Baby snakes don't have much control over their muscular functions, which makes them more dangerous than adult snakes.
That inspired IU volleyball's motto for 2017, "release the venom."
With a roster consisting of 11 underclassmen out of 16 players, IU looks to its young players for energy this season.
Sophomore outside hitter Kendall Beerman and senior captain right-side hitter Elizabeth Asdell said they are looking to release the venom on their opponents this year and hit them from all angles.
IU's coaches have tried to smoothly transition the game plan and strategies with this year's young team during the offseason.
“We are simplifying things, that’s the training method we’ve found to work for a young team,” IU Coach Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan said. “The more we simplify things, the way better they process it and maintain it.”
Dunbar-Kruzan used words like vivacious and energetic to describe her young team. She said the passion of the younger players helps the older players get back into the kind of mindset that they once had.
“The freshmen have been awesome so far,” Beerman said. “They came in and didn’t have to catch up at all. They picked up on everything so quick, which has helped us a lot.”
Communication is a focal point for the team as it prepares for the upcoming season. The team is looking to get rid of their “ra-ra” talk, phrases such as “come on," “you got it," “right here." Instead, they look to give more feedback and advice rather than saying the same things over and over.
The Hoosiers went on a team retreat a few weeks ago to the Wooded Glen Retreat and Conference Center in Henryville, Indiana. Asdell said it was the best team-building retreat she has been on.
“We were put in a lot of different situations physically that really challenged us mentally at the same time," Asdell said. "To work together and figure out situations, which definitely helped us out as a team."
At the Cream and Crimson Day scrimmage on Aug. 19, when the team squared off against one another, the coaches applauded the intensity players brought to the match, as well as how well they have worked throughout the summer.
Dunbar-Kruzan said she does not have a starting lineup set for the team this season.
“I don’t want them to get locked into one lineup because I have a feeling about nine or 10 people will be playing quite a bit,” Dunbar-Kruzan said.
Despite losing good servers from the previous season to graduation like defensive specialist Taylor Lebo, Dunbar-Kruzan said that serving will still be a strong suit for the team this year. She also said they are a much better ball-control defensive team than they’ve been in years.
Last year, the Hoosiers finished the season with a 17-16 record after starting out the year 9-0. This year they said look to start out the same way but to be able to sustain any early successes.
“Everyone is contributing,” Dunbar-Kruzan said. “Different days different people are standing out. I’m really happy with the progress we’ve made as a team as a whole."
