HILLSBORO, Kan. – Tabor College has a rich tradition of athletic success, and to celebrate that success the Tabor College Athletic Hall of Fame was created in 1999 to honor teams and individuals alike who have exhibited extraordinary success in their contributions to the athletic department.
 
The 2025 Hall of Fame class includes two teams and one former coach who helped turn Bluejay Volleyball into a household name.
 
1977 Tabor College Volleyball Team
 
Bluejay Volleyball officially got its start in 1971, but it did not take long for the program to get off the ground. In 1977, Jana Clark was named the fourth head coach in the history of the young program, inheriting a team that finished 14-8 overall and 10-4 in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) play the previous season. 
 
The 1977 Bluejays posted an impressive record of 24-8 overall and an unprecedented 15-1 record in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) play, earning their first conference title in program history as well as their first trip to the KAIAW State Playoffs, thus the reason for their induction into the Hall of Fame. 
 
Clark's arrival in Hillsboro brought changes, like a bigger roster and an enhanced schedule, playing a total of 32 matches, 10 more than the previous year and the most in program history up to that point.
 
The Bluejays tested themselves in the non-conference portion of their schedule, opening up with an early season tournament where they fell to Sterling College (1-2) and picked up a strong victory against Fort Hays State College (now Fort Hays State University) (2-1). A second tournament followed the first, with the Bluejays dropping the opener to Oklahoma Panhandle State University (0-2) before rattling off four straight wins over Bethany College (2-1), Friends University (2-0), Marymount College (located in Salina, Kan., closed in 1989) (2-0), and McPherson College (2-0), taking a 5-2 record into conference play.
 
A meeting with rival Bethel College (0-2) saw Tabor start KCAC play with a loss, before the squad rallied and strung 10 conference wins together, taking down Southwestern College (2-0), Kansas Wesleyan University (2-0), Sterling College (2-0), St. Mary of the Plains College (located in Dodge City, Kan., closed in 1992) (2-0), Friends University (twice, 2-0 and 2-0), Bethany College (twice, 2-0 and 2-1), and McPherson College (twice, 2-0 and 2-1). A non-conference loss to in-state foe Emporia State College (now Emporia State University) (1-2) interrupted the Bluejay's win streak. The loss to the Hornets did not faze the team however, as they closed out the regular season with seven more wins, besting Bethel (2-1), Southwestern (2-1), Kansas Wesleyan (2-1), Sterling (2-0), and St. Mary of the Plains (2-1) to finish conference play and followed with non-conference wins over Hesston College (2-0) and Hutchinson Community College (2-1).
 
The end of the regular season saw Tabor and Bethel tied for first in the KCAC standings, setting up a tie-breaker match between the two teams which the Bluejays won in thrilling fashion (2-1), securing their first-ever KCAC title. The victory over the Threshers earned Clark and her Bluejays a trip to the KAIAW Small College State Playoffs, which marked the first postseason berth in program history. Tough tests against Washburn University (0-2) and Ottawa University (0-2) gave way to the Bluejays' fourth match of the season with their biggest rivals, knocking off Bethel in a two-set sweep. The final two matches of the tournament proved to be just as tough as the first two as Benedictine College (0-2) and Emporia State (1-2) ended the team's hope at a national tournament berth.
 
Team stats included a successful serve percentage of 92%, a successful set percentage of 87%, a successful spike percentage of 88%, a successful pass percentage of 76%, and a successful block percentage of 66%.
 
Colynn Kyne served as team captain for the season and was named the team's Most Valuable Player. Deena Miller was named the team's Most Improved Player. Miller and Rachel Schultz earned KCAC All-Conference honors, while Grace Jaworsky was named a KCAC Honorable Mention selection.
 
1977 Tabor College Bluejay Volleyball Roster
Carol Jantz*                  Spiker               Sr.        Hesston, Kan.
Karen Ebersole*            Spiker               Jr.         Lafayette, Colo.
Rachel Schultz*             Setter               Sr.        Hillsboro, Kan.
Colynn Kyne*                Setter               Jr.         Callaway, Neb.
Grace Jaworsky*           Spiker               Jr.         Hillsboro, Kan.
Deena Miller*               Spiker               Jr.         Hillsboro, Kan.
Janice Neufeld*             Spiker               Jr.         Hesston, Kan.
Cyndi Tucker                 Spiker               Jr.         Ottawa, Kan.
Sandy Schrag                Spiker               So.       Moundridge, Kan.
Jeri McCabe                  Spiker/Setter     So.       LeRoy, Kan.
Teri Janzen                    Spiker               So.       Enid, Okla.
Sharon Ewert                Setter               So.       Balko, Okla.
Marcia Nachtigall          Spiker               Fr.        Fresno, Calif.
Wendy Kroeker             Setter               Fr.        Winkler, Manitoba
 
