Volleyball looks to build off Sweet 16 in 2011

The IU women’s volleyball team is coming off its best season in program history, in which they advanced to a Sweet 16 appearance in last year’s NCAA tournament.
However, IU Coach Sherry Dunbar recognizes last year will not have any direct affect on the team’s record this season.

“I think what the success of last year does is it gives you confidence,” Dunbar said. “It doesn’t give you any wins, but it definitely gives you confidence to say, ‘We trust what we are doing. We know that it is working.’ So now we have to figure out how to keep moving forward.”

The team opens the season Friday at the Hokie Classic at Virginia Tech.

After losing All-American middle blocker Ashley Benson to graduation and outside hitter Jordan Haverly to a season-ending knee injury, the team will have to adjust to a new core group.

Last season, then-sophomore Haverly led the team with 463 kills.

After last year’s success, she was regarded as one of the Big Ten’s top players to watch coming into this season.

Now that she’s absent, Dunbar said the team’s playing style may be a bit unorthodox as the coaching staff figures out who will step up.

“We have two lefties (Kelci Marschall and Kristen Seaton), so we are trying to figure out where they will fit in the lineup,” Dunbar said. “We are really trying to figure out who can handle a bigger load, who wants the pressure and who can sustain playing a lot more with more pressure than they did last year.”

Marschall, a 6-foot-2-inch junior and right-side hitter, was third on the team last year with 287 kills and will need to help replace Haverly’s production.

“We aren’t really looking to replace her, just trying to find different ways to be successful,” Marschall said. “You have to have a lot of versatility at the college level to be successful, so that’s what we all have to work on.”

Along with Marschall, Dunbar said junior outside hitter Ivie Obeime has come into the season ready to take on more responsibility as an all-around player.

“They both played three rotations last year, so this year we are trying to see if they can both play six rotations and handle the passing, the serving, the defensive part, plus the front row,” Dunbar said. “They really busted it this spring and summer. You can see it. Physically, they’ve gotten stronger. They are leaner, and I think they can handle that pressure a little bit more, but they are still learning.”

Leadership and communication have been some important aspects Obeime said she has been trying to practice more this season.

“I think I need to step up as a leader and start communicating on the court more this year,” Obeime said. “We have five new girls coming in ready to do work, and it’s going to be a different year.”

Dunbar said she has faith the transition for all the new players will go smoothly because of the level of success they have already achieved.

“The biggest thing we did when we got here as a program was to bring in winners,” Dunbar said. “People that understand and expect to win, and these kids expect to win.”

As the season begins, the pressure of trying to top the program’s most successful year may present a challenge to this year’s team.

Marschall said last year’s success can only help moving forward.

“It’s something you know you have and you kind of keep it in your back pocket and remember you were good enough to get there, but it’s in your back pocket and you move forward with that,” Marschall said. “You build with new members and different strengths.”