Andrea Geehan

By Jude Harder
UWRF Sports Information

Andrea Geehan has established herself as one of the dominant middles in the WIAC and in the region.

She provides the Falcons with an intimidating force in the middle and an abundance of offensive firepower.

Standing at 6-1, Geehan towers over the competition and uses her height to her advantage, racking up kills and blocks with the best of them.

Last year as a junior, Geehan led the Falcons in kills (467), hitting percentage (.300) and total blocks (104). Only two players in Falcon history have bettered her 3.77 kills per game average that she achieved last season.

Those numbers were good enough to earn her All-WIAC first team and AVCA All-Midwest region honors. She was also selected as the Falcons Co-Player of the Year and the Co-Offensive Player of the Year.

"She is a very compactual player on the court," said Head Coach Patti Ford. "It is very intimidating for other teams to play against," added Ford.

On a 2006 Falcon roster consisting of nine freshmen, Geehan and the other five seniors have to really step up and take on a large leadership role this season.

Ford is very confident her seniors are more than capable of doing that.

"Geehan's best qualities as a leader are that she is very vocal, intense and competitive; she also leads by getting the job done," said Ford.

After a sub-par season in 2005, in which the Falcons had their first losing season since 1992, the team is hungry to regain the top spot in the WIAC.

"Competition in the WIAC was very tough last season and four teams went to nationals," said Geehan.

The Falcons are confident that they can rebound if they focus on improving in two areas: defense and team chemistry.

"What really hurt us last year was our defense at times was poor and gaps in communication really separated the team," said Geehan.

Geehan will play a large role in improving both departments. Although she led the team in blocks, Geehan and Ford agree that she has the abilities to put up even bigger numbers on the defensive side of the game this season

Her biggest personal goals of the 2006 season are to lead the league in blocks and to be chosen as an All-American.

Most importantly, her team goals are to take back the WIAC championship and to play for the National Championship.

Geehan has played volleyball with teammate Kat Krtnick for eight years. They feed off of each other very well and are very comfortable on the court together. It's always a plus when two stars are on the same page.

"We've had the time to grow together as a team and as seniors now, we are even hungrier," said Geeehan

The team chemistry was put to the test this summer when the Falcons competed in a summer volleyball league. When the tournament began nobody predicted that River Falls would make any noise, but that is just what they did. They ran with the underdog role and took first place in the tournament and that is precisely what they are aiming to do during the collegiate season.

"Last season was tough on us as a team; we lost some matches that could have gone either way. Finishing in the bottom half of the WIAC may make us the underdogs this year, but I don't think many teams will look past us, as we have a very talented veteran team on the court this year."

Geehan graduated from Como Park High School in St. Paul, Minn.

She is the daughter of Bob and Sheila Geehan.

Academically, Geehan majors in health and human performance with coaching and criminal justice minors.

She hopes to one day work as a probation officer in Ramsey or Hennepin county. She also really enjoys coaching youth volleyball. This summer she coached for an Adidas Club team consisting of 17-year-old girls. She got to travel to Georgia and Colorado with the team.