*Indicates Letterwinners
 
Coach: Jana Clark
Manager: Judy Wall
 
2005 Tabor College Volleyball Team
 
The 2005 campaign marked the seventh season under Head Coach Amy Ratzlaff. The program had made big strides under Ratzlaff, winning the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) regular season title in four straight seasons ('01, '02, '03, and '04), as well as taking the KCAC tournament title in 2003 and earning the program's first ever NAIA tournament appearance. 2005 seemed like the perfect time for the Bluejays to take flight as the team returned KCAC-All Conference selections Staci Whitcomb (Unanimous selection) and Anne Gunden, as well as All-KCAC Honorable Mention selection Jill Hein.
 
The team began the season with a series of setbacks while playing in a loaded field at the College of the Ozarks Tournament in Point Lookout, Mo., falling to MidAmerica Nazarene University (0-3), Evangel University (1-3), William Jewell College (0-3), College of the Ozarks (0-3), and Baker University (1-3). 
 
Following the season-opening tournament, the Bluejays faced a short turnaround as conference play opened just five days later as TC welcomed McPherson College to Tabor College Gymnasium and subsequently sent the Bulldogs home with a three-set sweep. The Bluejays rattled off two more conference sweeps, dominating the University of Saint Mary at home and taking care of business on the road at Sterling College, before taking a break from conference play to compete at the Bethel College Tournament in North Newton, Kan. the following day. Tabor opened the Bethel Tournament by knocking off Southern Nazarene University (3-2), before dropping a four-set decision to Dana College (located in Blair, Neb., closed in 2010) (1-3).
 
Tabor returned to KCAC action four days later, seemingly not missing a beat as they traveled to Lindsborg, Kan., knocking off Bethany College in a three-set sweep and returning to Hillsboro and dispatching Southwestern College in the same fashion six days later. The first blemish in conference play occurred as the Bluejays took on rival Bethel College on the road (0-3). 
 
The following day, the Bluejays made the trip to Bethany, Okla. to compete in the Southern Nazarene Tournament. The tournament was highlighted by a three-set sweep of St. Gregory's University (located in Shawnee, Okla., closed in 2017), before three tough matches against Lubbock Christian University (1-3), Wayland Baptist University (0-3), and Southern Nazarene University (1-3). Five straight wins over KCAC opponents followed the SNU tournament, as the Bluejays downed Ottawa University (3-0), Friends University (3-0), Kansas Wesleyan University (3-1), McPherson College (3-1), and the University of Saint Mary (3-0).
 
A quick turnaround after the match against USM saw Tabor play host to non-conference foe Newman University, a team ranked above the Bluejays in the NAIA Region IV rankings, sending the Jets home in a 3-1 decision. The Bluejays finished the regular season in dominant fashion, rattling off the final eight matches in conference play and earning wins over Sterling (3-0), Bethany (3-0), Southwestern (3-0), Bethel (3-2), Ottawa (3-0), and Friends (3-0), going into postseason play riding a 13-match win streak.
 
A red-hot TC squad rolled into the KCAC tournament, taking down Kansas Wesleyan (3-0) in the semi-finals and meeting McPherson in the Championship. The Bulldogs proved to be another steppingstone in Tabor's historic season in a 3-1 decision. 
 
The Bluejays made their second trip to the NAIA National Tournament under Ratzlaff after earning another KCAC regular season title and KCAC tournament title. Park University awaited them in the first round and the Pirates proved to be too much in a three-set sweep. Despite the early exit, the 2005 team would go down in the history books as the first team in school history to finish the season first in the KCAC regular season (finished tied for first with Bethel), win the KCAC tournament, and earn a berth in the NAIA National Tournament all in the same season. 
 
Staci Whitcomb led the team with an impressive 404 kills, 3.61 kills per game and 1025 total attacks, while Lindsey Vogts led the team with a .390 attacking percentage. Anne Gunden led the team with 869 assists on the season, while Jill Hein led the team with 168 total blocks and 1.50 blocks per game. 
 
Whitcomb was named KCAC Player of the Year for her efforts on the court and was named a unanimous All-KCAC First Team selection along with Gunden. Hein also earned All-KCAC First Team honors while Vogts was named as an All-KCAC Second Team selection. 
 
Looking back now, the 2005 season served as the turning point for Tabor College Volleyball as the program continued to have sustained success throughout the rest of Ratzlaff's tenure as head coach.
 
