STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The growing pains continue for MSU volleyball as the Spartans split their weekend road matches.
On Friday night the young Spartan lineup looked sharp as the team cruised to a smooth victory at Indiana (15-5, 15-9, 15-12). But on Saturday MSU’s inexperience provided a glaring weakness as No. 11 Penn State dominated the entire match (7-15, 5-15, 7-15).
MSU head coach Chuck Erbe said the weekend unfolded as he anticipated it would. He said MSU’s biggest weakness - inconsistency - was again the stumping point.
“We won the match we needed to win,” he said. “Against the good teams, we’ve got to get better. It’s as simple as that, we’ve just got to get better.”
Erbe said injuries to senior middle hitter Jessica Sanborn and senior outside hitter Sarah Gustin are significant losses, but added the Spartans (13-8 overall, 6-6 Big Ten) can’t dwell on the past. He said volleyball is a team sport and it’s the responsibility of the other players to step up and fill the void.
“We do have some injuries,” he said. “But you know what? You’ve got to move on. The kids that are out there have to suck it up and compete. They’ve got to give it the best they have.”
Against the less-talented Indiana team, MSU made a total of 27 errors (16 attacking, 9 serving, two receiving) and still managed to leave Bloomington, Ind. with a solid win. However, the Spartans committed 42 errors (27 attacking, 10 serving, four receiving, one blocking) against Penn State, casting a shadow of disappointment on the team.
“There’s not much you can say,” said sophomore middle hitter Angela Morley, commenting on the Spartans’ overall performance. “We all need to improve individually so the team can get better.”
Morley had a solid weekend, hitting .361 with 14 kills, five service aces and five blocks. She also committed five attacking errors and three service errors.
“We’ve got a lot of new people out there that we’re not used to playing with yet,” she said. “I think we have to work hard every day. We don’t have two seniors on the court, so individuals need to step up.”
One individual who has stepped up is junior outside hitter Erin Hartley. Hartley finished the weekend hitting .176 while collecting a team high 22 kills.
Erbe said Hartley has been a valuable weapon all season, but added the loss of Sanborn and Gustin makes her performance even more crucial.
Penn State head coach Russ Rose said the Nittany Lions gave Hartley extra attention in an attempt to take her out of the game. He said a player with her talent is almost impossible to completely neutralize.
“I have to step up and be there every night,” Hartley said. “If they key on me, they key on me, but the fact is we didn’t win the game (against Penn State).
“I know that I have to get that many more swings and that many more kills for the team to be successful. I just want to do my job and help carry the team.”
Hartley said it’s nice to play well personally, but added if the final outcome is a loss it doesn’t mean anything. She said the Spartans host Illinois and Purdue this weekend and need to prepare.
“We made some mistakes we shouldn’t have, and we usually don’t make them,” she said. “The fact is, we shouldn’t have been making mistakes. We just need to remain focused this next week in practice and forget about the past few games because we can’t do anything about them.”
On the positive side, Erbe said the play of the freshmen continues to impress him. He said they have a long career ahead of them and he expects the opportunities they’re getting now to pay off this spring and next fall.
“I’m very pleased with the younger players,” he said. “They bring a lot of energy, a lot of excitement and a lot of competitive fervor to the floor.”
Erbe said the young players are learning as they go and how they deal with the pressure will determine the remainder of the season.
“It’s all a matter of attitude and application,” he said. “I told them in the locker room (Saturday), ‘You can either look backward at all the monsters or you can look forward at the opportunities.’”
