Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Volleyball Hopes To Build On Recent Success In 2003
08/21/2003 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 21, 2003
by Lou Antoine
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. The Southern Illinois University volleyball team enters the 2003 season with high expectations after a 23-10 season, which included a third place MVC regular season finish (tying SIUs best MVC record at 12-6 in 1998) and SIU's first MVC Tournament final in 2002.
Head coach Sonya Locke will have little experience to rely upon following SIU's best season since 1985, and may face her greatest challenge as a coach with only five returning players (four who played). That group includes two part-time starters and one senior, that she must mesh with 12 newcomers, including 11 incoming freshmen.
"Anytime you have a great season, people will expect you to follow it up with another great season. I don't think we should try to force this group to be like last years team. Theres no way that can happen. We had so much experience, knowledge and MVC savvy in 2002, and theres no way that we should lay those kinds of expectations on our 2003 team. To expect them to do what last years team did or better is totally unfair to them. I think theres a safe way to lay expectations on any team," said Locke.
"Were excited about the players that are coming in and they want to be at SIU. Its going to be fun. They're a good group of people and they're ready to compete at this level. Well train them as hard as we can. Collectively, physically they're talented and we wont have to worry about them gradewise."
Locke must replace eight of SIU's top ten players with the young group, including four-year starters Kristie Kemner and Tara Cains, three-year starters Lindsey Schultz and Qiana Nelson, starting setter Britten Follett and libero Lisa Ciucci (accepted to medical school as a junior). Kemner (1st Team), Schultz (1st Team) and Follett (2nd Team) were named all-MVC in 2002. Follett was also named to the Verizon Academic All-American First Team, only the fifth volleyball player to earn that honor.
In 2002, Kemner set SIU career records in kills (1660), attempts (4359), digs (1355) and double-doubles (60), while also setting single season records in kills (573), attempts (1450), digs (503) and attempts in a match (74). Her 31 kills vs Illinois State and 30 kills vs Bradley are tied for third and seventh overall respectively at SIU in a single match.
Schultz finished second at SIU in career hitting percentage (.311), fourth in career block assists (284), ninth in career block solos (71) and ninth in block assists for a season (93). Follett set an SIU record with 1444 assists in a single season and had 69 assists vs Bradley, which is seventh in a single game in SIU history. Kemner, Schultz and Follett also left marks in the MVC record book.
"You have to know you're not going to replace those athletes. You cant let yourself down by placing that level of expectation on our newcomers. We tried to find the hardest working athletes we could find. People who could see themselves competing at SIU and in the MVC, as well as the region. What we kept finding was a consistency in their desire to be on a team that they felt could be successful. They wanted to come in and continue the level of play and consistency we hope to have in our program. We know what we lost and the magnitude and the impact of those seniors," added Locke.
Now the question is, who will Locke depend on to lead in 2003?
"I cant say who I expect to lead since our leadership graduated. We have a senior, two juniors and two sophomores returning. Those that were all-MVC are gone, but I expect the returners to come back ready to go and share their experience with the others about how fun it was to play in the MVC Tournament," Locke said. "I hope they tell them how they were treated, what it was like to have the MVC Tournament final match televised and beat a team like Illinois State that we had never beaten before (previous 24 matches under Locke). At minimum they can share how much fun it was, the positive things they received from being there and how hard the matches were. They made the most of the opportunity at the MVC Tournament."
The reigning Missouri Valley Conference and National Black Coaches Association (BCA) Female Coach-of-the-Year will look to junior middle blocker Carrie Shephard to lead the returnees. Shephard played in 29 matches and 89 games with 82 kills, 31 aces, 78 total blocks and 56 digs. Junior defensive specialist Erica Miller played in 29 matches and 76 games with 143 digs, 12 aces and 22 assists. Her 22 assists leads all returning players. Sophomore middle blocker Marissa Washington played in 48 games, totaling 57 kills, 40 total blocks and eight aces. The final returning player with experience is lone senior Kelly Harman, an outside hitter that played in 13 games with 10 digs and six kills.
