As the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s regular volleyball season comes to a close, seniors Stephanie Kirchner and Allee Yundt take a look back at their volleyball careers, while looking forward to their futures.
Kirchner, senior business administration and industrial engineering major, has been playing volleyball since she was 12 years old.
“I’ve always enjoyed basketball, but volleyball really stuck out to me in high school.”
She said her biggest motivator throughout her career has been her mom.
“She’s the one that guides me and gets me through the stressful days.”
Kirchner also explained that volleyball has helped her grow as a person in the real world.
“I learned how to communicate effectively with different types of people and how to make our communication styles best match.”
Yundt, senior elementary education major, had a similar outlook on the game of volleyball.
“I learned how to work with other people and other types of learning styles,” she said. “I’ve also become a better leader because of it.”
But just like any other sport, the game of volleyball can have some funny moments, too.
“It never gets old when Sarah (Kolb) trips in the net,” said Yundt. “It’s happened multiple times, and it’s funny every time.”
Pioneer volleyball head coach Deb Schulman has seen Kirchner and Yundt develop as players and people throughout the last four years.
“Obviously they have different roles, with Allee setting and (Kirchner) hitting, but the biggest thing that they have contributed is being leaders for players at their positions and the whole team. They’ve helped us grow stronger as a team with their experience,” Schulman said.
Schulman also said that she has been impressed with how both Kirchner and Yundt have grown with their studies and their future careers.
Next fall, Yundt will be pre-student teaching before searching for a substitute teaching job; she hopes to get a full-time teaching job when the next school year comes around.
After graduation, Kirchner will be an employee at General Electric.