2005 Tabor College Bluejay Volleyball Roster
#          Name                           Pos.                  Height              Year                 Hometown
2          Maggie Weinman          S/DS                 5-3                   Fr.                     Wichita, Kan.
4          Jill Hein                         MB                   5-8                    Sr.                     Hillsboro, Kan.
5          Traci Neufeld                 DS/S                 5-8                   Jr.                     Hesston, Kan.
6          Ashley McKillip              MB                   5-10                  Jr.                     Hayes Center, Neb.        
7          Anne Gunden               S                      5-8                     Sr.                     Hesston, Kan.
9          Johannah Love              DS                    5-5                   Sr.                     Wichita, Kan.
10        Shannon Kroeker           OH                   5-11                 Sr.                     Hillsboro, Kan.
12        Staci Whitcomb             OH                   5-8                    Jr.                     Moundridge, Kan.
14        Kelsi Suderman             OH                   6-0                   Fr.                    Garnett, Kan.
17        Jesica Brucks                 OH                   5-6                   Fr.                    Wichita, Kan.
19        Audrey Schellenberg     S                      5-6                   Fr.                    Wichita, Kan.
21        Ashley Malcom             OH/S                5-9                   Jr.                     Limon, Colo.
22        Lindsey Vogts                MB                   5-10                 Jr.                     Moundridge, Kan.
 
Head Coach: Amy Ratzlaff                      Assistant Coaches: Keli Chisholm, Carmen Hein
 
Amy Ratzlaff, Head Volleyball Coach (1999-2017)
 
A large part of Tabor College's athletic success has come from long-tenured coaches, and Amy Ratzlaff is no exception. Ratzlaff took the reins of the Bluejay Volleyball program prior to the 1999 season, taking over a team that had not produced a winning record since 1995. For the first two seasons in Ratzlaff's tenure, the team worked to gain their footing, winning nine conference matches in each of those seasons. 
 
The 2001 season saw the Bluejays emerge as a top team in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC), originally posted a 21-7 record overall (two wins were added and two losses were taken away as Bethel College was forced to forfeit their season that year due to eligibility violations) and became the first team under Ratzlaff and the first team since 1995 to achieve a 20-win season. 2003 proved to be another milestone season, as Ratzlaff guided Tabor to its first KCAC Tournament title, paving the way for the program's first trip to the NAIA Region IV Tournament since the 1993 season. 
 
Two seasons passed before the team returned to the region tournament in 2005, posting a 22-11 overall record and winning their second conference tournament crown. Not satisfied with the results of the 2005 campaign, the Bluejays made their return to the region tournament in Omaha, Neb. after cruising through the conference tournament, sweeping McPherson College and Bethel College in three sets each, before falling to a strong College of the Ozarks squad. 
 
After several seasons went by with the Bluejays ending their season at the KCAC Tournament, 2016 saw them make a defining leap forward, returning to the conference tournament championship game and just barely coming up short against Ottawa University. The championship game loss did not mark the end of the season however, as Tabor earned a bid to the NAIA Volleyball National Tournament for the first time in program history. Ratzlaff became the first coach in program history to win a game at the national tournament, leading her Bluejays past the Flying Queens of Wayland Baptist University in their first match. Despite dropping the final three matches of the season, the 2016 season emerged as the best season under Ratzlaff up until that point. 
 
Ratzlaff went on to coach her final season before hanging up the whistle for good following the 2017 campaign. Topping the accomplishments of the 2016 team might have seemed like a tall task, but the Bluejays made the feat look easy, tallying 28 wins and dominating the KCAC Tournament, earning Ratzlaff the best season of her career before her retirement. The team earned their second consecutive bid to the NAIA Tournament and opened postseason play in similar fashion to the season before, earning a victory over Trinity Christian College in their first match.
 
The legacy of Amy Ratzlaff's career as the head coach of the Tabor College Volleyball program is still very much alive, as she continues to hold the title of winningest head coach in program history with a 371-223 overall record and a 268-82 record in KCAC play. Ratzlaff coached over 70 all-conference selections, 90 KCAC Scholar-Athletes, 61 NAIA Scholar-Athletes, and 3 NAIA All-Americans as well as five KCAC Players of the Year, five KCAC Freshmen of the Year, and was named KCAC Coach of the Year three times.
 
Be sure to stay up to date with all information regarding Bluejay Athletics by following us on X at @gotaborbluejays, on Instagram and Facebook @taborbluejays, and on our official athletic website, taborbluejays.com.
 
Tabor College is a Christ-centered institution located in Hillsboro, Kansas. The Bluejays are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).