R-B grad is glad to have found Hope

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For two seasons, Jacie Fiedler had a starting spot for DePaul University’s volleyball team and went to school in a city of almost 3 million people.

What Fiedler didn’t have, though, was a zeal for the game that she played.

“I lost my spark for playing volleyball,” said Fiedler, a Richmond-Burton graduate. “I wanted to be a normal college student and still have volleyball as part of my life. I wanted volleyball to be something I did for fun.”

This fall in Holland, Mich., a town of 34,000 people along Lake Michigan’s eastern shore, Fiedler has “really gotten my spark back.”

Last weekend, Fiedler earned all-tournament honors while helping Hope College to its first trip to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight.

While helping the Dutch (34-4) to their most successful season in school history, Fiedler led the team with 465 kills and a .370 hitting percentage. The junior earned honorable mention all-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association and was a first-team All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association choice.

“Every level we advanced to in the tournament, she continued to step up her game,” said Hope coach Becky Schmidt, whose team lost a five-set national semifinal last weekend to eventual champion Washington University of St. Louis, which won its 10th title. “[Jacie] certainly brought a level of athleticism to our program that forced everybody else to step up their game.”

While at DePaul, Fiedler made regular visits to Michigan to see her boyfriend, fellow R-B grad Ben Thomas, a Hope student. 

“I really liked it here,” Fiedler said. “I even got to know some of the girls on the volleyball team.”

But when she decided to leave DePaul, Fiedler first thought about staying at the D-I level.

“I was really close to going to St. Louis (University),” Fiedler said. “It was a very hard decision for me.”

Hope won out because of the tight-knit atmosphere on campus and in Holland, and the fact that playing D-III volleyball allowed Fiedler a better balance between the sport and her pre-med studies.

“I didn’t want volleyball to be like my job,” she said.

Schmidt said Fiedler’s skill level helped push her teammates and created a position change for the R-B grad.

The improved play of Fiedler’s fellow middle hitters allowed Schmidt to slide Fiedler to the left side.

“She’s got a very high hitting percentage,” Schmidt said. “We know we can get her the ball in a lot of situations and she’ll terminate it.”

The change was a welcome one for Fielder.

“It’s exciting for me,” she said. “I had never played anywhere other than middle.”

Her power from the outside was evident at nationals, where Fiedler had 46 kills in two matches, including 28 against Washington University, a team Hope beat in September.

“After my first season here and finishing my first semester, I can honestly say this is where I was meant to be,” Fiedler said. “It really feels like home.”

Forner tackles honor: NAIA St. Ambrose University senior linebacker Jim Forner earned first-team All-Mid-States Football Association Midwest League honors this fall.

A Crystal Lake South grad, Forner led the Bees (6-4) with 68 total tackles, seven tackles for loss and five forced fumbles. This season was Forner’s first at linebacker after playing two seasons at safety for St. Ambrose. Forner also had two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

• Barry Bottino writes a weekly column and a blog about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOnCampus@hotmail.com and check out his On Campus blog at www.McHenryCountySports.com/blogs/oncampus.