CONTACT: Tom Lamonica October 15, 2000
Dingman Decides On Outsides: Play 'em All
A week ago, Illinois State's struggling outside hitting and erratic blocking had volleyball coach Sharon Dingman wondering what to do with her outside hitters. She had five players of differing strengths and weaknesses.
Late in the week, Dingman came to a decision. She would play all five of them. Not at once, of course (it's a good idea to have a setter and a couple of middle blockers on the court). The keys to the revised set-up were position switches for sophomore Megan O'Connell and junior Abby Lewis, and establishing flexibility in the way she used her four left-side players.
Lewis moved full-time to the right side and O'Connell became a left-side player for the first time in her college career. Freshman Staci Boyce became a starter opposite O'Connell on the left side. Former left-side starters Jackie Utz and Erin Jones would come off the bench.
Dingman believes her lineup gets stability from having Lewis on the court full time. Lewis responded with 35 digs, 16 set assists, 9 kills and 7 blocks in seven games over the weekend. She picked up the 'service save' against Creighton, serving the final three points to bring ISU from 14-13 behind to a 16-14 win in game four--and prevent the need for game five.
"We needed Abby on the floor more," said Dingman. "She's a very good blocker, so right side made a lot of sense. That helped us feel more comforable about moving Mo (O'Connell)."
O'Connell and Boyce give the 'Birds better blocking and more kill opportunities. Utz and Jones are among the Missouri Valley Conference's leaders in digs. Heading into Illinois State's 7 p.m. Tuesday non-conference match against Northern Illinois (15-5) at Redbird Arena, Dingman is convinced the strategy is working because the players are adjusting and performing.
"A concern we had with Mo was (back row) defense," said Dingman, whose Redbirds are 10-6 coming off conference wins over Creighton and Drake. "She solved that with 25 digs (a career high) in her first match
. We wanted to get Mo more swings, and she can get that on the left side. Similarly, Staci can put the ball away and is a strong blocker, so we wanted to give her a chance to help us in those areas."
Having players with the experience of Utz and Jones coming off the bench gives the other players confidence, according to Dingman.
"I think it's a comfort to Staci to see Erin and Jackie come in and play well," said Dingman. "She knows that if she gets tired, they are available. The other players feel that, too."
Utz, a three-year starter at Illinois-Chicago who started ISU's first 14 matches this season, came up with five kills in the final game to help the 'Birds put away pesky Creighton on Friday. The next night, Jones helped Illinois State beat Drake with six kills and seven digs in relief of Boyce, who had career highs of 19 kills and 14 digs against Creighton.
Dingman likes the ability to bring top passers and diggers off the bench.
"Jackie and Erin both have excellent ballhandling skills," said Dingman. "Different matches will call for different needs. We'll be ready to make adjustments when needed."
The players' attitudes about the lineup juggling pleased Dingman, who is going for her 200th career college coaching win against NIU.
"The players have made the adjustments work," said Dingman. "I can't say enough for them. Jackie probably started every match she's ever played. But we asked her to come off the bench and she has given us exactly what we needed."
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