Stats Win Games; Leadership Turns Around Programs
BENNINGTON, Vt.- In athletics it is often seen that the person with the most points, most goals, or best batting average is the reason for a team's success. In Volleyball the player who records the most kills or the highest hitting percentage is the one that is wrote about in the papers.
The Southern Vermont College Women's Volleyball program had one of the greatest turnarounds in NCAA history over the last two years, not because of the players who had over 300 kills or the players who had an above .350 hitting percentage. Those statistics helped the Mountaineers turn a program that went 1-21 in 2009, to go 31-3 in 2011. However, it was leadership that helped SVC win its' first New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship and go to the NCAA tournament.
Every coach dreams of the captain that is their eyes and ears on the court or the field. For Head Women's Volleyball Coach Josh Stokes, he recruited that and more when Joanna Hogue committed to Southern Vermont in August of 2011. Hogue was Stokes' first commit to Southern Vermont College when the head coach took over the program in early August a year ago.
Hogue was quickly named the Mountaineer captain when Stokes held his first practice. From there she was everything Stokes had wanted. On the court, Hogue was named the NECC Defensive Player of the Year in both 2010 and 2011. She also set the Southern Vermont single season digs record in just her first season, with 383. The libero had another terrific season, her senior year as she recorded 359 digs. In the two seasons she combined for 742 digs which is also an SVC record.
The accolades aren't what made Hogue the captain she was. The awards and records also weren't what made Southern Vermont into a top program in the New England region. It was her leadership on and off the court.
"JoJo was an essential component of our program. Her leadership and fiery style kept the team motivated, focused, and together. Leadership is a difficult thing to replace, her's without question. I am proud of what Joanna has done for the program and what she will continue to do as a coach; but nothing makes me more proud of the fact that she will leave SVC with a degree," Head Coach Josh Stokes said.
Hogue won't remove her leadership tag just yet though, as she was named the Men's and Women's Volleyball assistant coach the day after SVC fell in the NCAA regional tournament.
