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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
The women's volleyball team looked like a medical unit on Aug. 14 as they prepared for the beginning of an already rough start to the 2007 season.
Outside hitter Julie Green ran blocking drills with a metal brace on her left finger while favoring her surgically repaired knee at the same time. Outside hitter Danny Myers took part in practice but is not jumping as she is slowly working her way back from knee surgery. And defensive specialist Bri Ostler watched from the sideline, having sustained a minor concussion while diving for a ball.
The list of injuries goes on for the Roadrunners, but so does the fight to continue to be major contenders in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
"I don't know if we will ever get back to a hundred percent," head coach Debbie Hendricks said about the estimated time her team will need to be ready by the start of the regular season. "Based on the standpoint that we have had three knee surgeries, it just takes a certain amount of time to get healthy. Bri's concussion, Julie's finger, Kelsey Ellis's pulled quad, they are things that happen during two-a-days and happen early on in the season."
Having lost four key starters to graduation and bringing in five newcomers to the squad, the team doesn't have the same experience it possessed in the 2006 season, when they brought home the RMAC Tournament championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Hendricks, who is in her eighth season as volleyball head coach, realizes the inexperience her team brings to the court, but says all the teams in the RMAC are young, and her team still has enough weapons to put up a good fight in the conference in 2007.
"I think we will compete with the rest of the RMAC, but it is a rebuilding season," Hendricks said. "We are very young, and we could have at any point in time three to four freshmen on the floor."
Hendricks also says that team chemistry is going to be the factor that pushes her team into major contention.
"I think what we may lack in experience, we are going to more than make up for it in team chemistry," Hendricks said. "It is a mature group for being so young. It is a testament to each of them as individuals and what they are bringing to the collective energy of the team."
Ostler, who is one of only two seniors on the team, already sees a huge difference in how the team is coming together in the few weeks they have trained together.
"After a week and a half of two-a-days, our chemistry is already ridiculously good," Ostler said. "Everyone gets along, there has been no fighting yet and the attitudes from everyone has been great."
Green will be the star of the squad, having played a huge role in leading Metro to the NCAA Tournament in 2006. Last season, Green was an All-American honorable mention, All-Western Region, and All-RMAC while putting up monster statistics with 515 kills, posting a .263 kill percentage and contributing 48 blocks.
Last season, Green played in the shadow of fellow All-American honorable mention Stefanie Allison, who won the RMAC Tournament MVP. But now the 6-foot outside hitter knows she will have to step into the spotlight and carry the load.
"With just having my finger surgery last Thursday, and having three pins put in along with my knee surgery, I had to work my butt off all summer," Green said about the effort she put in to be ready to lead her team this season. "I know I was in a lot of pain, but I knew I wanted the best for my team, to help my team and to help myself for this year."
Sophomore server Stephanie Levi and Ostler are the key returnees for the Roadrunners, and will have to pick up the slack for the five freshmen and two redshirt freshmen.
Hendricks has led her team to the NCAA Tournament in every season as the Roadrunner head coach, and nothing in the game plan changes this year. It's just a matter of time before things begin to work in her team's favor.
"I always say that we need to play strong the first couple of weekends and find out where we stand," Hendricks said. "Even though we will take our lumps a little bit, the most important thing is to grow and improve each time we play, and figure out where we want to be by the end of the year."
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