The phrase, “After one door closes another door opens,” probably couldn’t be any truer for Siena Heights Women’s Volleyball Coach Kim Berrington. After being the head coach at NCAA Division I Eastern Michigan University for 19 years, Berrington has found great success in the beginning of her tenure at Siena Heights.

The Lady Saints are off to a fantastic start this season, marking a 5-1 record which includes an upset defeat over #13 Davenport in their WHAC opener.

“That was a big win for a lot of reasons,” said Berrington about the victory. “For one, it was both our conference and home opener in one game. Another reason is the fact that Siena Heights hasn’t beat Davenport in 9 years. The fact that we beat the 13^th ranked team in the nation and defending WHAC champions, says a lot about our team. It says that we can compete with anyone on any given night.”

So, how long should fans wait for the Lady Saints to be successful? According to Berrington, why wait at all?

“When I first came to Siena all I would hear people say is, ‘Okay, how long is this going to take? 2 to 3 years?’” she said. “I’m not here to be successful in 2 to 3 years. I’m here to make us successful now and I think our team is starting to see that’s possible.”

Despite the optimism, Berrington still sees room for improvement. Among things to work on, Berrington wants to improve on offensive and defensive sets, since her style is very different from the Saints teams of previous years. Additionally, Berrington hopes to see the team progress in their ability to play together as one, and being able to understand and trust each other in their responsibilities.

In order for this improvement to happen, Berrington is relying heavily on her three seniors: Carly Tillotson, Haley Mercy and Nicole Morgan. There are no juniors on the team, which makes it all that more important for them to emerge as the leaders, Berrington said.

“There is a gap of understanding and knowledge,” she said, “so we look to our seniors to lead the underclassmen, and they have done a great job so far. They control our ball handling, they are great leaders and they are very coachable.”

It is still very early in the season, as the Saints have more than 20 matches left to play. But after the strong start behind Coach Berrington, there is excitement on campus for what the rest of the season has in store.

(Photo courtesy of Laura Marsh, SHU Marketing)