Posted: Dec. 28, 2009 |(0) Comments

In the fall of 2008, Katie Beining felt happy to simply step onto the volleyball courts at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

She was returning to the Oshkosh women's volleyball team from a yearlong rehabilitation after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and meniscus while competing in track at the end of her sophomore season.

"That was an incredible feeling, coming back after taking that year off from sports," said the former Brookfield East standout. "I had played sports for years, and it was so devastating to miss a year. I just loved every minute once I started playing again. I realized what I had and what I had lost, and now I wanted to make the most of it."

She certainly did that.

Final Four tourney a thrill

About 14 months later, Beining experienced an even bigger thrill than stepping onto a volleyball court. She and her Oshkosh teammates played in the NCAA Division III Final Four Tournament at University Heights, Ohio.

The Titans made it to the semifinal round before falling to Juniata College of Pennsylvania, 25-23, 25-18, 26-24, Nov. 20. They wound up tied for third in the nation with a final record of 39-3.

Beining, a senior right-side hitter who finished with eight kills and eight digs in that match, was disappointed, especially because Oshkosh had beaten Juniata earlier this season at a tournament in Texas.

"We had an off match," she said. "That happens. We just didn't have it that day."

That loss, however, did nothing to spoil the memories of her final season at Oshkosh.

"We have had success in volleyball since I've been here, but this year, we had the whole package," she said. "We were strong all the way around. Every position had been well-recruited."

Beining capped off the year by earning third-team All-American honors, her first time on that team.

"I learned about that before the nationals," she said. "I was ecstatic, so happy. It had been my goal since freshman year to be on the banner on the wall (as an All-American)."

She was deserving of the honor, Oshkosh coach Brian Schaefer said.

"She was one of our top offensive players this year," he said. "She was a team leader, and one of our captains.

"She would rather others get the awards than her, though. She was thinking more about the team, as she did for all five years here."

Dedication leads to comeback

Beining was pleased to just get the chance to play in a national tournament after the major injury she sustained while long-jumping for the Oshkosh track team in the spring of 2006.

"I missed my junior year (athletically)," she said. "After that, it was a matter of relearning how to jump and regaining my confidence on the court. It was pretty much trial-and-error that first year (2008), but after doing some weight-lifting, I felt in good shape going into this season."

Schaefer said: "Some people don't even come back from those types of injuries. She worked hard to come back. She was in there every day with the trainer. She knew the team was getting better all the time." When Beining returned, she also had to adjust to a new position, as Schaefer switched her from outside hitter to right-side hitter. "We thought that would give us more offense," he explained.

He proved correct, as Beining finished second on the team this season with 377 kills, an average of 2.65 per game.

Years at East remembered

Beining was on the East varsity volleyball team for all four years, during which time the Spartans were consistently good but never made it to the state tournament. "We came close," she said. "We lost in the sectional a couple of times, usually to somebody really good like Muskego."

She chose to attend Oshkosh and planned to compete in both track and volleyball, as she had at East.

"Track was actually my favorite sport in high school, but I had more success in volleyball at Oshkosh," she said.

As it happened, she competed only two seasons in track, never returning to the sport after the major injury.

She more than made up for that disappointment, though, with her success - and the team's success - on the volleyball court.

THE BEINING FILE

WHO: Katie Beining, senior right-side hitter for the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team and former volleyball and track standout at Brookfield East

WHAT: Her Oshkosh team played in the NCAA Division III Final Four Tournament in November, falling to Juniata College in the semifinals. Oshkosh had earlier beaten Christopher Newport University of Virginia, 21-25, 25-13, 25-14, 25-21, in the NCAA quarterfinals as Beining totaled 11 kills, 10 digs and two service aces. The Titans downed St. Thomas of Minnesota, 17-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-15, in the regional final behind 11 kills and 11 digs from Beining. In second-round play, they beat UW-Eau Claire, 25-16, 25-16, 22-25, 25-23, as Beining had a .467 hitting percentage with 10 digs, five assists and three aces, and in the first round, they topped St. Norbert College, 25-9, 25-8, 25-11, with 10 kills from Beining.

HONORS, STATISTICS: Beining was third-team All-American, first team all-Midwest Region and first-team all-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. As a right-side hitter, she totaled 377 kills on the season with a .253 hitting percentage as well as 81 assists, 47 service aces, 362 digs and 52 blocks.

ACADEMICS: She will graduate Dec. 19 with a double degree in Spanish and marketing and plans for a career in international marketing, perhaps as a translator.

HIGH SCHOOL: She played middle blocker and outside hitter at Brookfield East, earning all-Greater Metro Conference honors in her senior season.