.
?Now we need to host.?