GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — "We go as Hayley goes," said Head Coach Brian Netzler
"I'm just a very competitive person and after every game, even if I had a good game I look back and look at things I could have done better," said Hayley Kreiger.
Davenport grad student Hayley Kreiger had taken the program to new heights.
"When Hayley's got that light switched turned on and is like a fire breathing Dragon, our team is very, very hard to beat," said Netzler.
She is the first All-American in the Panthers DII era, just the fourth in program history and holds a spot in four different categories for career rankings.
"I'm always looking at the other person across the net and what they're doing and what I can do to stop them or what can I do to better my game. And where the open shots are on the court," said Kreiger.
That mindset has constantly pushed Hayley in her five years at Davenport. She's 2nd all time in kills per set and in attack attempts. As a South Haven native, she wanted to continue her volleyball and softball career close to home.
"My brother played baseball here so I was already familiar with the campus but I had to opportunity to do two sports which was something I always wanted to do so that's a big reason why I came here," said Kreiger.
"She's a great role model for the younger girls, and the other girls in her same position. She has been just the consummate team leader, consummate champion, consummate competitor on our team this year," said Netzler.
While she's having an incredible career, the team is also having a great season. They beat Grand Valley in the GLIAC tournament last season and in the regular season last month, but they want more.
"Going for a conference title it would be the first time since Davenport joined the GLIAC and an NCAA tournament bid is also something that we're looking at. If we just keep playing how we are and keep getting better and better each day it should be something that we could easily succeed at," said Kreiger.
"This team really, they've got lofty goals. They want to achieve somethings that this program has never achieved and it's right there at our finger tips now," said Netzler.
Davenport is ranked 2nd in the GLIAC behind Ferris State and will travel to Hammond, In. this weekend for the Midwest Region Crossover tournament hosted by Purdue Northwest.
