Fifth-year middle blocker
Anna Krikke almost didn't come back to Ashland University's volleyball team following the death of her mother on Aug. 15, 2022.
Krikke almost didn't come back to Ashland University's volleyball team for the start of practice for her NCAA-granted fifth season on Aug. 15, 2023 – until God intervened.
The story of how Krikke became one of the top volleyball players in the Midwest Region last fall – and how she will be one of the veterans the Eagles will lean on this fall – is one of faith and perseverance.
After seeing some playing time as a freshman in 2019, then not playing in the spring of 2021 after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic moved the fall 2020 season, Krikke earned a starting spot as a middle blocker in the fall of 2021, leading the team in total blocks with 102 (86 solos) and adding 109 kills.
Then, in 2022, Krikke had her best collegiate season, earning Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Midwest Region second team, first-team All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference and College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District laurels while racking up 110 total blocks and a .323 hitting percentage (both team highs).
In addition, Krikke had 223 kills and 23 digs, helping the Eagles to a 23-9 record, getting to host the Great Midwest Tournament (first Eagle volleyball team to play host to a conference tournament) and qualifying for the NCAA Division II postseason.
"It was so many good memories. A great group of girls. We all worked hard," said Krikke. "That season definitely was memorable, to say the least. So much joy."
All of that success last year, however, almost didn't happen. Krikke's mother, Michelle, passed away at age 55 at the start of preseason camp from neuroendocrine tumors stemming from previous breast cancer.
"When my mom was in hospice and she was about to pass away, and we knew that unless God worked a miracle that that was going to happen," recalled Krikke, "I didn't want to come back and play volleyball. My mom was my best friend.
"After talking to her about it, though, she said, 'I want you to go play volleyball. I want you to go have fun with your friends.' It was really hard, but volleyball was a really good thing at that time. I have amazing teammates who got me through it, and my coaches were always supportive, as well. Playing for her, and knowing where she's at, really comforted me, on and off the court."
Trials can either bring someone closer to or further from God. For Krikke, it was the former.
"After going through an event like that in your life, either you're really going to stray far from God, or you're really going to pull close to him," she said. "The reason why I pulled so close was because, even when my mom was super sick…she would always talk about Jesus. She was not scared of dying. She said, 'Whatever God's will is, let it be done.'"
Following 2022, Krikke has another playing decision to make, based on the extra season of competition granted by the NCAA due to the pandemic.
"In the winter time, I wasn't planning on coming back," Krikke said. "Certain things just weren't lining up. I felt like God was telling me not to come back at that time.
"Then, in late June, I believe, I prayed the night before she (first-year head coach
Katie Kuhn) texted me for God to give me direction in my life. Ever since my mom passed away last year, and graduating college in itself is a big change, I kind of felt lost a little bit. She texted me the next day. It really felt like something that God really wanted me to do."
Kuhn said, "There obviously was a bigger plan than we even had in play. We are so excited. Anna's been nothing but a joy to have back. Just from the leadership standpoint, I can already tell that. A young woman who knows how things kind of operate.
"It spoke volumes to me, when I was able to tell the team at a summer camp…and they all just exploded. They might have been more excited than Anna. She had always been on my mind. All of a sudden, I reached out, and one thing led to another."
Krikke and the returning Eagles have some unfinished business to begin the 2023 season, starting with four matches in their own tournament on Sept. 1-2. Ashland's 2022 campaign ended with three consecutive losses, something the AU returnees are quite aware of.
"You can have so many good memories in a season, and then things don't go your away at the end," said Krikke.
Krikke and Kuhn know that they will have opportunities to help each other as the 2023 season goes on.
"Coach Kuhn and coach
Hannah (Zuchowski) have been great," Krikke said. "We're going to get to know each other really soon. So I am very excited, and I'm very happy that they've given me this opportunity to come back and play the sport I love."
Said Kuhn, "It helps to have experience. It's helpful to have someone who has been a part of that. Anna's been nothing but open to…things might run different. But Ashland volleyball is Ashland volleyball, and we all want the success of Ashland volleyball. It's a blessing for us to have Anna."
