SMC VOLLEYBALL: Freshmen gain experience at Lake Michigan
Katie McVoy
Associate Sports Editor
Experience is something that's hard to come by as a freshman, but this weekend experience is just what the freshmen Belles got.
After being invited to a junior college tournament that could not be counted as part of the regular season, head coach Julie Schroeder-Biek decided that she would get her eight first-year players some much needed experience that would lead to game confidence.
"I think confidence was gained," she said. "[The players] got on the court, they did well when they played ... I want them to carry that over to the varsity matches."
Because all three games counted as scrimmages, the Belles' 1-2 record wasn't the focus at the end of the weekend. Finding out what the freshmen could and could not do was.
"They had excellent communication," Schroeder-Biek said. "They worked together as a group very well and I thought everyone contributed their talents."
The freshmen seemed to have good teamwork, but Schroeder-Biek will be looking to improve technical skills.
"I saw little technique things, blocking technique is not crisp, footwork is not crisp — things that are correctable with hard work," she said. "There were some definite errors that occurred because of experience that will be corrected as they gain experience."
That needed experience may come during Tuesday's match against Calvin. During last Wednesday's game, middle hitter Jolie LeBeau was injured and her status is still unknown. Schroeder-Biek used Friday night as a trial period for some possible substitutes should LeBeau be unable to play Tuesday.
"I'm going to play it by ear to see how Jolie [LeBeau] is doing," she said. "But I feel more confident seeing how the [freshmen] played."
The Belles dropped their first match to Vincennes in two games, 30-28, 30-17. In match two against Terra College, Saint Mary's came from behind to win the first match 31-29 before dropping the second two matches 30-21 and 15-12. During the third match, however, the team came close to a victory.
"We just missed beating [Terra] in that last [match]," Schroeder-Biek said.
The Belles were not about to leave without at least one victory, however. After dropping the first game to host Lake Michigan, Saint Mary's came back to dominate the second and third games 30-18, 15-11, winning the match.
"They pooled their talents very well," Schroeder-Biek said. "The communication that they used, talking across the net, I thought that they did that very well."
The Belles will take on the Knights of Calvin College on Tuesday at Calvin at 7 p.m.
All Sports Stories for Monday, September 10, 2001
