BEREA, OHIO -- In the past three years, the Baldwin-Wallace College volleyball team has had great success with a 78-20 record entering its match on Saturday at Wilmington College.
In the past three years, the Yellow Jackets have put together seasons of 25-10, 29-6 and their current 22-4 record, won their first-ever Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament title and advanced to the Division III national Tournament in 2000 and last year tied perennial OAC power Ohio Northern University for the OAC regular season title. But despite its fine 29-6 overall mark and the OAC regular season co-title, B-W did not receive an NCAA Division III bid.
"The committee indicated that the strength of our schedule was the big questionmark," said veteran Head Coach Vicki Brault, who built a solid program at Claremont Mudd Scripps (Calif.) before coming to Berea eight years ago. "So this year we decided to step up our schedule and play as competitive a schedule as we could."
This year’s schedule began with a trip to the Mt. St. Joseph Tournament where B-W had a 2-2 record. Its two losses were to #7 Mt. St. Joseph (then #6) and #16 Wittenberg (then #11). That was followed by an 11-game winning streak and two invitational titles annd 10 victories of 3-0. The streak was snapped when B-W played at #4 Trinity (Texas), but despite losing, 3-0, and by the scores of 31-29, 30-22 and 30-28, the Yellow Jackets knew they belonged. The trip ended when B-W beat then #20 Nazareth (N.Y.), 3-1.
The following two weeks also proved that B-W belonged both in the Top 20 of Division III and as a contender for an NCAA berth in 2002 when they played #13 Ohio Northern to the end in a 3-2 loss by the scores of 35-33, 30-28, 30-17, 31-29 and 16-14; and when B-W surprised the field and won the National Invitational Tournament at Wittenberg with a 4-0 record, including wins against Wittenberg (then #15) and again against Nazareth.
"I am so proud of our women," said Brault, who has led B-W to five straight 20-win seasons. "They have met the challenge to date and I expect them to continue to do it for the rest of the season. They knew and still know what has to be done to be considered among the elite in Division III. Every day they come to practice or a game knowing that they have to give a 110 percent effort. They have done it. That’s why I am so proud of them."
And, the task remains for B-W, ranked 15th nationally this week. It is the highest B-W has every been ranked in Division III. In 1984, B-W was 17th and enroute to a school-record 41-win season and a finish in the "Sweet 16" of the Division III Tournament.
"We still have our conference schedule and tournament to compete in and we play a tough tri-match at NAIA Walsh against Walsh and Division II Cornerstone," said Brault. "We know what we have to do. We can’t let up. We want to be in the tournament and we want to be able to compete against the best in Division III."
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