Illinois State Volleyball Media Day Press Conference
Aug. 15, 2007
Head Coach Sharon Dingman
On the play of the team since the start of preseason practice...
"I think we're probably where I thought we would be as far as what we need to do to play well. Erin Lindsey is as fit as probably any athlete that I've ever coached, coming into this preseason. She is incredibly competitive right now, more so than I have ever seen from her. As a coach, it's very comforting to have a junior setter who has been running your practices for a couple of years back in the gym. M.C. Richmond, Kari Staehlin...our leaders are being everything they need to be. I think that the last couple of days, our freshmen have started to make a turn and have begun to understand where they need to be. It's about not just the skill; they're all good volleyball players and they have all played volleyball for a while. It's also about a work ethic and a consistency standpoint, and what the demands on them are going to be every single night. We think that they are really starting to make that change. Probably the most pleasant surprise after our Europe trip is Peggy Riessen. She is playing some great volleyball right now, not just offensively, but she could turn out to be one of the great defensive players we have, certainly with Kasey (Mollerus). Kasey is going to ground our team. We're going to have to rely on her so much for at least 50 or 60 percent of our contacts."
On the ranking of libero Kasey Mollerus among the all-time great passers at ISU...
"I would rank Kasey pretty high. I think that she is as good as any passer that we've ever had at Illinois State. What I am most excited about is that last year, she was very good on defense, but with her passing, it was kind of up and down. And again, she was just a freshman, but that level of concentration that you have to have on every first contact, she has that right now. I'm so much more comfortable with her passing a lot more of the court than she did a year ago. I would say that she is probably as good as anyone that I have coached. Our Europe trip helped Kasey a lot. They serve the ball a lot different over there, and I think that really has helped prepare her for what she is going to see in another week."
On the roles of veteran Redbird starters Kari Staehlin, M.C. Richmond and Erin Lindsey...
"I think that the first thing is that Kari (Staehlin) has her role very clear in her mind for this team. Not just on the court, but off the court, with all of the decisions that she is making, she is going to be the leader of this team. That is who everyone is looking to. The players are going to see how Kari responds to situations. She has taken that role and it is very clear in her mind: she wants to be the leader of this team. Kari has developed so much over four years, it's unbelievable. She is president of our Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC). That is just how she has developed in her four years here and how she has developed as a volleyball player. As a volleyball player, the key for Kari is staying healthy, as everyone knows. She hasn't had one season, yet, where we haven't dealt with some type of health issue. All of those were pretty significant health issues, too. She has missed a couple of practices already. It's hard because Kari is very fit. Our strength and conditioning coaches did a great job with our players this summer. It's just something that happens in volleyball. She just has a little tweaked abdominal muscle. It's just hard because your abdominals are involved in so much of what you do, especially as a volleyball player in Kari's position. She's playing great volleyball right now.
M.C. (Richmond) is going to carry so much of an offensive load for our team this year. I don't think that I have surprised anybody by saying that. M.C. has a few things going on right now because we have lost our backup setter, Jessica Pratapas, to an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury. M.C. is also training as a setter, so she has some things going on right now. She is still doing very well managing (the stress). We have tried to institute more of a back row attack for M.C. and for Peggy (Riessen).
Erin (Lindsey) is our quarterback, our pitcher, our setter; they're all synonymous. She's taking it very seriously. Erin probably had a little bigger role last year than Kari did, so there is not as big of a transition for her as there is for Kari. But she's playing better volleyball than she has (before). She's more consistent. The thing that we talked about all spring, and then over in Europe, is location, location, location. We have to have some consistency in location, especially in our outside hitters because they are so young, and Erin is really doing that. We would like her offense to step up a little bit, as far as her ability to dump the ball. In the time that I have been here, she is probably the best defensive setter that I have had. She is going to dig some balls, and she made that a priority this spring. Her priority was to dig more balls, and she knows that she needs to do that. With M.C. training as a setter, there is going to be a comfort zone when Erin takes that first ball."
On the athleticism of M.C. Richmond and how that will help her understand her own game...
"I think that any time you have to play a new position, you start to understand the game better. I think that M.C. understands her role even more now. Maybe because it has broadened somewhat. I think that a setter has to know a lot about the game of volleyball, more so than anyone else on the court. As M.C. learns that, and as she learns to read a block as a setter, there is going to be a huge transition for her in terms of reading a block as a hitter. I think that M.C. is probably one of our youngest players to the game, which is pretty exciting. I hate to say it, but if M.C. decided to continue to play, her best years could be when she is 25 or 26 years old. She didn't start the game until she was 15 or 16 (years old). Helping out in a backup setter role is going to benefit her greatly, in terms of getting to know the game better, and getting to know a different perspective."
On the challenge of playing Florida in the first game of the season...
