2017 BEACH VOLLEYBALL
VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW 2017
The Spring Hill College (SHC) beach volleyball program has come a long way in just two seasons and Coach Shawn Taylor is justly proud of the team’s progress. Not only have they opened an on-campus facility in the Jim and Betty Walsh Beach Volleyball Facility, but they have stood toe-to-toe with some of the top Beach Volleyball programs in the nation while increasing their 2015 season wins total by five match victories in 2016.
Spring Hill’s roster has grown to 22 players with several benefiting from two previous seasons of experience. “We are excited about our third beach season in program history,” said Taylor. “We have a larger roster and more depth than ever before heading into the spring.” The Badger squad features five seniors in Savannah Becnel of Metairie, La., Hannah Masoner of Camden, Tenn., Molly Griffin of Westlake Village, Calif., Madison Seuzeneau from Tampa, Fla., and Sara Brodner of Chicago, Ill. Two juniors rejoin the seniors in the line-up as Julie Vujnovich of Belle Chasse, La., and Catherine Milwee out of St. Luke’s Episcopal School in Mobile return for duty. “Due to their experience and leadership, our upper classmen are obviously crucial this season,” Taylor said. “Seuzeneau and Vujnovich competed at the No.1 court last season while Griffin and Masoner played at the No. 3 position, so we look for big things from both teams this year.”
Four veteran sophomore are back for 2017 with Emily Greim of McKinney, Texas, Anna Tietjens of St. Louis, Mo., Katie Beth Gammon from Plano, Texas, and Caroline Herrera of Austin, Texas, returning to the fold.
Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the 2017 SHC team is the class of 11 freshmen joining the squad, doubling the size of the roster from the previous two seasons. The future of Badger Beach Volleyball appears to be secure with such a large and talented class that includes Landen Lake of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Emmarose Neibert of Arnold, Mo., Angele McClain of New Orleans, La., Taylor Hurst of Gulf Shores, Ala., Brittany Bilotti from Miami, Fla., Payton Gidney of Grapevine, Texas, Emily Sullivan from Chicago, Cassidi Sterrett of Lee’s Summit, Mo., Sarah Szostak from San Diego, Calif., Patty Blood of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Sarah Senft from Spring Grove, Pa. “Experience plays a big factor in the results,” said Taylor. “We enter this season with the bulk of our roster having at least one full season of collegiate competition, but we also have a few freshmen that have played at high level of beach club.”
With the explosive growth of beach volleyball in the NCAA, the Badgers are guaranteed to play an exciting and challenging slate of matches. “Our schedule continues to grow more diverse as new programs are adding yearly,” Taylor said. “On March 11-12, we will host our first home tournament in Gulf Shores where we have 10 other teams scheduled to compete. We will also host home duals versus the University of North Florida and Principia College on March 22 with Huntingdon College joining us for Homecoming on March 31. A big weekend for us will be April 8-9 when we travel to Siesta Keys, Fla., to compete in the “Fiesta in Siesta” which is always a major event with excellent competitors.”
COACHING STAFF
Peggy Martin, Ph.D. - Head Coach - 3rd season
Mobile Sports Hall of Fame member Dr. Peggy Martin is in her third season as the head coach of beach volleyball and completed her eighth season as the court volleyball head coach this past fall. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, she directed SHC the court team to three consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearances for the first time in program history. The Badgers also won their second consecutive Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) regular season championship in 2013 with a perfect 14-0 mark and were the SSAC Tournament Champions for the first time in school history. In her 41 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Martin holds a career record of 1,282-336-8 (.791) including a 218-55 (.799) record with the Badgers.
Martin holds the most wins in the history of NCAA Division II after 33 consecutive winning seasons at the University of Central Missouri where she compiled a 1,064-281-8 record. At the end of the 2008 season she retired as the Jennies’ coach and returned to her hometown of Mobile, but the opportunity to coach at SHC was too tempting to pass up.
Over 33 seasons at UCMO, Martin never suffered a losing season, won 25 matches in 31 consecutive seasons and won or shared 19 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association titles. Her teams made a record 25 consecutive NCAA Div. II Tournament appearances, reached the “Elite Eight” six times and finished as the National Runner-up in 1987. She has won 22 Coach of the Year Awards including the 1987 NCAA Division II National Coach of Year Award.
Martin first served as softball and volleyball coach at UCMO when she started her Division II career in 1975 and even stepped into an assistant women’s basketball coaching role for the 1976-77 season. Her first collegiate coaching experience came at Florida Southern College as a volleyball and basketball coach at the then club level program.
In college, she played at Indiana University and led the women’s basketball team to three consecutive national tournament berths while winning four letters in softball and three letters in field hockey. She completed her bachelor’s degree at IU in 1972 and earned a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in 1974. In 1980, she completed her doctorate in physical education at Indiana University.
Shawn Taylor - Assistant Coach – 2nd season
Shawn Taylor came to SHC in 2015 after three seasons with the University of South Alabama (USA) Jaguars under head coach Amy Hendrichovsky where he helped develop three all-conference student-athletes including the 2013 Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Freshman of the Year Mechell Daniel.
