March 10, 2008

EVERETT, Wash. -

By Rich Myhre, Everett Herald Writer

Though WWU came up short, losing to Concordia University of St. Paul, Minn., in the Dec. 1 finale, it was a stellar season nonetheless.

The Vikings finished with a 26-5 season record, a mark that included a 21-match winning streak that was the second-longest in school history and three short of the school record.

Though the national runnerup finish was "a little unexpected," it was also "what we were all working for," said the 22-year-old Schneider. Having a chance to play for a national title "is why you want to play college sports. That's why you want to play competitively. That's why we spent all summer training.

"It was, she added, "basically a dream come true. And it was amazing."

Amazing, too, was the season Schneider put together. She was a first-team American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American, a first-team national all-tournament team selection, along with various conference honors. She also set national records for season (7.74) and career (7.00) digs per game, as well as an NCAA Division II tournament single-game record with 44 digs in a national semifinal victory against Washburn University.

For all of this, Schneider has been selected as The Everett Herald's Woman of the Year in Sports for 2007.

Schneider had been pretty good as a junior, too, leading the NCAA Division II in digs and earning a first-team Daktronics All-American selection while helping the Vikings into the postseason for the first time in three years. Still, her senior season was even better, based on statistics, the improved play of her team, the opinions of coaches (she was the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year) and even her own assessment.

"From my junior year to my senior year, I feel like I improved a lot in knowledge," she said. "That gave me the ability to make plays that before I couldn't normally make, and a lot of times they were either turning points or they helped make a huge difference in the outcome of the game."

The awards, she went on, "are all really great honors. And it's always great to be honored as being among the best at what you do. But this year, the team (achievements) kind of overshadowed my individual awards."

Schneider, who is also a top student, expects to leave WWU in a few months with a degree in community health. Her future plans are still taking shape, but could involve teaching and coaching.

Her love of sports, you see, is not limited to being an athlete. Working with kids is, she said, "a huge passion ... Sports is such an amazing way for kids to get involved, to stay out of trouble and to be healthy. There are so many benefits from being in sports."

Her dream job? Down the road, she said, "I'd love to be a college coach."

Still, Schneider is probably not ready to retire competitively just yet. She hopes to pick up some extra bucks by playing two-person outdoor volleyball this year, which she can do now that she has finished playing collegiately.

The money is modest, she pointed out, "so it's obviously not like it's a career. But now that I'm graduating, I'm looking to compete."

It is still volleyball, though, the game that has meant so much to Schneider throughout her years of high school and college.

"When it's played competitively and when it's played well, it can be a fast game and a really exciting game," she said. "And it's the team that matters most. You can't touch the ball twice, so you can't do everything by yourself, like you can in basketball or some of the other sports.

"You have to have every person on the court be competitive, so you definitely rely on the team. And I'm kind of a team player."