Albert Einstein wrote – "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."

SIOUX FALLS – The way Krista Goerger sees it, every day is a new opportunity even when challenged by an unprecedented Co-VID 19 pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on collegiate sports.

 

A University of Sioux Falls Volleyball senior, Goerger continues to practice with teammates for now as the Cougars hold hope to play volleyball in competition when conditions allow for it.

A tough-minded and focused competitor, Goerger has evolved into one of the leaders on USF's Volleyball Team.

"I will be grateful for the chance to play again. It's been almost a year since I've competed in a game, so whenever that day comes I'm going to be very nervous and anxious," said Goerger, a senior biology and chemistry major from Mankato, Minn., who has hopes to play matches this spring. "When we get back out there on the floor, I'm sure after a few points, it will feel normal and my instincts will take over," she said.

 
A two-time Academic All-NSIC performer, who already ranks among the best to play at USF, Goerger is called by USF Head Volleyball Coach Joel McCartney "one of the most competitive athletes I've coached at USF." 

"She is like the 'Joan of Arc' of our team with her warrior style of leadership. She has made great strides to connect with her teammates. That connection created a more authentic team captain and strengthened her ability to demand the effort and execution from the group," he said.

To get to this point at USF, Goerger, the daughter of Kim and Rich Goerger, followed in the footsteps of her sister, Jessica, a three-sport standout at Mankato West, who later played softball at St. Cloud State.

"I followed her example and then I kept playing because I became passionate and competitive about volleyball," said Goerger, who also starred for Mankato West. "One of my favorite things about competing is working hard in practice or workouts and seeing it pay off in games. I love the adrenaline and the thrill about competing in a close game and giving everything you have to win," she said.

After success at the prep level, Goerger was attracted to USF's family culture.

"I chose USF because of the competitive volleyball program, and because of the close-knit community on campus. The volleyball team and the USF community felt like family. I liked the small classes, and could see the faculty genuinely cared about each student," said Goerger.

Once on campus, she has impressed with a high skill level and has set team records from her setter position.

In 78 matches, she established a career mark of 2,397 set assists with a year to play.  Goerger has the program's two-top season marks for set assists average with 10.37 (94 sets) in 2019 and 10.36 (102 sets), in 2018. All-time, she ranks second in assists per set at 9.08 while ranking third in career service aces with 90, ranks eighth in digs and seventh all-time in digs per set at 1.72.

While the numbers have been impressive, her leadership and connection with teammates has helped USF to put together three straight winning seasons.
"My teammates are my closest friends, and they feel like family. As a team we go through so much together, good and bad, which builds a different kind of bond," said Goerger. "I love seeing everyone's unique personality and the different gifts they bring to the team. My teammates brighten my day and are people I can always depend on to be there no matter what," she said.

Off the floor Goerger excels in academics and has embraced USF's Culture of Service.

"One of my favorite days during year is Culture for Service Day," said Goerger. "It is great to students and faculty come together to help out the Sioux Falls community in so many different ways. The culture for service motto is carried all throughout campus. It is common to see people step up to help and support others in any way they can," she said.

A value structure set in place by her parents has enabled Goerger to press forward with resilience and focus.

"The biggest lesson I learned from my mom is to always believe in myself. She taught me to work hard to accomplish my goals and to never let anyone tell me I couldn't reach them," said Goerger. "My dad has showed me how to be myself and to embrace the things that make me unique."

As she works through the challenges of the pandemic, Goerger keeps her head up by leaning on friends and family. "It's easy to get down, but it helps to keep working hard and focus onto the hope of one day getting to play again. Getting back to work centers your mind on what is important and only worrying about the things you can control," said Goerger.

And when that day comes she gets compete again, she will be grateful and hitting the floor with energy and passion, noted Goerger, mentioning her favorite on-court memory was USF's upset win over nationally-ranked Concordia-St. Paul on the road to advance to the conference tournament's second round in 2018.

During her career, those instincts have play a role with Goerger being part of three straight winning teams and a combined 52-31 record. In fact, she played a key role in USF's first 20-win campaign at the DII level as the Cougars earned regional consideration and advanced to the NSIC Tournament semifinals for the first time in 2018. Additionally, she helped USF earning AVCA top-20 rankings for the first time a year ago (2019) during a 17-11 season.

She credits her teammates and coaches, Joel McCartney and Andrea McCartney, who invest their time and energy. "They (McCartneys) are always looking for ways to get better to push us to the next level. They incorporate faith into team activities and help us on our own walks of faith," she said.

After she concludes volleyball, Goerger plans to attend graduate school and then pursue a career in science with the hope of uncovering discoveries that will benefit mankind. To that end, she has worked two straight summer as a research fellow through the Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN). This past summer she worked at a research lab focusing on the effects of exercise and estrogens on type 2 diabetes.

"I want to improve people's lives through my research by either increasing knowledge about an unknown or developing a new drug therapy for diseases," said Goerger, who worked at with BRIN two summers ago on research to determine if Native Americans have an enriched allele in platelet receptors that cause an increased response resulting in a high rate of cardiovascular diseases.

"My experience at USF has taught me the value of being on a team which helps as you work with colleagues in research," said Goerger, who is appreciative and grateful for the opportunities at USF.  

"My time at USF has helped me gain confidence and believe that I can reach my dreams," she said.