Before his tenure at USA, Taylor spent two seasons as the top assistant at Arkansas State University (ASU) under head coach Justin Ingram. In his two seasons in Jonesboro, the Red Wolves posted an overall record of 38-22 and a 23-9 mark in the league. The Red Wolves finished 2010 as co-champions of the SBC West Division with an 11-5 conference record and won an outright division title in 2011 with 21 overall wins and a 12-4 conference mark. While at ASU, Taylor coached four all-conference players in Cayla Fielder (2011 and 2010), Allison Kearney (2011), Ashley Tipps (2011) and Megan Baska (2010), who also won recognition as the 2010 SBC Defensive Player of the Year.
Taylor earned his master’s degree in college student personnel from KSU in 2006 and his bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Graceland in 2004 where he played for the Yellowjackets from 1999-2002.
GENERAL FACTS
Institution: Spring Hill College
City/State/Zip: Mobile, AL 36608
President: Christopher Puto, Ph.D.
Founded: 1830
Enrollment: 1,496
Nickname: Badgers
School Colors: Purple, white
Home Facility: Jim & Betty Walsh Beach
Volleyball Facility
Capacity: 300
Affiliation: NCAA Division II
Conference: Independent
Athletic Director: Jim Hall
Alma Mater: Grinnell College (1995)
Compliance: Chad LeBlanc
Faculty Athletic Representative: Steve Almquist, Ph.D.
Senior Woman Administrator: Alison Sellers-Cook
Athletic Department Phone: 251-380-3485
Athletic Department Fax: 251-460-2196
Sports Information Director: Jim Stennett
Alma Mater: Mississippi State (1990)
SID Phone: (251) 380-4468
SID Email: jstennett@shc.edu
Athletic Web Site: www.shcbadgers.com
Facebook: SHCBADGERS
Twitter: SHCBADGERS
Instagram: SHCBADGERS
COACHING STAFF
Head Coach: Dr. Peggy Martin
Alma Mater: Indiana University (1972)
Record at Spring Hill: 13-26 (2 seasons)
Career record: 13-26 (2 seasons)
Office Phone: (251) 380-3485
Assistant Coach: Shawn Taylor (2nd season)
Athletic Trainer: Brian Gronewold, ATC
Assistant Athletic Trainers: Abigail Hunt, ATC; Sami Ellis, ATC
Athletic Trainers’ Phone: 251-380-3493
TEAM INFORMATION
Overall Record Last Year: 9-13
Last Postseason: n/a
Last Postseason Opponent: n/a
Last Postseason Result: n/a
2016 Final NCAA Ranking: n/a
Starters returning: 10
Starters Lost: 2
New Players: 12
First season: 2015
Overall Program Record: 13-26 (2 seasons)
2017 ROSTER
2016 RESULTS
Date Opponent
Stetson University Spring Break Tournament
Mar. 4 vs. Missouri Baptist University
DeLand, Fla. W, 5-0 at Stetson University
DeLand, Fla. L, 0-5 vs. Tulane University
Mar. 5 vs. Eckerd College
DeLand, Fla. L, 0-5
DeLand, Fla. L, 2-3 vs. Carson-Newman College
DeLand, Fla. W, 3-2
Mar. 8 University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Home L, 1-4
Mar. 16 University of North Florida Home L, 1-4 Principia College Home W, 5-0
Tulane Pelican Classic 2016
Mar. 18 vs. University of New Orleans
Metairie, La. L, 2-3 vs. Missouri Baptist University
Mar. 19 vs. Louisiana State University
Metairie, La. W, 4-1
Metairie, La. L, 0-5 at Tulane University
Metairie, La. L, 0-5
Mar. 22 at Jacksonville University (DH) Jacksonville, Fla. L, 0-5; L, 0-5
UAB Blazer Beach Duels 2016
Apr. 2 vs. University of New Orleans
Birmingham, Ala. W, 3-2 vs. Jacksonville State University Birmingham, Ala. W, 4-1
Apr. 3 at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Birmingham, Ala. L, 1-4 vs. Lincoln Memorial University Birmingham, Ala. W, 4-1
Apr. 7 at University of New Orleans New Orleans, La. W, 3-2
Tulane Pelican Classic 2016
Apr. 8 at Tulane University
Metairie, La. L, 0-5 vs. University of Arizona
Apr. 9 vs. Houston-Baptist
Metairie, La. L, 0-5
Metairie, La. W, 3-2
Apr. 16 University of Mobile (DH) (Exhibition) Home W, 5-0; W, 5-0
*(DH) Doubleheader
2017 SCHEDULE
University
March
March
Badger Beach Bash (March 11-12, 2017; Gulf Shores, Ala.)
March
March
March
Fiesta in Siesta (April 8-9, 2017; Siesta Keys, Fla.)
April 8-9 vs.
2017 Battle on the Bayou (April 14-15, 2017; Baton Rouge, La.)
April
Austin Peay Tournament (April 22-23, 2017; Clarksville, Tenn.)
April 22-23 vs.
