Coe seniors have been through lows, now relishing highs

By Mike Condon, Correspondent

CEDAR RAPIDS – Molly Steffens and Kaitlin McClimon suffered through the lean years.

The two Coe seniors joined the program in 2008 as freshmen and were part of a team that struggled to 4-30 record.

“It was a rough time for us,” admitted Coe Coach DeAnn Woodin. “We had just come off a couple of successful years and we started over with kids who were on board both on the court and in the classroom.”

Steffens and McClimon were joined the following season by former Mount Vernon all-state setter Emily Ryan and the record improved to 9-25. Last season, the improvement continued with a 19-14 mark.

“We were so close at the end of last year,” said Woodin, in her sixth season with the Kohawks after a successful run at Kirkwood. “We lost a couple of close matches and missed the conference tournament. That memory haunted us all off-season.”

It has all come together this season for the Kohawks. They finished the regular season Friday night with a non-conference win over Grinnell to finish with a school-record 31 wins against just three losses, including a perfect 8-0 mark in the Iowa Conference.

“We've been on a mission all season,” Woodin said. “The kids have answered every challenge. We've had a number of close matches and have found a way to win most of them.”

Coe is the top seed for this week's IIAC Tournament. The Kohawks play at home Thursday in a 7 p.m. match against the winner of Tuesday's first-round match between Loras and Central. A win there would allow Coe to host the title match Saturday at 5 p.m.

Woodin was quick to warn that Coe is far from a shoe-in to win the title and the automatic berth into the 64-team NCAA field. The Kohawks have never won the league tournament title.

“We have gone five games with all but one team in the tournament,” Woodin said, “and one of our losses is to Cornell in a tournament, so we know nothing will be easy.

“We are ranked No. 5 in our region, but we don't want to take any chances (on an NCAA bid),” she added. “We just want to win and get the AQ (automatic qualifier) spot.”

Balance has been paramount to Coe's success and Ryan's ability to make the key decisions as a setter makes the Kohawks a tough team to defend. Steffens, a Western Dubuque graduate, and freshman Rachel Schaefer have been the leaders on offense. Other top contributors include freshman libero Alissa Wittenburg (Wapsie Valley) and hitters Brittany Shickell, a junior, and Rachel Bosworth, a freshman.

That balance, along with strong play off the bench, has been the key to this magical season.

“Everyone on the team has stepped up at various times and pushed each other along the way,” Woodin said. “That's what makes this group special.

“All of the girls know their role and we're just enjoying all of the opportunities in front of us.”

...one day at a time.

Here is Coe's full schedule, courtesy of the Iowa Conference website:

Date

C

Home Team

Away Team

Location

Notes

9/1/2011

Coe

3

Mount Mercy University

2

Cedar Rapids, IA

9/3/2011

MacMurray College

Coe

3

Monmouth, IL

9/3/2011

Coe

3

Monmouth College (Ill.)

1

Monmouth, IL

9/3/2011

Coe

3

Dubuque

1

Monmouth, IL

9/7/2011

*

Coe

3

Cornell

1

Cedar Rapids, IA

9/9/2011

Coe

3

Webster University

Bloomington, IL

9/9/2011

Coe

3

Illinois College

Bloomington, IL

9/10/2011

Coe

3

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Bloomington, IL

9/10/2011

Illinois Wesleyan University

3

Coe

1

Bloomington, IL

9/14/2011

*

Coe

3

Simpson

Cedar Rapids, IA

9/20/2011

*

Wartburg

2

Coe

3

Waverly, IA

9/23/2011

Coe

3

Saint Mary's University (Minn.)

2

Ripon, WI

9/23/2011

Ripon College

Coe

3

Ripon, WI

9/24/2011

Coe

3

Lakeland College

Ripon, WI

9/24/2011

Coe

3

Marian University (Wis.)

2

Ripon, WI

9/27/2011

*

Central

2

Coe

3

Pella, IA

9/30/2011

Coe

3

Clarke University

1

Dubuque, IA (DBQ)

9/30/2011

Coe

3

University of Wisconsin-Superior

Dubuque, IA (DBQ)

10/1/2011

Coe

3

Hamline University

Dubuque, IA (DBQ)

10/1/2011

Coe

1

Saint Mary's University (Minn.)

3

Dubuque, IA (DBQ)

10/4/2011

*

Coe

3

Luther

Cedar Rapids, IA

10/6/2011

*

Coe

3

Dubuque

2

Cedar Rapids, IA

10/7/2011

Coe

3

Lincoln Christian University

1

Cedar Rapids, IA

10/7/2011

Coe

3

Beloit College

Cedar Rapids, IA

10/14/2011

Coe

3

North Park University

Naperville, IL

10/14/2011

North Central College (Ill.)

Coe

3

Naperville, IL

10/15/2011

Coe

3

Wheaton College (Ill.)

1

Naperville, IL

10/15/2011

Coe

3

Aurora University

1

Naperville, IL

10/19/2011

*

Loras

2

Coe

3

Dubuque, IA (LOR)

10/22/2011

Coe

3

Iowa Wesleyan College

Mount Vernon, Iowa

10/22/2011

Cornell

3

Coe

1

Mount Vernon, IA

10/25/2011

*

Buena Vista

Coe

3

Storm Lake, IA

10/27/2011

Coe

3

William Penn University

1

Cedar Rapids, IA

10/28/2011

Coe

3

Grinnell College

Cedar Rapids, IA

11/3/2011

Coe

Loras/Central winner

Cedar Rapids, IA

7:00 PM