By Mike Foley
UWRF Sports Information

The Falcons have a long list of reasons to be excited this year. They were WIAC co-champions last year and return eight talented seniors.

At the top of the list is returning AVCA All-American middle hitter Melissa Tvrdik. The 5-11 senior has provided the Falcons with a hitting and blocking presence that opponents can’t ignore.

A year ago Tvrdik led the team in kills (414), solo blocks (17), and total blocks (133). The UW-River Falls Psychology major also finished first in the conference in hitting percentage (.345) paving the way to first team All-WIAC honors and helping the Falcons to an overall 31-8 record. Head coach Patti Ford expects Tvrdik to give the competition fits.

"Tvrdik will be one of the most dominant players in the nation this year," said Ford. "She is one of the best middles in Div. III. She’s fast, she’s smart and she works really hard in the middle. People just can’t stop her because she’s so quick."

"All my goals are team-oriented," said Tvrdik. "I just want to succeed as a team and have fun."

Even after receiving a lot of attention from her collegiate career, Tvrdik hasn’t forgotten where she comes from and who has helped her become the powerful middle hitter she is today.

"My family is really into sports. They always drove out to my matches and helped support me. My mom and dad are really athletic and my two younger sisters and I were always playing volleyball and softball with them," said Minnewaska Area (Minn.) High School graduate. "I had a lot of different high school coaches. One who stands out in my mind is Lynn Mayo. She was an assistant coach and one of my friend’s mom. We always went to her house before games and she has always been a good friend.

Tvrdik also gives credit to coaches Kari Martinson and Dave Moe who helped develop her fundamentals and maintain a good attitude. They have continued to support her through her high school and collegiate years.

After Tvrdik made a rocky transition to the collegiate game, she found even more mentors to help her develop her game. She wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school and didn’t try out for the Falcons until the spring semester of her freshman year. In the fall of 2000 she played sparingly behind UW-RF legend Melissa Mattson, Falcon career kill record holder (1,519). Even though Tvrdik only played in 17 games and registered 19 kills, she was watching and learning from Mattson.

"Melissa Mattson was my role model," said Tvrdik. "She was a two-time All-American and a middle hitter. I’ve always had to live up to her. I also look up to Cara Gustafson. She comes in and helps coach middles and she was a good player here and a really good coach."

Now Tvrdik is the All-American senior and has a promising, young replacement to guide and develop. Andrea Geehan, a 6-1 standout middle hitter from Como Park, Minn., High School will be watching and learning from Tvrdik and fellow senior middle hitter Kristin Brandt.

"It looks like the freshmen have a lot of potential," said Tvrdik. "We just want to take them under our wing and make them feel comfortable. A lot of people who come to college here are used to being the best player on their high school teams, but they have to work really hard to even get playing time here. I had to work really hard just to find a place on the team at first. If they just stick with it and have a good attitude they will get something out of it."

Tvrdik mentors young athletes on the court, but has an even more important job off it. In addition to practice, matches and full-time studies, she finds time to work for Behavioral Dimensions with three autistic boys. After this term, Tvrdik will say goodbye to her volleyball days at UW-River Falls and her closest friends to pursue other goals.

"Once I leave the area, I probably won’t see a lot of these girls," said Tvrdik. "It will be hard not having the same companionship, because we spend so much time together. I live with two volleyball players. I am also doing some experiments for an independent study class with Jen Braun (Falcon libero/outside hitter), another senior psychology major."

After graduation in December, Tvrdik plans to work through the spring and summer and continue studying child psychology at a graduate school next fall. She also wants to keep playing competitive volleyball.