We are family ...

The Dreisbach clan's lineage shows long line of successful, gifted athletes

By Stephen Trimble
Senior Staff Writer

The voice crackled through the loudspeaker as class started -- volleyball try-outs would begin after school.

Seventh-grader Molly Dreisbach, chatting with friends, figured: why not? It could be fun.

So she went.

About a dozen years later, the 6-foot-2 Dreisbach is captain and star of the UK volleyball team. Entering her senior year, she is nearing the top of several Wildcat career records, including kills, block assists and attack attempts.

And, lest we forget, she's also an Academic All-American.

Destiny?

Some would write off Dreisbach's incidental introduction to sports. Purely happenstance, they would say.

But it was bound to happen.

Sooner or later, Dreisbach was going to play.

In high school, she was a stand-out on three varsity teams -- basketball, track and, of course, volleyball.

But this was destined.

Dreisbach, after all, was neither the first nor the last of her clan to be gifted in gym shoes.

Her grandfather, Ed Ehlers, played basketball, football and baseball for Purdue. He was the first player ever drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1947.

And, by the way, the Chicago Bears and the New York Yankees also drafted him. Ehlers chose to forgo the football invitation so he could still play two sports.

Dreisbach's uncle, Tom Ehlers, should be a familiar name for Wildcat fans. He captained the 1974 UK football team as a linebacker and later played for the Buffalo Bills and the Philadelphia Eagles.

The third-oldest child, Andy Dreisbach, is redshirting this year as a linebacker for the UK football team. He also lettered in wrestling for three years in high school.

It's tough to be a redshirt this year, he says. He practices hard all week, but doesn't get a chance to perform on Saturday.

Although he often gets advice from his older brother, who has just finished his redshirt season -- at Michigan.

The older brother, Scott Dreisbach, is now the starting quarterback for the Wolverines.

"It was never hard trying to find a pick-up game," Andy recalled after a practice recently.

Scott, at 6-foot-4, usually wins, Molly said, but competition is tough. Andy, in fact, sprained his ankle playing basketball with Molly on Memorial Day. It was the last time the family was together.

In the meantime, Scott has earned celebrity status.

In the Michigan QB's first collegiate start three weeks ago, he completed a long pass in the endzone with just seconds left on the clock. The touchdown beat Virginia 18-17.

The Dreisbach brothers are used to pressure.

After all, they helped defend the regular-season winning streak of Penn High School, in Mishawaka, Ind. The proud Penn Athletics Director Dennis Harper said that the streak, which started in the mid-1980s, still stands today -- at 78 games.

The streak is partly due to Scott's strong throwing arm and Andy's tackling.

"Obviously (the Dreisbachs) have contributed a great amount," Harper said.

Obviously is an understatement.

Both Scott and Andy were standout starters on the football team during much of their high school careers.

The Dreisbach name is known well in Mishawaka, a population of roughly 40,000.

"We always know when they're around," said Sharon Long, a secretary at Penn's rival, Mishawaka High School.

And the Dreisbach's are still around.

Katie Dreisbach is a junior at Penn -- and, naturally, a three-sport star in volleyball, basketball and track.

The youngest child, baby brother Mitch Dreisbach, just started his athletic career at Schmucker Middle School in Mishawaka.

He plays tight end for his seventh grade team.

His team lost Tuesday night, but he scored Schmucker's only touchdown -- catching a short pass and then breaking into a 40-yard run to the endzone.

His family floods him with advice.

Play hard, hustle, give 100 percent, they say.

"I try my best, and then I just hope I make the team," Mitch said Tuesday.

He will.

It's destiny.