DAYTON (OH) — In one weekend, Centerville, OH native Janna Krafka went from a relative unknown and untested freshman on the University of Dayton Volleyball team to Queen of the Court. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Flyer Classic in her first Division I collegiate tournament as she helped lead UD to upset victories against #7 Illinois and #11 Pepperdine and the program’s highest national ranking ever at #11 in this week’s AVCA Poll.

You’re probably thinking Janna is a new offensive star who stands 6’4″ and jumps out of the gym and is the next future All American hitter following in the footsteps of Flyer greats like Lindsay Fletemier and Faye Barhorst. After all, all-tournament teams are usually dominated by big hitters. But Janna stands just 5’5″ and plays the libero defensive specialist position. She is hardly an intimidating presence when she steps onto the volleyball court…right up until you serve her the ball. She then passes the ball directly to the setter almost every time, making it look like such a simple skill. This is not a simple skill. It’s in fact the most difficult and important thing to do on a volleyball court.

Janna didn’t become a Dayton player and the passer she is today without some major coaching intervention and even a little luck. Her first coach Yoon Ha (Kingdom Volleyball Club) began working with her when she was in 5th grade. He had also coached Janna’s older sister who was a setter. Yoon Ha has the reputation as being a very tough technical taskmaster which he doesn’t deny. Because Janna’s sister was a very good setter it was only natural that Janna became a setter too. She was not only an accomplished setter, but at age 13 she was the best setter in the Dayton-area clubs. And, here is where great foresight and luck for Janna came into play. Yoon took the best setter in the area and moved her to libero.

Moving from setter to libero would be similar to moving from QB to offensive line in football. You are moving from the glamour position to a position where only volleyball purists truely appreciate brilliance. Janna’s family was a little concerned about the move but decided to trust Yoon. Yoon said that Janna had always shown great hand-eye coordination and that she was going to be too short for the setter position in college. And at 5’5″ Janna would not have become a setter for Dayton. She probably would have been a Division III setter. Janna said “When I first started playing libero it was a big change. By the time I was 14 I fell in love with passing and enjoy passing more now than I would setting. I wouldn’t be playing in college if it weren’t for Coach Ha”.

Coach Ha and Coach Pete Wung (Dayton Juniors Volleyball Club) began working with Janna on her libero skills such as squaring up for every receive, getting as low as possible and having a great platform. If you watch Janna closely you can see she squares up very very well and that her platform remains the same even if she dives for the ball. Janna said that the key to becoming a great serve receiver is getting lots of repetition and having a great coach helping you with your platform.

Janna played for Dayton Juniors for six years before following Coach Ha to the new Kingdom Volleyball last year. Coach Wung of the Dayton Juniors describes Janna as a gym rat who worked her butt off with her technique and reading and watching volleyball to continue improving. He said “Her passing is amazing and she will continue to get better and better defensively as she learns to read the block and how it sets up at UD”. Janna was in full agreement and said “My defense is a little rough right now”.

Even though Janna played really well in national tournaments as a libero, that position and the players who play it are often overlooked for sexy outside hitters that jump high and hit the ball hard. I personally don’t understand this because a great libero is worth several points a game and can make plays that change the outcome of a match. Janna was initially only recruited by Xavier. Janna said “I really wasn’t sure what was going to happen” when asked about her chances to get a college scholarship. “My coaches convinced me to send out tapes and attend college volleyball camps. Playing in college has always been my goal but I didn’t know what was going to happen.”.

She didn’t have any colleges ready to offer a scholarship when her club season ended. That changed when Coach Wung and Coach Ha convinced Coach Sheffield to take a serious look at her. Janna attended a Dayton Volleyball Camp and “blew us away” said Kelly Sheffield.

Janna’s family has season basketball tickets. She had attended UD basketball games and some UD volleyball matches but she really planned on going to Xavier. That changed when she attended camp and, “I found out what UD was all about,” she said. Coach Sheffield found a way to get Janna onto the team and Janna’s dream of playing college volleyball had come true.

The only task remaining for Coach Ha was to help Janna with serve receive in preparation to play Division I volleyball. So they decided receiving 500 serves per day would be great preparation for fall practice at UD. “I like to get a lot of reps” said Janna as she laughed. At UD, Janna is now under the tutelage of Assisitant Coach Brittany Dildine, one of the best passers I have watched play (in practice and scrimmages). As a collegiate player, Brittany was the starting libero for Purdue so Coach Ha’s great student will continue to receive top guidance.

It has been a great ride for Janna to become a Flyer but her best volleyball is ahead of her. Coach Ha believes that playing for a technical coach like Kelly Sheffield is a perfect fit for Janna as he will help her to improve every week. I’m looking forward to watching her and Paige Vargus play together this season and hope that you are too.

Janna played so well in the preseason that she replaced Paige as the starting libero, a position which Paige has held for three years. Major Major Kudos to Paige who played fantastic last weekend and took as much pleasure as anyone for some of the great plays that Janna made. Paige is truely a leader on the court this year, a role every great team needs and she has greatly improved her passing in the past three seasons. Together she and Janna make a tremendous back row tandem on defense and serve receive. Paige is certainly a positive influence on Janna. “Paige is an awesome teammate,” Janna said. “She has really helped me out in the beginning teaching me positioning and defense”.

Janna said that her and the other freshman are all very happy with their decision to attend UD. Janna said, “We love the energy and atmosphere at the Frerick’s Center. Everyone on campus is so nice and (willing to) open the door for you”.

Sometimes a diamond in the rough falls into your lap and polishes to a brilliant shine and becomes the center piece of the crown jewels, fitting to be worn only by the Queen of the Court. If this past weekend was the coronation, Dayton Volleyball fans are in for a Royal-ride over the next four years.

Many thanks to Coach Ha from the Kingdom Volleyball Club and Coach Wung from Dayton Juniors Club for their input. These are two tremendous coaches that your kids can learn from.