After a successful high school career at Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls, the 5-11 senior outside hitter, Ashley Beaner, decided to hang up her jersey and focus on school as she headed off to college.

“I didn’t want to get recruited,” Beaner said. “I did not want to play college volleyball.”

During her first semester in 2013 at the University of Nebraska, Beaner joined the club volleyball team but soon found that something was missing.

“I thought that would kind of fill the void, but it just wasn’t the same caliber I was used to,” Beaner said. “I wanted the more competitive atmosphere.”

Beaner contacted former Jackrabbit head volleyball coach Phil McDaniel, who had originally recruited her in high school and asked if there was still a spot for her on the team. McDaniel welcomed the former Husker with open arms, so Beaner transferred to SDSU during the 2014 spring semester to begin working out with the team and preparing for the fall season.

Beaner had no trouble making friends and adjusting to the SDSU community. But she wasn’t fully prepared for the adversity she would face on the court during her first year in a Jackrabbit uniform.

The Jackrabbits finished the 2014 season 6-27, including a 0-16 record in conference play. Beaner found some individual success, starting in 25 of 29 matches and finishing third on the team in kills. But losing was something the Sioux Falls Roosevelt grad was not used to.

The three-year letter winner and two-time team captain played in three straight South Dakota state high school tournaments, finishing second in 2010 and 2011, and carrying her team to a state championship as a senior in 2012. Beaner was named the 2012 South Dakota AA Miss Volleyball and also earned 2012 first team all-state, all-city, all-conference and state all-tournament team honors.

“It’s been hard,” Beaner admitted. “In high school we were always kind of a winning team and always going to state. Since I’ve been here we haven’t gone to a conference tournament or anything like that yet.”

At the end of the 2014 season, Beaner was forced to make another adjustment as head coach Phil McDaniel announced he would be leaving SDSU. Current Head Coach Nicole Cirillo replaced McDaniel as head coach.

The team entered the 2015 season with high hopes under the new direction of Cirillo. They finished in similar fashion to the previous season with a 5-27 record but improved their conference record to 4-12. Still, Beaner and her teammates struggled with the frustration of another losing season.

“It’s turned into a lot more of a mental game than a physical game,” Beaner said. “We’ve had to focus a lot more on our feelings and emotions and mindset and those sorts of things.”

But despite the challenges the Jackrabbits have faced the past two seasons, Beaner remains optimistic for her senior season. With five new faces on the team, Beaner said she’s hoping to give the newcomers a good foundation as the team continues to build.

“This year feels a lot different because there are so many fresh minds on the team,” Beaner said.