All summer, the MSU volleyball team has been lifting weights and conditioning, trying to increase strength and endurance for the upcoming season.
With two days until the team’s first regular season matchup, the No. 15 Spartans have been focusing mostly on their skills. They know the pieces to the puzzle must fit in time for Friday’s game against Georgetown in the Coca-Cola/MSU Volleyball Classic.
Every team member, including head coach Chuck Erbe, has had nothing but praise to say about the team’s defense. Still, Erbe is focused on making the unit even better.
“Our defense is as good as I’ve ever seen it this early in the season for as long as I’ve been here at Michigan State, but we still have to work on it,” said Erbe, who is entering his 10th season as head coach.
“Though our defense is strong, we still have to work on our coordination and get our blocking a little more solid.
“I mean, we’re playing really fast, and when you play fast, the players just have to get used to making better reads around the block because of the speed. There is a lot more adjusting to angles on the floor when you play fast, and that’s what they’re still learning how to do.”
Offensively, the Spartans are still battling with their serving problem. Erbe said the serving has haunted and plagued his MSU teams for years.
As a three-year letter winner, senior Angela Morley herself has witnessed the serving problem year after year.
“Our serving was very shaky in the Green & White game,” said Morley, a preseason All-Big Ten Team selection. “We’re really working hard on our serving, but we don’t want to focus on that too much because we don’t want it in the back of our minds. But that is something we definitely need to improve on before this weekend.”
With eight of the top nine players back in uniform, one might think the Spartans wouldn’t have trouble on the court.
“We’re really working on gelling as a team,” Morley said. “That’s very important, and Chuck has been working with all of us to make sure we’re meshing.”
Yet the juggling of players has made meshing a harder task.
“In any given match, you don’t know who Chuck is going to put in, so you have to be comfortable with everyone,” junior Jenny Rood said. “He switches players around all the time in practice so you have to play well with every teammate.”
This week, Erbe penciled in his starting six for Friday’s 7 p.m. match at Jenison Field House. Junior Nikki Colson will start at setter while senior Kyla Smith will start as an outside hitter on the right side. Rood and Morley will be in the middle while junior Sarah Villwock and sophomore Kim Schram will be outside hitters on the left side.
While Erbe said senior Emily Engel will be the defensive specialist, he said the “libero” position is the only one in question.
Even with all the starting positions nearly filled, Erbe said the intrateam competition is still escalating.
“We are deep enough that we have plenty of competition, and that’s a real positive thing because you don’t know what’s going to happen from day to day,” Erbe said.
“As a result of that competition, no one on this team can get complacent. If they do, they can be substituted if the people competing against them are doing the job in practice.”
If practice is any indicator, it would be unlikely for the Spartans to relax two days before their first regular-season matchup.
“Really, all we need to do is take care of our side of the court,” Rood said. “If we do that, we’ll be fine.”
