In Karen Maisenhalder’s time (1976-79) the support volleyball received at Towson was quite different from contemporary times and it wasn’t until her final season with the Tigers that change, albeit ever so slight, began.
“No one was really recruited for volleyball when I came to Towson,” says Karen who graduated from Parkville High School where she was named Most Athletic in her senior year. “We all seemed to come from local schools. We knew each other from playing against one another in high school.”
Strides for more recognition for volleyball on campus gained speed with two program amenities in Karen’s senior year; scholarships and shoes.
“When I was a senior I was one of the first volleyball players to receive what they called a Tiger Grant scholarship,” said Karen, who, like her teammates, was not recruited but walked-on. “It was small, $250.00 but our tuition back then was $500.00 so it definitely helped.”
In those early days it wasn’t necessary that players stop by the equipment room before practice to retrieve their gear. There wasn’t anything for them to pick up. They home laundered practice clothes and game uniforms. There was one common lockeroom that was shared by every women’s team.
“As seniors we got excited because they actually provided us with our first volleyball shoes,” said Karen who played middle hitter. “That sort of put us on the cutting edge. Also that year they moved our matches from Burdick Hall to the Towson Center that was, wow for us.”
Those 1979 Tigers responded by winning the Maryland Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women’s (MAIAW) state championship. It was the program’s first title. Karen, who was a Tiger captain, was named to the All-Tournament team.
While in her youth volleyball wasn’t offered yet at the recreation level, softball was and Karen took full advantage of it.
“We played backyard volleyball growing up because organized team volleyball wasn’t available to us,” Karen recalleed. “But there was softball and I began playing when I was about 10.”
Karen played throughout high school but didn’t don a Tiger softball uniform until her senior year.
“I had to work part-time to help pay for my education,” she said, “so I umpired high school softball games. After three years I wanted to enjoy my last year at Towson. I made the softball team and started every game, mostly at first base.”
She batted .365 and drove in a team high 19 runs. That effort, coupled with her volleyball accomplishments, earned her the university’s 1980 Female Athlete of the Year award. She became the first volleyball player to be so recognized.
Karen graduated with a degree in geography and environmental planning. She went directly to work for the Maryland Department of Planning where she retired after 36 years of service. She extended her volleyball and softball careers beyond Towson, competing on a USVBA Double A team in the mid-Atlantic circuit and playing unlimited fastpitch then slo pitch softball for a number of years.