"I think that first of all, we're not going to schedule a team that we don't think we have a chance to beat. You bring Florida to Redbird (Arena), and we're hopefully going to have 5,000 to 6,000 fans in here. We're going to throw everything we have at them, and take advantage of everything that we have. Between our fans and the heat, I think that our players have a lot of confidence going into the Florida match. We played them very well last year. We lost in three games, but we played them point-for-point, until we got to 20 (points). Whoever got to 20 points first - once it was us, and twice it was Florida - Florida just took it to a different level. We were about at the level that we could at that point, and we didn't have another level. Our players know now that we have another level this year that we can go to, mostly because we're experienced. It's a great time of year to play Florida. If you're going to get someone and knock them off, it's best to get them at the beginning of the year. They are going to have kinks that they are going to be working out, too. I think that they have all but one starter back, as well as an all-American setter, and she's fantastic. She will be the best setter that our players ever play. Another thing that helped us with the Florida match was playing in Europe. That was more of the type of volleyball that we're going to face against Florida: big, physical and serving the ball very hard. We're thrilled (to play Florida). I can't think of a better way to start the season."
On the level of play of Missouri Valley Conference opponents this season...
"I think that every year, since we've been here, we have said that this is going to be the best year that The Valley has ever had. This is a testament to the quality of coaches that we have in the conference, and the commitment of the schools in the conference to just try to make volleyball what it can be. I think that we have about 80 percent of the (MVC) players from last season returning this year.
Drake is going to be significantly better (this year). They have some great recruits coming in. Indiana State is going to be better simply because that group is growing up. A couple of years ago, they were nine freshmen, and then last year, they were nine sophomores. They have to have really high expectations at Indiana State. Bradley has a very solid recruiting class coming in.
I don't know you distinguish between our top-five (teams in The Valley preseason coaches' poll) until the players start playing and figuring it out. Everyone has a lot of returning players. Northern Iowa and Wichita State both got some votes in the (American Volleyball Coaches Association) national preseason poll, which is very cool. I think that if the season plays out how it should and if everyone stays healthy, we could see some (Valley) teams in the top-50 of the national rankings. We're coming off a season where two of our Valley teams won first-round matches (in the NCAA tournament) for the first time ever. I think that it is set up to be an incredibly competitive season. I think now we're going to start appreciating what it is like to be a men's basketball player or coach in this conference. Every night, the level of competition is good.
I think that we are preparing ourselves exactly how we should be. Coming off the Florida match, we have Miami (Ohio), and Miami has every one of its starters back. We then have Valparaiso, and we played them last spring and split with them. They are a great volleyball team, and I don't think people are going to appreciate that. And we have Ohio State at home, as well as going to Alabama and playing them, when they are picked to win the West Division of the Southeastern Conference. Sacramento State, it was picked to win its conference (Big Sky), and UAB is in the top-three of its conference (Conference USA). All three of those schools made last year's NCAA Tournament. We've done our part in the scheduling, and now our players have to do their part on the court, and our coaches have to do their part in preparing."
On building on last year's strong finish to the conference season...
"I think that you have to build on every year that you go into because you have an Erin Lindsey, a Kari Staehlin and an M.C. Richmond returning. You hope that you build on that, but also the other things, like how we started 4-5 (in the conference season), and then we made that turn and finished 7-2 in the conference. That's the type of experience that you want those older players to be building on, and then to use that to teach the younger players. It probably looked like we had a good finish (last season) because we didn't start very well in the league last year. Starting with Florida, you hope you build on something from a year ago. Playing over in Europe prepared our team for Florida, Valparaiso, Miami and the rest of the non-conference season. This group probably played more this summer than any group we've ever had. You hope that that transitions into wins. That's our goal. We do look at trying to prepare our teams to improve through a season and get better. And I think that this year, in order to be playing Thanksgiving weekend (at the MVC Tournament), you better be playing some good volleyball."
On the strength of schedule that other Valley teams will have this season...
"Northern Iowa is always going to play a great schedule, and I think that Creighton has done a tremendous job putting together a great schedule. I think that Wichita State has put together a solid schedule. As volleyball coaches in our league, we have tried to make a commitment that all of the teams are scheduling properly so that the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee has something to look at. If you start getting that committee talking about three, four or five Valley teams getting into the NCAA Tournament, things can start to happen."
On the impact that new assistant coaches Chris Gaskill and Laura Ludwig have on the team this season...
"Laura was around last year as a student assistant and knows our system. What was really fortunate for us is that we hired Chris (Gaskill) in the spring, so he was here throughout our competitive spring season. That was important so that our players understood how he is going to be in a match. Europe gave us a chance to spend two weeks together as a staff, as well as coach seven matches with each other. Chris' adjustment is going to be in learning how certain players respond in stressful situations. Both of them have stepped right in at practice and helped teach our young players what they need to know."
On the impact that the Redbirds' five freshmen players will have this season...
"Having a veteran squad and bringing in five new players makes the transition a little smoother. Our veterans have not skipped a beat in terms of what the demands are. They demand the same thing out of (freshman) Katie Culbertson as they do out of senior Kristin Dziubla, who has been here four years. I think that has really set a great standard for all of the players. It doesn't matter if this is your first practice as a Redbird or your 113th; the demands are still the same. The veteran players have done a really nice job of teaching our newcomers about our system. Kari Staehlin is the mentor of Hailey Kelley, who is going to be a great player some day."
