After finishing 41-8 in 1993 and losing three starters to graduation, the MVNC women's volleyball team approached the 1994 season with guarded optimism. The Lady Cougars wanted to continue their winning tradition, but realistically were not sure what to expect.
Three months later, the Lady Cougars had completed the best volleyball season in MVNC history. They finished with an overall record of 42-6, setting new school records for wins in a season and winning percentage (.875). They also won the Mid-Ohio Conference title for the first time in school history with a 15-1 mark against conference opponents. In addition, they extended their NAIA-record home winning streak to 41 straight matches dating back to 1991.
"I wasn't really sure what to expect going into this season," said MVNC head coach Paul Swanson. "I knew that we would be competitive, but I never imagined that we would win 42 matches."
During the season, there were several memorable victories. Early in September, the Lady Cougars repeated as the Oberlin College Invitational Tournament champions. Later in the month, the team traveled to Ohio Northern University and knocked off the nationally-ranked NCAA III Polar Bears in three straight games.
In October, MVNC defeated the College of Mount St. Joseph in three straight games. They also won the five-team National Christian College Athletic Association District I Tournament without losing a single game. Then, they returned home to defeat the University of Rio Grande in five games before a record crowd of 1,111 fans.
As November began, the Lady Cougars wrapped up a first-place regular-season MOC finish by coming from behind to beat Walsh University in five games. Then, they breezed through the MOC Tournament without losing a game to earn the right to represent the conference in the NAIA Great Lakes Regional Tournament.
Making their first-ever appearance at the regional tournament, the Lady Cougars went 1-1 in pool play. After losing to Mount St. Joseph in the first match, MVNC rebounded to defeat Concordia (MI) College in five games behind a total team effort. The match against Concordia summed up the Lady Cougars' season.
Against Concordia, MVNC set six individual and team school records. As a team, the Lady Cougars smashed 85 kills, recorded 119 digs, and added 74 assists. Individually, senior Wendy Rader blasted 30 kills, while junior Julee Anderson recorded 64 assists. Junior Melissa Yoder added 27 digs to round out the records.
"This team exhibited great synergy," said Swanson. "On paper, we did not look like a 42-6 team, but when we played together we could accomplish great things."
For the season, 14 team and individual records were broken. Rader closed out her fine career at MVNC by hammering 543 kills in 1994, breaking the old record of 485 kills set in 1990 by Trista McNeal. She also averaged 4.37 kills per game, breaking the old mark of 3.84 held by McNeal. Rader was featured in the October 31st issue of Sports Illustrated in the "Faces in the Crowd" section.
Yoder broke three records with her efforts in 1994. She surpassed Rader's record of 59 aces by blasting 67 of her own. She also broke assistant coach Carla Pennington's records for digs (342) and serve attempts (604) in a season by recording 378 digs and 658 serve attempts. In addition, Anderson broke Pennington's record for assists in a season (1,009) by notching 1,338 assists.
As a team, the Lady Cougars set season records for kills (1,654), assists (1,506), digs (2170), and digs per game (15.95). They also improved the school marks for serve percentage (94.6) and serve reception percentage (93.1) for the third straight year.
"Each player had the best year of their career this season," said Swanson. "That is why we achieved the success that we did."
Several players earned individual honors for their performances in 1994. Rader was named the MOC Player of the Year and was selected to the NCCAA All-District I Team, the NAIA Great Lakes Region Second Team, and the NCCAA All-National Tournament Team. She was also the MOC, Great Lakes Region, NCCAA, and NAIA National Player of the Week. She was selected as the team's MVP by vote of her teammates.
Junior Jodi Webb was tabbed the NCCAA District I Player of the Year and was named to the NCCAA All-American Team and the MOC First Team. She was the MOC and NCCAA Player of the Week once. She was also an NCCAA and NAIA Academic All-American.
Anderson was chosen as the MOC and NCCAA Player of the Week once and was named to the NCCAA District I Team and the MOC First Team. She was selected to the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-District IV First Team and the the NCCAA and NAIA Academic All-American Teams.
Seniors Laura Brenner and Danielle Cleckner were each tabbed as NCCAA Academic All-Americans, while senior teammate Staci Shira received honorable mention in the MOC. Freshman Tammy Custer was named to the MOC All-Freshmen Team.
With four seniors graduating from this year's team, Swanson will have his hands full trying to duplicate this season's success. However, he will have a solid core of returning players that will help make his job a little easier.