Rick Mischka named to head KWU Volleyball
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

Rick Mischka Photo Courtesy: Saint Mary's (Minn.) Sports Information

Kansas Wesleyan University Director of Athletic Programs announces the hiring of Rick Mischka as Head Volleyball Coach for the Coyotes.

“We are pleased to announce the hiring of Mr. Mischka as head coach of the volleyball program,” Williams said. “Rick will be a good fit not only at Kansas Wesleyan, but within the entire community.”

Mischka will also assist the Coyote softball program.

He takes over for Shawn Taylor, who left last month to take an assistant coaching position at Valparaiso University.

Before Kansas Wesleyan, Mischka was an assistant coach at NCAA-III Saint Mary’s University (Minn.) in Winona, Minnesota. At Saint Mary’s he was responsible for all aspects of the program, and was a major part of the recruiting process. In his two-plus seasons at SMU, the Cardinals rebounded from a 10-19 record to a 17-12 overall record in 2007.

Mischka is also strongly involved in the USA Volleyball Junior Olympic program. He has spent the last five years involved with the Southern Minnesota Volleyball program, including the last two years as the head coach of the 17-elite team that finished the 2007 season 35-22 and was 34th of 64 teams at the AAU Nationals in Orlando, Fla.

Before Saint Mary’s, Mischka was assistant coach at Graceland University (Iowa), where he worked with both the men’s and women’s programs for two seasons.

Mischka is ready to hit the ground running, with focus on building a full squad for next season.

“My first priority is to meet the team, both the returners and the seniors that are graduating to get there opinions on the positive and negative aspects of the program,” he said.  “After that, I will be out recruiting to make sure that we fill our roster with quality student-athletes that can continue the success that the program is coming off of.”

The Coyotes have a strong foundation to build off of, including All-American Sarah Claborn, who Mischka feels is a key piece to build the team around.

“I think it is important to build the current team around the returning All-American Sarah Claborn, while recruiting young talent to lay the foundation for a solid team and more all-conference and All-American stand-outs,” he said.

Mischka played three years at Wisconsin-Stevens Point where he was co-captain, player coach and team treasurer for the Pointers’ NIRSA collegiate club team. While at UWSP, he received NIRSA Club National Championships All-National Team honors as a setter.

Mischka then transferred to Graceland where he played for two seasons as setter and right side hitter for the Yellowjackets. He graduated from Graceland in 2006 with a double major in Philosophy and Religion and is currently pursuing his Master of Arts in Human Development at Saint Mary’s.

Keeping Wesleyan in the top ranks of the conference, along with building a competitive program are among Mischka’s goals for the Coyotes under his direction.

“My goals are to maintain a top position in our conference, and strive to win another conference championship,” he said. “I also would like to see 100% retention and graduation rates for my student-athletes, and work on having above a 3.0 cumulative GPA for the program. I would like to re-introduce a JV team, and build the roster size to make room for more opportunities for players to enjoy playing volleyball, while still maintaining a competitive edge, and a winning tradition.”

A native of Plainfield, Wisc., Mischka is also a certified firefighter, and holds a valid Emergency Medical Technician license, obtained through the Wisconsin Technical College system.

Mischka will begin his duties at Kansas Wesleyan on Monday, April 14.

“I feel very confident in stepping into this position. I think that the program and the school has a lot to offer for student athletes looking to get a good education and play competitive volleyball,” Mischka said. “I have coached and played at a school similar to this, and look forward to this opportunity to step into my first college Head Volleyball Coaching position.”

Kansas Wesleyan is a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC), a group of ten independent institutions all located within the state of Kansas. The KCAC is a member conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

-- KWU SI --