Swinging away with Aubrey Havlichek and Finlandia volleyball

This week Finlandia Fridays is joined by its first guest from the Finlandia University athletics department, head volleyball coach Aubrey Havlichek. Havlichek is in her first season as head coach for the women’s volleyball team here at Finlandia after taking over as interim coach early during the 2016 season. Initially brought in as an assistant coach, Havlichek was promoted to head coach this past spring, stating that being a head coach for a college team “still hasn’t registered,” but “it’s awesome.”

This weekend the volleyball team is playing at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Having played against three out of the four teams they will be playing this weekend, Havlichek hopes to have a “leg up” after reviewing film to make strategy adjustments. The Lions also hope to have a home court advantage as they play against University of Wisconsin-Superior in their home closer on Wednesday night. The Lions played the Yellow Jackets earlier this season, but unfortunately lost three sets to zero. Hoping to take away a win, Aubrey is confident that both teams will come in looking more developed and that a good match will take place.

A noticeable feature about the current volleyball team is that the team is young, having no seniors. Lead by a strong core of juniors and having three junior captains, Havlichek encourages all her athletes to be leaders on the court, with or without the title of captain. Also notable is the fact that almost half the team comes from local area, creating a special mix and atmosphere for the team.

Last week the team participated in the mobile food pantry, which took place in Baraga. “It was a humbling experience to sit back and be grateful for what you have,” said Havlichek, who decided to swap the volunteer opportunity with practice. Trying to be more active in the community, Aubrey was happy to see her helping out and working together.