Lakeville Volleyball Moms Watch Their Competing Daughters Shine

Nancy (Thompson) Mosser, the mother of senior Allie Mosser and Janis (Holter) Goehner, the mother of sophomore Alyssa Goehner will be cheering hard for their daughters Saturday night when the two Lakeville schools at Smiley.

The two mothers have not only coached each other’s kids growing up in volleyball, but the two are close friends who played together at St. Cloud State and even played the same position in college.

Nancy Thompson, who graduated from Lakeville, attended St. Cloud State and played for the Huskies from 1983-86. Janis Holter, an Apple Valley graduate, learned from Thompson as a freshman and played at the school from 1986-89.

The two are among the top players in school history and both are listed in the school record books. Thompson played 136 sets in 1986, one short of the school record and tied for first in matches played 49. Holter had 89 service aces in 1987, third in school history and has the second and third most service attempts in 1988 and 1987.

The two have gotten a chance to watch two of the state volleyball programs up close and personal. Lakeville South is ranked No. 1 in the state. However, their only loss was to Lakeville North in five sets.

The Panthers are the defending state champions and the two met Saturday for the right to go the state tournament, which starts next Thursday.

Mosser said that it is tough to watch her daughter play as a parent.

“It is much more nerve-wracking watching your daughter play than when I ever played,” said Mosser. “When I played, you just did it. You didn’t get nervous. When she plays, it is much harder, because you tend to just focus on them when they are playing, so you notice their mistakes probably more than anybody. You do the good plays, too. I am probably a bad parent. I remember the mistakes more (laughing).”

Mosser said that she tries to be supportive from the sideline.
 
“I coached her when she was littler,” said Mosser. “I try to be the parent that just says ‘Good job,” “Way to work hard” and I bite my tongue trying not to say you should have done this or you should have done that. It comes out sometimes. She is far better than I ever was at this age with the training that they do now.”

Mosser feels that the emergence of club volleyball has been a major difference when she attended high school and participated in sports in the fall, winter and spring.

“Everyone who played, played three sports,” said Mosser. “You put together a team in the spring, but it was everyone’s second priority. They went to their basketball game and maybe they would go to practice. They went to their softball game and then maybe volleyball. The thing that I think is sad is that now-a-days players have to pick a sport at a young age. I think as far as player development, it is sad that you don’t get those opportunities like we did. We needed kids or we wouldn’t have fielded teams. Allie had played basketball through her freshman year and it is just sad to say, but you have to pick, otherwise you get behind.”

Mosser played the setter position in high school and college, the same spot that her daughter had played. However, Allie moved to a different position this season with the emergence of junior Jazzmyn Tingelhoff.
 
“I was a setter and her true position is as a setter, but for this season, the role she needs to play is a little bit different for this team dynamic,” said Mosser. “I am just impressed with her with how she has dealt with it. She has stepped into a role that is not her natural role and she has embraced it. That was what that team was lacking a little and that was what we needed. If you can do it, that is what is going to help the team.”

Mosser is part of a big volleyball family. She is one of six sisters who played college volleyball. Her youngest sister, Penny, was a two-time volleyball All-American and is a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame at the University of St. Thomas. Penny’s husband, Brady Starkey, has won four national championships at Division II Concordia St. Paul. Tim Mosser, who is Nancy’s husband’s brother, is the head coach at Concordia-Morehead. 

Mosser said that her daughter would like to continue playing volleyball after high school.

“She would like to play in college,” said Mosser. “I could see her at a MIAC school. From my experience, when you’ve been a mother and gone to college and played, you have a different perspective. I truly want her to go where she finds a good fit in college. It is still about the school. She is not going to be a professional volleyball player. For her, if she can play the sport, great, but make sure the school that you go to is what fits your personality and hopefully, volleyball is just a perk that goes along with that.”

Janis Goehner helped lead Apple Valley to the first of their two state titles in 1985. She played for Walt Weaver, one of the state top volleyball coaches. Weaver would later coach her daughter, Alyssa in Juniors.

“Walt Weaver made her who she is,” said Goehner. “I played at St. Cloud State and I never would gotten there without his coaching.”

Goehner said that she was glad to see her daughter follow in her footsteps.

“I coached at Apple Valley and my kids grew up with volleyball,” said Goehner. “She played basketball like other kids, but in seventh grade she had to decide about what sport to play and she decided to play for the Northern Lights club team, so she stopped playing baksetball.”

Goehner runs the scoreboard during the Lakeville North matches.

“It keeps me focused on something else,” said Goehner. “I just stay really positive. I coached Alyssa when she was young. I’m mom. I’m not coach anymore. It doesn’t make it any less nerve-wracking. I was a setter, so she is a different position. It’s all fun.”

Her daughter committed to Marquette as a sophomore, which Goehner thinks was a good decision.
 
“She had a lot of schools very interested in her and she had a few offers,” said Goehner. “She has a lot of things going on in her life right now and she just wanted to make the decision. The reason that she choose Marquette is that she erased volleyball out of the equation and thought about where she wanted to be after college. They have an excellent physician assistant program and that is what she wants to be and they have a graduate program. The coach is just like Walt Walker. She said that she wanted to go to Marquette because of the education and because she loved Coach Bond (Shymansky). They are a decent volleyball program with an excellent coach, who is turning the program around. He is a new coach who has been there for two years.”

Goehner said that she learned plenty from Mosser, despite playing together for just one season at St. Cloud State.

“Nancy was awesome,” said Goehner. “She is an awesome setter. She ran the court. I wish that we were closer in age, so I could have played with her longer. She is awesome. We are basically best friends. She has coached Alyssa and I’ve coached Allie. They’ve been on the same team before when they were little.”

Goehner feels that it is not tough on the friendship when the two teams get together, like they will Saturday night for the right to go to state.

“I don’t think so,” said Goehner. “You just hope that each of our kids plays well.” 

The two Lakeville volleyball moms have gone from being former high school rivals to college teammates, great friends, fellow coaches and most recently mothers to two local standouts who faced each other Saturday for the section title.

By the way,