As far as who will start, Locke says its really up for grabs now.
The middle is where SIU returns the most experience with Shephard and Washington, who will likely share the middle blocker position. Competition will come from freshmen Haley Hann (Littleton, Colo.), Katy DeWulf (Murphysboro, Ill.) and Johannah Yutzy (Plain City, Ohio).
The setters job is wide open. Freshmen Holly Marita (Pleasant Prairie, Wisc.) and Monica Laird (Minneapolis, Minn.) are the two incoming freshmen setters who will compete for the job. Marita (58, All-State) and Laird (56, All-Conference) have great club experience, but the ability to play the game above the net could be the issue that decides who starts. Sophomore walk-on Danielle Lech is the lone setter returning.
The biggest question will be which of the many outside hitters will play. The position is open on both sides and Harman will be the only athlete on the roster with experience at the position.
"The outside hitting position has two spots wide open. Kelly (Harman) has a leg up on the newcomers because she knows the offense, defense and the conference. Everybody that is an outside hitter will be able to show me what they have. All the rightside hitters will have a shot with no one returning at all. Its going to be an internal dogfight," added Locke.
Harman will face competition from freshmen Ashley Saverine (Brookfield, Wisc.), Claire Antoine (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada), Jaime Hinsenkamp (Milwaukee, Wisc.), Erin Strathdee (Moline, Ill.) and Jene Pulliam (Rockford, Ill.), in addition to local junior college product Jessica Roth (John. A. Logan), a 58 junior from Chester, Ill. Saverine (510) is an all-state performer and Antoine (511), Hinsenkamp (510), Strathdee (510) and Pulliam (511) are all-conference players, who will give Locke plenty of depth, if not start.
Miller is the lone returner to the back row and she will be pushed by freshman walk-on Vanessa Zidek (Shelbyville, Ill.), who must learn the defensive system as quickly as possible.
Locke hopes the 12 newcomers provide the benefit of added depth despite their youth.
"We don't expect to have just seven or eight people contribute. This is an opportunity to have a lot of different people contribute at a lot of different times and not rely on a certain number of people and that will be a blessing. It would be nice to pull someone off the bench and get the same level of play, that's a blessing in disguise and I hope it turns out that way. I hope we have 10 or 11 people who can play at a high level and that will be to our advantage and something to look forward to this season."
Locke understands there will be pressure on her young team to repeat the stellar performance of 2002, despite the loss of eight players. Although the Salukis were picked seventh in the 2003 MVC Coaches Preseason poll, Locke believes this young group can get back to the MVC Tournament (top six) for the second straight year and go on a consistant basis.
"The level of consistency we are building is to be in the MVC Tournament regularly, not just every few years. That was a bad spell for us (1999-2001) and we don't want to repeat that. We want to reach the tournament again and its not too far-fetched. There was a team that did that last year with a young group (Wichita State)," said Locke.
With all the youth, her goal is to get the newcomers up to speed and let them become their own team. The veteran coach thinks this group of newcomers can add to the foundation that has been laid by the previous team and leave its own legacy in the end.
"Our hope is that we can help this group experience something of that magnitude (2002 MVC Tournament Final) or as close as possible earlier in their careers and not just one year like the last group had (as seniors), stated Locke, who will not make excuses for her 2003 team."
"Were going to work hard. We have to win some road matches to get to the conference tournament, but were not going to go into the season saying were young and we shouldn't expect to do well because its too difficult for them. Anything's possible! As we go along, we wont talk about them being freshman or losing all-MVC players because its not about the past, its what this group can do together that could possibly exceed the past group."
With a young team, Locke felt it was important to start that process by opening the 2003 schedule with a tournament at home before taking the freshmen on the road.
"Our goal was to start at home and we did that, but well be on the road three straight weeks after that, but it was important to open at home. Were taking it one step at a time and we need to play good competition. We may face some conference champs that we have a chance to beat so we didnt overload ourselves by facing a national power like Stanford this year."
Look for Locke's young, athletic group to compete hard and play at a consistent level in 2003, hopefully earning an MVC Tournament bid.
