In last Saturday’s 3-0 win over George’s alma mater Illinois State,Fitterer and Christenson both had eight kills. Fitterer also added three blocks, two of which were solo.

George said her freshman were standouts in the game, and did a good job at taking advantage of the defensive pressure being focused on senior outside hitter Lauren Wicinski and senior middle blocker Alexis Mathews.

“The focus of Illinois State was really Lauren Wicinski and Alexis Mathews, and to see our freshman be able to pull blocks away from them was very exciting,” George said. “They did a great job.”

Beyond taking classes and participating in camps, the Spartans used the summer to make sure the freshmen were up to speed with the pace of the college game.

The work done during the summer is playing dividends for the team thus far in the season.

“(George) pretty much came out and said, ‘Work every day, work hard,’” Christenson said. “Coming in during preseason and working your butt off really helps you push that last fifth game, learning how to push yourself.”

Fitterer said the team has been very supportive so far, which has aided the transition.

“Even though I came in as a freshman, the older girls didn’t treat me as a freshman,” Fitterer said. “I came in, I didn’t do something right, and they would tell me.”

Christenson has maintained a good attitude about her position shift from middle blocker to outside hitter thus far and said her teammates and the coaching staff has her back.

“There’s a few things I’m not (familiar with),” Christenson said. “I don’t know everything, all the tricks of the outside. I’m learning still, which is good … I know (George) trusts me and I know they trust me. It’s getting there.”

It doesn’t hurt to have an outside hitter such as Wicinski as an example of how to play the position right. Wicinski might hit the record books this weekend as she guns for her 2,000th kill, a huge accomplishment in volleyball.

“She’s a great role model for them and they learn a lot, and we just get better and better with that, with those experiences,” George said.

Overall, George is seeing growth from the two young players. In high school, the level of competition is lighter, and it’s easier to work for a kill. Now that Christenson and Fitterer are college athletes, they’re learning it takes additional skills, such as timing, deception and decisiveness, to put points on the board.

George compared it to learning a new golf swing; though the swing might suffer a bit initially, it will improve as time goes on.

“We’re seeing them break out a little bit in terms of their shot selection, and that will make us stronger as time goes on, as they mold into the players that have already learned how to do that,” George said.

Fitterer didn’t anticipate being featured so heavily in the rotation early on. Ultimately, she’s happy about the way things turned out.

“I didn’t think I would start as much as I have, but seeing that I can make so much of an impact is really awesome for me, and that everyone is really awesome as well,” she said. “I just love being on this team.”