It was back in 2006 and Meisner, a Gering High graduate, played for Western Nebraska Community College. That year, the Cougars made it to the championship match before falling to Iowa Western Community College.
“I walked in and I couldn’t help to have a little bit of bitter feelings because this is where we lost to Iowa Western in the national championship,” Meisner said. “But, at the same time, it was a great experience and that experience allowed for most of us to return the next year when we won the national championship.”
WNCC coach Giovana Melo even asked Meisner to wear her national championship ring that she won in 2007 with the Cougars as good luck. Meisner said that is a way to still show her blue and gold spirit while wearing her UAA green and yellow colors.
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“I talked to coach Gi and she told me I had to wear it [the ring] for good luck and I did,” she said. “Because I am here recruiting, I probably won’t be in the stands cheering too much. If I can wear my ring for good luck, I will do that for them.”
Meisner’s appearance at the national tournament this year is on a different scale; she is recruiting players for former WNCC coach Chris Green and the University of Alaska Anchorage volleyball program. Meisner serves as a student assistant coach at UAA, where she played two seasons under Green after graduating from WNCC.
And, while her UAA team was at the NCAA Division II regional tournament in California, Meisner was in West Plains, Mo., doing some recruiting. She did; however, got to watch the her Seawolves play their match Thursday against Western Washington at regionals via the Internet, while watching the action at the junior college tournament.
“We had a really good group of girls this year; lots of talent and lots of potential,” she said. “It was almost a younger team, but I never found that as an excuse of doing well. I think we had really high expectations for the girls. We came across some injuries that got us down at the beginning of the season. All in all, we ended up going to regionals and the NCAA tournament, which is always a goal that we always have. In that regard, they had a lot of successful moments.”
Meisner said there is a learning curve when making the move from a player to a coach.
“It is a little bit of an adjustment going from being a player to a coach, but it was easy for me because I have done some coaching in the past,” she said. “I had the respect from the girls already on the team last year. It has been really fun working on the coaching side with Coach Green and assistant coach Nicky Rose and learning a lot from them. It has been a really good experience.”
One of her duties as an assistant coach is spending time at the national tournament recruiting players for next year. Meisner said as much as she wanted to be with the team in California for regionals, watching the junior college national tournament, and seeing friends from the Scottsbluff/Gering area, is making her 3-day stay memorable.
“I really would love to be at regionals with my team, but coach needed someone to come recruit at the tournament this weekend, so he sent me down here,” she said. “That is fine because it has brought a lot of fond memories back for me and it is three days of some really good volleyball. I am enjoying myself so far.
“It is good to be here and see people from home and it is good to watch WNCC play. Even though I don’t know very many of the girls, there still is that connection to them being a player that went to WNCC and has been in their shoes before. I know the feelings and emotions that they are going through and I just wish them the best of luck.”
Meisner helped WNCC to a national tournament runner-up in 2006 and a national championship in 2007. Meisner played a variety of positions with the Cougars, coming in as an outside hitter and finishing as a libero. At UAA, Meisner was the Seawolves top defensive guru for two seasons.
Meisner said people don’t realize it, but there is plenty of talent in the junior college division.
“I think people seem to underestimate the value of junior college ball. Just watching these games here, it is really competitive,” she said. “It is not very often that you get a group of girls on the court that will go on to play at all different levels of four-year volleyball from Division I universities to Division II and III and even NAIA. You have a lot of different skill levels out there and it is not very often that you get to see put together on one court.”
Meisner, who will finish her undergraduate studies this May and then enter graduate school at UAA, said that UAA is looking for specific position players, namely a middle hitter to replace senior Cortney Lundberg.
“We are looking to find someone with similar qualities to her who can touch close to 10-foot because that is what Courtney was touching all three years she was playing at UAA. We need that same type of athletic skill and ability to join our team next year.
Coaching, right now, is something that is piquing her interest in the future.
“Being a coach, is something I have always considered and planned on doing,” she said. “I am definitely learning a lot about coaching and all the tiny aspects about it that you don’t think about as a player.”
For now, Meisner is making the most of her experiences, but still has, and always will, have that Nebraska blood in her.
“Alaska definitely is my home right now. This will be my third year up there know,” she said. “I like it up there but of course Nebraska will always be my real home/”
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