Head coach Cathy George talks with the her team during the volleyball game against Ohio State Oct. 20, 2012 at Jenison Field House. MSU lost the game 3-1 and is set to play against Indiana on Oct. 26. Danyelle Morrow/The State News
—When the MSU volleyball team found out they were slated to play San Diego in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans didn’t know very much about their next opponent.
So little, in fact, that most people at the viewing party were unsure of little more than the geographic location of their tournament foe.
The team that plays in the West Coast Conference held a lot of mystery, but head coach Cathy George still knows the bare basics about San Diego (21-6 overall, 13-3 WCC) heading into the team’s NCAA Tournament matchup.
“San Diego is a very defensive-minded team, and we knew that right off the get-go,” George said.
Some other quick facts that the Spartans (23-9, 11-9) found out early was how successful of a season their upcoming opponent has had. After compiling a 13-3 record in their conference, the Toreros claimed a share of the WCC title after a win over then-No. 13 Brigham Young.
Since finding out the pairings on Sunday, the Spartans had three days to scout and get a better idea of the squad from “Anchorman” Ron Burgundy’s home town.
“They definitely are led by their middle attack and (junior middle hitter Katie Hoekman), and they really have a lot of balance in their offense,” George said.
The Toreros also are known for their offensive balance, as five players average more than two kills per set.
Another discovery that the Spartans found is that San Diego plays an identical style to them, playing in a 6-2 system, which allows for six players to act as hitters while two others act as setters. The style is conducive to well-rounded players with multiple skill sets on the floor, combining dynamic talent with general versatility.
Junior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski believes that MSU is the only team in the Big Ten to run that system, and also mentioned that San Diego plays a different variation of the style than the Spartans do.
“We know they run a 6-2 like us, so they are very similar to us, but their blocking is a little bit different than what we do,” Wicinski said. “They play a little different of a style than us, but they are going to have to get used to our style as well.”
Despite not going up against a lot of teams that run a 6-2, sophomore libero Kori Moster said that the Spartans will not have to make a lot of adjustments during the match against San Diego.
“That’s the beauty of our system,” Moster said. “We really don’t have to change our game plan in order to exploit a lot of the teams that we play.”
The Spartans head out to Los Angeles to take on the Toreros on Friday at 8:30 p.m. at UCLA’s New Pauley Pavilion.
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