Sports Editor Matthew Yannie recently talked about the upcoming volleyball season with Lizzi Beal í12.
The womenís volleyball team is looking to continue the winning tradition that earned them second place in the 2008 NCAC regular season, the teamís best finish in 25 years.
Beal was honored as the NCAC Newcomer of the Year last season and recorded an impressive 1,095 assists as a first year, which is the fifth highest total in the programís history.
MY: Coming off such a big season as you had as an individual what are your personal goals and expectations for yourself for the 2009 season?
LB: My personal goals are basically just to get better as a player and be more of an asset to my team, especially defensively. But my goals are more centered around the team and helping them do better, and hoping we have a better season than last year.
MY: How difficult was it for you to have to adjust to playing at the collegiate level? Did you feel the pressure of playing significant time on the court as a first-year, especially at such an important offensive position as setter?
LB: Itís a lot faster paced and youíre expected to be more of an offensive setter at the collegiate level. As a setter here I was expected to get my own kills and that was very different. I definitely felt the pressure as a freshman on the court. The seniors had a lot of experience and I felt the need to live up to their expectations. I really just wanted to catch up to their level.
MY: How did having strong senior leadership on last yearís team especially a player like Ali Drushal, help you coming in as a first year?
LB: Ali definitely helped me. She set up every pass for me to set and it was such a help to have her in the back row leading the defense and the passers. She made my job easier as a freshman. All the seniors and the juniors pretty much stepped up and led us in our freshman year, and it was such a help. I canít thank them enough.
MY: What are the most essential steps that need to be taken by the team to make up for the loss of such strong seniors?
LB: Losing Meghan Earle í09 was definitely a huge thing for us. She played front row and back row so we definitely need to find someone to replace her. And I think the first-years can definitely start to fill in that spot. Ali Drushal was an all American which is definitely hard to replace. Itís tough but we have people who are willing to work hard, and the new first-years are coming in with a great attitude and they are willing to step up to try and fill in those voids.
MY: Is it safe to say that this yearís team is going to have to focus more on rebuilding on the defensive line since several key offesive players are returning?
LB: There is definitely still a void in the offense, but our biggest challenge I think is in defense. Luckily we do have the people who are willing to work hard, but defense is definitely what we are going to need to step up and really pay attention to this year.
MY: In the past the team has faltered when it comes to beating the traditional conference powerhouses of Hiram and Wittenberg. What needs to be done on this yearís team to step it up and be able to beat those teams?
LB: Our biggest thing is we need to be scrappy this year. If we play with passion we have a good chance to beat them this year as long as we put all we have into it, thatís really all it takes.
MY: Following the success of last seasonís 20 wins and a second place finish in the conference tournament, how high are your expectations for this year and what sort of team goals have you settled upon?
LB: My expectations for this year are to do even better than we did last year. I want to beat Wittenberg. I want to be first in the conference this year, and I think that if we keep working hard in practice weíll be able to do that. I wonít settle with second or a 20 win season this year. I think that that was last year and this is a new season and a new team that needs to strive for higher goals.