Under the direction of head coach Ashley Buckley, Augustana volleyball experienced heightened success on team and individual levels throughout the 2014 season. The Vikings received a host of individual awards on top of a 20-win season.
The Vikings finished the 2013 season with a 22-8 record, the second time Augustana has surpassed the 20-win mark during Buckley’s tenure. The Vikings’ fourth-place finish in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the premier volleyball conference in Division II, was the highest since Buckley’s inaugural season in 2008.
Buckley led senior middle blocker Holly Hafemeyer and Courtney Ysker to the elite ranks of Augustana volleyball history. Hafemeyer collected AVCA first-team All-American honors while Ysker was named an AVCA honorable mention All-America honoree -- the third time Augustana has had multiple Vikings named All-Americans in program history and the first time since 2000.
Hafemeyer became the third Viking in Augustana history to repeat as an All-American as well as collecting first-team All-NSIC honor three times since the Vikings joined the league in 2008.
Placing three players on the All-NSIC team, Buckley helped Hafemeyer and Ysker to first-team all-conference appointments and sophomore setter Marissa Johnson to second-team honors.
Hafemeyer and Johnson combined to earn four player of the week honors from the NSIC throughout the season and Hafemeyer became the first Viking since 2003 to be named AVCA National Player of the Week.
With a commanding sweep of Upper Iowa on Oct. 19, 2013, Buckley collected her 100th career win as a head coach and she has now compiled a 124-87 career record at Augustana with a conference mark of 80-60.
Prior to being named the Vikings’ eighth head coach, Buckley spent the 2007 season as the team’s top assistant coach. She joined the Augustana staff after spending the 2006 season as an assistant coach at the University of Sioux Falls.
Ashley Pederson grew up in Sioux Falls and led Roosevelt High School to the state Class AA volleyball championship in 2000. A middle hitter, she was a four-year starter for the Rough Riders and earned first-team all-state honors in each of her last three seasons. She ended her prep career as Roosevelt’s all-time leader in kills and aces, in addition to posting the highest single-season hitting percentage figure in school history.
Pederson also was chosen to participate in the 1998 Colorado Olympic Training Camp and was a Youth National Team alternate in 1998 and 1999.
In addition to her success on the volleyball court, Pederson also enjoyed a highly successful basketball career during her time at Roosevelt. She led the Rough Riders hoops squad to four-straight state titles along with 83-consecutive wins.
Pederson signed with Penn State and started at outside hitter from 2001-2004. As a team captain, she led the Nittany Lions to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, two Big Ten Conference championships (2003, 2004), and the 2003 NCAA Elite Eight.
She holds the Penn State record for single-season attempts (1,444) and is ninth in career kills (1,340), and third in career attempts (3,733). She earned four varsity letters and set a career high for kills with 27 vs. Wisconsin in 2003. She led Penn State in kills in 2003 (508) and in kills per set (3.94). She was named to the Academic All-Big Ten Team in 2002, 2003, and 2004.
During her collegiate career the Nittany Lions Pederson compiled a 107-24 record.
In 2005, she was named Independent Female Athlete of the Year by the South Dakota Sportswriters Association.
Pederson earned her bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies from Penn State in 2005.
Ashley Buckley and her husband, Jeff, are the parents of Bausten, Baren and Bode.
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| Ashley Buckley Year-by-Year |
| | Overall | | | Conf. | |
| Year | School | W | L | T | | | W | L | T | Finish |
| 2008 | Augustana | 23 | 11 | 0 | | | 15 | 5 | 0 | t-3rd |
| 2009 | Augustana | 14 | 18 | 0 | | | 9 | 11 | 0 | t-7th |
| 2010 | Augustana | 14 | 15 | 0 | | | 10 | 10 | 0 | 7th |
| 2011 | Augustana | 16 | 12 | 0 | | | 10 | 10 | 0 | 7th |
| 2012 | Augustana | 17 | 13 | 0 | | | 11 | 9 | 0 | 8th |
| 2013 | Augustana | 22 | 8 | 0 | | | 14 | 6 | 0 | 4th |
| 2014 | Augustana | 18 | 10 | 0 | | | 11 | 9 | 0 | t-8th |
| | 124 | 87 | 0 | | | 80 | 60 | 0 | |
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