The last time the Aquinas Volleyball team took aim at a playoff run Bill Clinton was sitting in the oval office and Will Smith was “Getting’ Jiggy With It” on the Billboard Top 100. Needless to say, it’s been a while. In fact, it has been 11 years since the Saints have even had a winning season.

That all changed this year. In Coach Dave Rawles’ second season at the helm, the Saints finished the regular season with an overall record of 22-13. Their 10-4 record against WHAC opponents put them in third place in the conference behind powerhouse Madonna and regular season champion Indiana Tech.

The tremendous success the Saints have had this year is a complete one-eighty from a season ago. Last year, in their first season under Rawles, Aquinas tallied just five wins finishing with an overall record of 5-29. On top of that, the team went without a conference win in 14 tries. This year, it took a completely rebuilt team to make the turn around. Having a brand new team with just four returning players did not automatically guarantee success for the new-look Saints.

“The biggest difference this year is our attitude. Everyone is so driven to succeed,” said senior captain Kari Carnell. “Everyone is on the same page and we all want to win.”

Clearly, that winning attitude has been paying off. Sophomore captain Katie Vander Meer shared similar views .

“I think a big thing for us has been our team chemistry. We’ve really gotten a lot stronger throughout the season both on and off the court,” she said.

Don’t think for a second that the team is satisfied with their regular season success. With the combination of a great winning attitude and team chemistry (along with some obvious talent), the Saints were poised for a playoff run and the squad was very confident.

“The expectations going into playoffs were pretty high”, said Carnell.

Vander Meer agreed.

“We were excited about proving ourselves to other teams,” she said. “We hoped to come out on top and get a bid to the National Tournament.”

On Nov. 11 the Saints defeated University of Michigan-Dearborn in four games (25-15, 25-13, 20-25, 25-23) for their first conference tournament win.

But, even after this first tournament win, the road to Nationals would not be an easy one, with nationally ranked Madonna looming.

“We can get there (Nationals). We just need to take it one game at a time. If we play hard and consistent there is no reason we can’t get it done,” said Vander Meer.

During the regular season, Madonna got the best of Aquinas, winning both matches in three games. Despite their lack of success against their conference foes earlier this season, the Saints remained very optimistic. If anything, they knew what they were up against.

“We really looked forward to this match up,” Carnell said. “We were excited about having another shot at them (Madonna).”

Aquinas traveled to Indiana Tech (Fort Wayne, Ind.) on Nov. 14th for their semi-final matchup against Madonna. Despite putting forth one of their best performances of the year, Aquinas lost the match in four games (21-25, 26-24, 25-27, 15-25), ending what has undoubtedly been an amazing and unlikely season.

“It was awesome to take a game from Madonna,” said Carnell. “That was some of the best volleyball we played all year, and I am happy to end my volleyball career knowing we played so well.”

This year’s team looks to be the first step in a new era of Aquinas volleyball. Next year, the team loses just two seniors (Carnell and Heather Becker), and with the 2009 recruits coming in expecting to make contributions, it appears that the “Dark Ages” are finally over. Regardless of the outcome in the playoff games, this season has definitely been a historic one for the Aquinas volleyball program and a great way for the seniors to go out.

VanderMeer and freshman hitter Jessica Curtis were named All-Conference First Team. VanderMeer was also named Setter of the Year. Taylor Rudland and Chelsea Phillips were chosen for the All-Freshman team while sophomore Mollie Lounds made Honorable Mention. The two seniors, Carnell and Becker, represented Aquinas on the All-Academic team which requires a 3.25 GPA or higher.

“This season has definitely been highlighted by all the success we’ve had,” said Carnell. “We worked so hard for it all year and it’s been so great to see such improvement in the team compared to my first three years here.”