For the MSU volleyball team, the time is now.
"If there was any team that is ready to have a breakout year, it's this one," head coach Chuck Erbe said.
The Spartans are expected to place in the national top 20 in preseason polls, and were predicted to place third in the Big Ten this season. The Spartans return a third-year captain in senior setter Nikki Colson and preseason All-Big Ten selection Jenny Rood.
But Erbe isn't worried about where the team is ranked at the beginning of the season. He knows rankings don't equal success and the team's schedule will be the true test of how good this team will be.
"This team is as talented as any team ever at MSU," Erbe said. "It has the best leadership."
Colson said she has been pushing the team all summer for workouts and training and feels the hard work and senior leadership will result in championships.
"As a senior class, we have been committed to this team, especially this summer," Colson said. "We expect everyone to come out every Friday and Saturday night and give a Big Ten championship effort. If we do that, we'll have success."
Rood said the team has built an extreme amount of trust with one another to form a strong, devoted team nucleus.
"I expect our team to play guts out, no regrets," he said.
An improvement on last season will be tough to top. Last year, MSU went to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, losing to eventual national champions USC. The Spartans wound up ranked No. 22 in the nation.
A tall order, but Erbe thinks his team is above it - in the beginning of the season, especially.
"We are going to get a measure of how good we are early," Erbe said. "Our non-conference schedule is great for us."
The Spartans open the season at the Maryland Tournament, where they will face the hosting Terrapins, Tennessee and Villanova. After that the road gets a little tougher, when the team travels to tournaments at South Carolina and Colson's home state of Nebraska.
"North Carolina, South Carolina, and all the teams at the Nebraska tournament will be nationally ranked teams," Erbe said.
In his 10th season as head volleyball coach in 2002, Erbe and the squad posted a 21-12 record (11-9 Big Ten).
The team opens the Big Ten season on Sept. 26 against Penn State, one of two teams picked ahead of MSU in the preseason Big Ten polls.
Minnesota was picked to repeat as champs and Penn State as runner-up.
But with five returning starters and eleven returning letter winners, expectations are high.
The team knows the expectations and feels it can have a successful season because of size and experience.
"Physically, we match up with any team in the country," Erbe said.
