Ken Hambleton: Thomsen digs deep to help NWU volleyball
Linsey Thomsen figures it’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.
Like most folks who play the libero position in volleyball, Thomsen spends most of her games on the floor.
And nope, she doesn’t have a favorite flavor of floor wax. And just as all players who play the defensive specialist position, Thomsen gets the daily bruises, skinned elbows and knees, and plays as though she doesn’t care much about her chin.
“The adrenaline of the game keeps the pain away,” Thomsen said. “It’s not until you’re in the shower and you feel the burning on your elbows, arms and legs that you know you had a good game.”
Thomsen, a 5-foot-4 Beatrice graduate, is one of the keys to Nebraska Wesleyan’s volleyball success this season.
The Prairie Wolves, the only NCAA Division III team in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, finished the conference season 5-11. But they closed out the overall regular-season record at 14-14 and earned a spot in the NCAA Division III Central Region Championship that starts Thursday in St. Louis.
Thomsen’s willingness to dive, to fling herself on the floor at any ball hit anywhere in the back row, has helped her set a single-season record of 793 digs and a career mark of 2,056 digs — and she’s only a junior.
“I can’t coach that,” said NWU coach Gina Chambers. “There’s no glory in the back row. It takes a person who is willing to sacrifice her body for the team’s benefit play after play. Linsey covers 75 to 80 percent of the back row, and she enjoys it.
“People look at the terminators, the big hitters who finish off the plays and get the points. Linsey gets the same joy from sliding across the floor for a dig.”
The GPAC has some of the best liberos in the country among small colleges. Hastings senior Renee Faimon wins weekly conference honors on a regular basis. Doane’s Kaylee Lubken is the spark plug for the Tigers.
“When Linsey does her job for us, digging up the big-swinging hit, the hit that gets the attention and glory, we see the big hitter usually tip the ball the next time,” Chambers said. “That helps us go on the attack.”
That strategy worked to its best when Wesleyan swept four games in a tournament at Colorado College this season.
“It was pretty simple. If we won all four matches, we got into the NCAA tournament,” Chambers said. “We played some of our best volleyball of the year and won them all.”
Wesleyan had other heroes. Senior Amy Vanderkolk, who is also a standout track athlete, sparked the Prairie Wolves from the middle blocker position. Despite the fact the Malcolm graduate is just 5-foot-8 and is usually matched with players 6-feet tall and taller, she posted 303 kills and 118 blocks this year.
Wesleyan got off to a slow start, as usual, partially because the other GPAC schools, playing under NAIA rules, have two tournaments and up to nine matches under their belts by the time NWU opens its season.
“That’s the rules and we have to learn to start quicker,” Chambers said. “We have a great conference and the competition is on the top scale nationally. It should help us prepare to face Washington University (ranked No. 2 and 33-1) this week.”
Wesleyan has to overcome a lot of hurdles in volleyball. Chambers had some challenges of her own this season.
Chambers, who played for Wesleyan (then Gina Duensing), gave birth to her third daughter, Bree, during the season. Already the mother of 6-year-old Nyah and 3-year-old Taelyn, Chambers missed just one game and with 4-day-old Bree was back at practice.
“You don’t ask and you don’t worry,” Chambers said. “It’s like the rules and the competition. You deal with it. I have a great family, a great husband, Bren, and the moms and dads of our players do a little baby-sitting during the games.
“It’s the way we get along at Wesleyan — like a big family all trying to accomplish the same goals.”
Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.
Like most folks who play the libero position in volleyball, Thomsen spends most of her games on the floor.
And nope, she doesn’t have a favorite flavor of floor wax. And just as all players who play the defensive specialist position, Thomsen gets the daily bruises, skinned elbows and knees, and plays as though she doesn’t care much about her chin.
“The adrenaline of the game keeps the pain away,” Thomsen said. “It’s not until you’re in the shower and you feel the burning on your elbows, arms and legs that you know you had a good game.”
Thomsen, a 5-foot-4 Beatrice graduate, is one of the keys to Nebraska Wesleyan’s volleyball success this season.
The Prairie Wolves, the only NCAA Division III team in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, finished the conference season 5-11. But they closed out the overall regular-season record at 14-14 and earned a spot in the NCAA Division III Central Region Championship that starts Thursday in St. Louis.
Thomsen’s willingness to dive, to fling herself on the floor at any ball hit anywhere in the back row, has helped her set a single-season record of 793 digs and a career mark of 2,056 digs — and she’s only a junior.
“I can’t coach that,” said NWU coach Gina Chambers. “There’s no glory in the back row. It takes a person who is willing to sacrifice her body for the team’s benefit play after play. Linsey covers 75 to 80 percent of the back row, and she enjoys it.
“People look at the terminators, the big hitters who finish off the plays and get the points. Linsey gets the same joy from sliding across the floor for a dig.”
The GPAC has some of the best liberos in the country among small colleges. Hastings senior Renee Faimon wins weekly conference honors on a regular basis. Doane’s Kaylee Lubken is the spark plug for the Tigers.
“When Linsey does her job for us, digging up the big-swinging hit, the hit that gets the attention and glory, we see the big hitter usually tip the ball the next time,” Chambers said. “That helps us go on the attack.”
That strategy worked to its best when Wesleyan swept four games in a tournament at Colorado College this season.
“It was pretty simple. If we won all four matches, we got into the NCAA tournament,” Chambers said. “We played some of our best volleyball of the year and won them all.”
Wesleyan had other heroes. Senior Amy Vanderkolk, who is also a standout track athlete, sparked the Prairie Wolves from the middle blocker position. Despite the fact the Malcolm graduate is just 5-foot-8 and is usually matched with players 6-feet tall and taller, she posted 303 kills and 118 blocks this year.
Wesleyan got off to a slow start, as usual, partially because the other GPAC schools, playing under NAIA rules, have two tournaments and up to nine matches under their belts by the time NWU opens its season.
“That’s the rules and we have to learn to start quicker,” Chambers said. “We have a great conference and the competition is on the top scale nationally. It should help us prepare to face Washington University (ranked No. 2 and 33-1) this week.”
Wesleyan has to overcome a lot of hurdles in volleyball. Chambers had some challenges of her own this season.
Chambers, who played for Wesleyan (then Gina Duensing), gave birth to her third daughter, Bree, during the season. Already the mother of 6-year-old Nyah and 3-year-old Taelyn, Chambers missed just one game and with 4-day-old Bree was back at practice.
“You don’t ask and you don’t worry,” Chambers said. “It’s like the rules and the competition. You deal with it. I have a great family, a great husband, Bren, and the moms and dads of our players do a little baby-sitting during the games.
“It’s the way we get along at Wesleyan — like a big family all trying to accomplish the same goals.”
Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.
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