“When you (lose) one kid, it’s pretty debilitating and you have to adjust some things, but now we’re in a situation where it’s like, there’s so many; it’s been a little frustrating,” Merchant said. “There’s not much you can do about it. Our team is there; we’re going to have to get a lot of the girls that we have.”

She said MSU is a special place to her because all the coaches encourage one another if any of them are going through a particularly tough time.

“Instead of getting a phone call about Madison Williams, (team orthopedic surgeon) Dr. (Mike) Shingles comes to my house at 11 p.m.,” she said. “The next day at 7:30 a.m., my phone rings and it’s (athletics director Mark) Hollis and (men’s basketball Tom) Izzo. (Volleyball coach) Cathy George called (and hockey coach) Tom Anastos. I think we’re all in it together.”

In the team’s two exhibition games against Saginaw Valley State on Thursday and Grand Valley State on Sunday, Merchant said even though the timing of the injuries was unfortunate, she saw a vast improvement from the first game to the second.

“When we lost those kids, it was game week, Thursday and Sunday game week, so you have to prepare for a Saginaw and Grand Valley and do your stuff,” she said. “I did like what I saw on Sunday. It wasn’t perfect, but I thought compared to Thursday night, I saw some progress, especially on the defensive side of the ball. It was Grand Valley, it was Division II, but given the circumstances, I thought our kids responded, and after watching the film, certainly, we’re capable of doing some things; we’ve just got to grind it out.”

Merchant said she got another call on Thursday from head football coach Mark Dantonio, whose team is going though similar injury issues to the women’s basketball team.

“He talked about the number-one thing is to stay optimistic,” Merchant said. “I think the one thing (is), as coaches, you put pressure on yourself and you want to do well. Now that the shock has worn off, you look at the good things we have.”