WSC Volleyball Camps
Camp Director/Head Coach
Scott Kneifl
Camp Director/Head Coach
2011 marks the seventh season for Scott Kneifl as the head volleyball coach at Wayne State College. He has guided the Wildcat program to six straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and has an impressive career record of 156-52, including a 83-27 record in the Northern Sun Conference. Kneifl's winning percentage of .750 ranks 15th best amongst active NCAA Division II coaches entering the 2011 season.
Kneifl coached the Wildcats to a 26-4 record in 2010, going 17-3 in the NSIC to finish in third place. The Wildcats set a new school record with 16 straight wins to open the season and earned the school's first ever #1 national ranking twice during the season. WSC beat #1 Minnesota Duluth 3-1 in Wayne on October 1, 2010 and three days later was voted the top team in the country, marking the first time a Wayne State team recieved a #1 national ranking.
WSC finished the 2010 season with its highest ever national ranking to end the year, ninth in the AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Wildcats also had another banner year with home attendance drawing an all time high 8,329 fans to Rice Auditorium for an average of 757 fans per home match ranking fifth in NCAA Division II.
In 2009, the Wildcats were 29-8 overall going 16-4 in the NSIC for a second place finish that resulted in Coach Kneifl being named the 2009 NSIC Coach of the Year. The Wildcats won a school record 15 consecutive matches from August 29th through September 25th. WSC advanced to the NCAA Tournament and defeated Minnesota State in the first round of the Central Regional before falling to eventual National Champion Concordia-St. Paul in the Regional semi-finals.
WSC finished the 2009 season ranked 18th in the AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Wildcats added another milestone by finishing seventh in NCAA Division II home attendance, averaging 583 fans per home match. Wildcat junior middle hitter Jennifer Hefner became Wayne State's first ever Academic All-American while also earning Second Team AVCA All-American honors on the court.
In 2008, the Wildcats posted a 23-10 overall record to qualify for the NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament for the fourth straight season. WSC finished the 2008 season with a 12-8 mark in the Northern Sun Conference, finishing sixth in league play. The Wildcats ended the season ranked 25th in the final Bison/AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, marking the second time in the last three seasons that WSC finished the season ranked in the Top 25 nationally.
Coach Kneifl's teams also continue to excel in the classroom, earning the AVCA Team Academic Award for a fourth straight season after recording a stellar team cumulative grade point average of 3.528 in the 2008-09 school year. WSC also finished the 2008 season ranked 13th in NCAA Division II home volleyball attendance, averaging 479 fans per match in 13 home contests.
Kneifl coached Wayne State to a 24-12 record in 2007 and a third place finish in the Northern Sun Conference with a 13-5 league mark. The Wildcats peaked at the end of the season and captured the school's first-ever Northern Sun Conference Volleyball Tournament title as the Wildcats defeated MSU Moorhead 3-1 in the title match. WSC then advanced to its third straight NCAA Division II North Central Regional Tournament where the Wildcats suffered a hard fought 3-1 loss to eventual national champion Concordia-St. Paul in the first round.
The Wildcats recorded a stellar 30-8 mark in 2006, advancing to the NCAA Division II North Central Regional Tournament for the second straight season and reaching the semi-finals for the first time in school history. Kneifl also coached the school's first-ever All-American as junior middle hitter Emily Schroeder received Second Team All-American honors from AVCA and Daktronics while junior libero Laura Dolezal was named NSIC Libero of the Year for the second straight season. WSC also made a mark on the national scene, finishing the season ranked 20th in NCAA Division II while ranking 8th in home attendance, averaging over 520 fans per home match. The 2006 WSC volleyball squad also earned the Game Plan/AVCA Team Academic Award, maintaining an impressive 3.452 grade point average during the 2006-07 academic year.
In his first season as head coach in 2005, Kneifl directed the Wildcats to a 25-10 overall record and the team's first-ever berth in the NCAA Division II North Central Regional Volleyball Tournament. WSC finished tied for second in the Northern Sun Conference with a 10-4 league mark and for his efforts, Kneifl was awarded the NSIC Co-Coach of the Year Award.
Kneifl has coached at both the high school and college level and brings 12 years of experience to the Wildcat program. He served as assistant coach with the Wildcat volleyball program for two seasons before moving up to the head coaching position in 2005. The Wildcats made a 10-game improvement from 2003 to 2004 under the assistance of Kneifl, going from 10-24 in 2003 to 20-14 in 2004.
He got his start as the head girl's volleyball coach at Allen High School in 1995. Kneifl's 1996 team finished district runner-up. After three years at Allen High School, Kneifl chose to make the jump to the collegiate level and became the assistant women's volleyball coach at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska. While at Doane, the Tigers made it to the NAIA national tournament.
In 1998, Coach Kneifl was named head girl's volleyball coach at Millard South High School. In just his second year at the helm, Kneifl took MSHS to the district finals where they finished runner-up.
A native of Newcastle, Nebraska, Kneifl has also worked with many club volleyball programs including: Logan Valley, Tri-State, and Nebraska Juniors. In 1997, his Tri-State team won the regional tournament and earned a berth to the national club volleyball tournament.
Scott earned his bachelors degree from Wayne State in 1995 and achieved his masters degree in 2004 in sport management, also from Wayne State College. He and his wife Jennifer have three sons, Jacob, (8) Brooks, (6), and Jaxson (3 on August 6th) and they reside in Wayne.
