Monica Miesner is just like any other Washburn student. She goes to class, plans to graduate in December with an accounting degree and does the same things as an ordinary young adult in college.

Oh, and she’s one of the best to ever play volleyball for Washburn.

A senior from Florissant, Mo., Miesner has played volleyball for a good portion of her life and has made a huge impact on Washburn volleyball.

In the five years she’s been at Washburn, the team has gone 143-25. In 2006, her third season with the team, she was red-shirted because of an injury, and the Lady Blues had the worst record of the five seasons at 27-9.

One cannot go through the list of Lady Blues volleyball records and rankings without seeing the name Monica Miesner several times, whether it be in kills, digs, points or virtually any other category. And this applies for all records, including single-season, single-match and career.

On the court, she is a leader who is very competitive, but also a role model for the team and many of the younger players.

“It’s so exciting that we have a player like that on our team,” said sophomore Ali Ward. “I think we all just feed off of her energy and her drive and passion for the sport and how she hates to lose. We all look up to her, so of course we want to represent her well. She’s such a positive force.”

Older than everyone on the team, Miesner kind of serves as an on-the-court coach and is very good at keeping the pressure on the court low.

“She’s just like a big piece of our team,” said junior Kate Hampson. “And a lot of times if we’re having a bad match or a bad run, she can pick us up. She can carry us because she’s been doing it longer than the rest of us. She just keeps everyone calm on the court when coach could be like super intense and screaming at us, she can keep us calm.”

Miesner does many things well, including playing with injuries and using her ambidextrous characteristic to benefit the team.

“She’s a great defender, great passer. She just hits the crap out of the ball even though she’s had numerous surgeries on her elbow,” said Hampson. “It’s really amazing to watch because she doesn’t even play right-handed in practice. She plays left-handed and there aren’t many athletes that can play with both hands. She probably hits it left-handed just as hard as anyone on our team.”

Miesner has been named MIAA player of the week countless times, but most recently, she was named the national player of the week which has only been given to two other Lady Blues players, Tessa Jones last season and Emily Foster in 2004.

“It’s one of the bigger awards. It was nice but I especially didn’t think I deserved it. I’m happy though, it’s quite the honor,” said Miesner, who is also one of three Washburn players to be named All-American. “I think since our entire team is playing pretty well, it opens up the opportunity for others to do well. And I was just lucky enough to get recognized.”

This will be Miesner’s last season at Washburn. She hopes to become a CPA and stay involved with the sport in her life after Washburn volleyball.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to play in the rec league for old ladies,” said Miesner. “I’ll probably coach a club team and get my fix in volleyball through that.”