Jan. 22, 2008

The University of Northwestern Ohio's volleyball team has yet to win a game. It hasn't even played a game.

But its prospects were enticing enough to draw Roshelle Watercutter out of retirement to play for a first-year team.

Watercutter, one of 12 volleyball recruits signed by UNOH on Monday, played for Edison State Community College in Piqua in 2006 when it reached the Division III junior college national tournament.

She took last year off, but signed on to play with UNOH's first-year team.

"Once I got the opportunity to play again, I was like, `Of course.' I wasn't even intending to play again. But I missed volleyball so much. I'm excited to play again," Watercutter said.

The Racers' 12 recruits include three from area schools -- Chelsea Crow (Lima Central Catholic), Brooke Vandemark (Allen East) and Meagan Enyart (Temple Christian).

The others are: Chelsea Hostetter (Piqua), Laci Burns (Arcanum), Amanda Francis (Fairlawn), Jessica Prince (Fairlawn), Jessica Girod (Houston), Kelly Oldiges (Vandalia Butler), Debbie Brubaker (Twin Valley South), Julie Bean (Christiansburg, Va.) and Watercutter (Lehman Catholic).

The Racers will be coached by Kevin Kitchen, a Walsh College and Lima Central Catholic High School graduate who has seven years experience in coaching high school and club volleyball. Most recently, he was an assistant coach for LCC's Division III state champion team.

He was the head volleyball coach at Piqua and New Knoxville for a total of six years and has played volleyball competitively for several years.

Eight of the 12 recruits played for Kitchen on Team Atlantis, a club team he has coached since 2005.

He went to Walsh College as a golfer, walked onto the men's basketball team, but eventually found his true sports love when he dated a volleyball player on the Cavaliers' team.

"My fifth year of school, when I was done playing basketball, my girlfriend at the time played volleyball. I'd always been around it, my dad played it a lot when I was younger. It was something I just kind of fell in love with," Kitchen said.

"I think we can be very successful," he said. "Step one is establish the program, step two is be successful. Step three is, if not win, at least compete for a league title, and step four would be to compete at the national level."

When the volleyball team opens it season Aug. 22 in the University of Michigan-Dearborn Early Bird tournament, it will become the seventh UNOH varsity team to compete as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).