Madison, Wis. - The concept seems to be pretty cut and dry in an NCAA Tournament game - either win and keep playing or pack your bags.

But for the Spartan volleyball team, things aren’t quite as simple.

Instead of dwelling on what went wrong in a 3-0 loss to the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday, Spartan head coach Chuck Erbe decided to look ahead.

And what he saw was reason enough to smile.

“I felt this team has had a great season, and certainly a loss here doesn’t diminish anything that this team has accomplished this season,” he said. “There were only two teams that went 9-1, and there was only one team that won the Ohio State-Penn State road trip.And that was us, and I’m proud of that.”

And though losing senior outside hitter Erin Hartley, MSU’s fifth-highest kill producer in history with 1,508 career kills, will hurt, the Spartans have the young guns to step up in her absence.

Sophomore setter Nikki Colson said she noticed one player starting to emerge as a future leader during the Wisconsin loss - junior outside hitter Kyla Smith.

“I thought Kyla Smith did a phenomenal job of stepping up,” Colson said. “I thought she carried this team (Saturday), and without her it could have been a lot worse.

“I think she really stepped up and showed that she’s going to be our leader next year.”

And Smith isn’t the only Spartan who has set the stage for an exciting 2002 campaign.

Junior middle blocker Angela Morley was the Spartans’ third-highest blocker with 491 total blocks.

Freshman outside hitter Kim Schram emerged as the season went on, establishing herself as a major offensive threat.

Sophomore middle blocker Jenny Rood will have a full season as a middle under her belt and should continue her improvement.

And Colson, Erbe said, will only be hungrier next season.

“Colson got her first taste of the Big Ten this year,” Erbe said. “And you can see what type of competitor she is.”

All of the defensive specialists return with a season of experience to draw from, something none really had before the season.

With all those ingredients returning, cooking up success shouldn’t be too hard for Erbe.

“We’ve got a great group of younger players coming up after them, and mark my words, we’ll be back,” he said. “And we’ll be back strong.”

And even though the Spartans’ season ended with a loss, Rood said it doesn’t overshadow the team’s success.

“One game doesn’t make the entire season,” Rood said. “This team showed a lot of character the second half of this season, and this team is going to be getting better and better.”

And the Spartans did that, rolling through nine of 10 conference games in the second half of the season, only coming up short to the Badgers.

“This whole second half of the season shifted our entire program,” Morley said. “It started something, and we’ll only get better in the future.”

Erbe said losing doesn’t just end this season - it provides the framework for a stable future.

“This is not an ending - this is a beginning,” he said. “You’re going to see these young ladies a lot in NCAA Tournament competition. Believe me, this is just the start.”