2008 Woodie Awards
Pieper closes on career mark
Junior libero Andreana Pieper ended Tuesday one dig away from 1,000 digs for her career
Travis Weldon
Issue date: 9/27/07 Section: Sports
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If there is one thing junior libero Andreana Pieper does not know how to do, it is how to stay still.
"I knew that when I came to college that I wasn't gonna be able to be just a student," she said. "I would go insane. I've been involved in three sports my entire high school career. I knew I definitely wanted to keep playing."
To say she has done a little more than just playing would be an understatement. The Lake of the Woods High School native has 999 digs in her career at SCSU. She will likely become the sixth player in SCSU history to reach 1,000 digs.
Leah Herrboldt holds the SCSU record with 1,365 digs from 2001-04. Pieper had big shoes to fill when she took Herrboldt's spot in 2005.
"When I was a freshman, the libero just graduated, and there was a need for back row players," she said. "My whole career here I've been playing back."
Sticking with the libero position has paid off well for Pieper. She averages 3.69 digs per game, good for second all-time at SCSU. She has been improving every year and is now clipping at an amazing 5.6 dig per game average this season.
Pieper lettered in three sports in high school: volleyball, basketball and track. She played point guard and held the girls' discus throwing record at Lake of the Woods High School, along with being involved with National Honor Society and Student Council.
The libero position did not come naturally for Pieper. She played a different position in high school.
"In high school, believe it or not, I was middle. Front row, all the way around, middle blocker," she said. "My first year of high school I got to play back row; the rest of the high school career I was middle."
Her team was runner-up for the state title to Jackson County Central her junior year, which is about the time her love for volleyball grew.
"When I was in ninth grade, I was all about basketball," Pieper said. "I played volleyball, and I obviously enjoyed it, but basketball is what I loved. The older I got, the more my love kind of changed over."
"I knew that when I came to college that I wasn't gonna be able to be just a student," she said. "I would go insane. I've been involved in three sports my entire high school career. I knew I definitely wanted to keep playing."
To say she has done a little more than just playing would be an understatement. The Lake of the Woods High School native has 999 digs in her career at SCSU. She will likely become the sixth player in SCSU history to reach 1,000 digs.
Leah Herrboldt holds the SCSU record with 1,365 digs from 2001-04. Pieper had big shoes to fill when she took Herrboldt's spot in 2005.
"When I was a freshman, the libero just graduated, and there was a need for back row players," she said. "My whole career here I've been playing back."
Sticking with the libero position has paid off well for Pieper. She averages 3.69 digs per game, good for second all-time at SCSU. She has been improving every year and is now clipping at an amazing 5.6 dig per game average this season.
Pieper lettered in three sports in high school: volleyball, basketball and track. She played point guard and held the girls' discus throwing record at Lake of the Woods High School, along with being involved with National Honor Society and Student Council.
The libero position did not come naturally for Pieper. She played a different position in high school.
"In high school, believe it or not, I was middle. Front row, all the way around, middle blocker," she said. "My first year of high school I got to play back row; the rest of the high school career I was middle."
Her team was runner-up for the state title to Jackson County Central her junior year, which is about the time her love for volleyball grew.
"When I was in ninth grade, I was all about basketball," Pieper said. "I played volleyball, and I obviously enjoyed it, but basketball is what I loved. The older I got, the more my love kind of changed over."