GREENWOOD – Optimism is running high in the Lander volleyball program after the Lady Bearcats opened their season with a four-game sweep at the Anderson Invitational.
Lander won 12 of the 13 games played in the Aug. 26-27 tournament at Anderson University. The Lady Bearcats achieved the success despite tinkering of lineups with first-year coach Carla Decker looking for the best combinations.
"It's a great way to start," Decker said. "It gives them a good feeling to start the season 4-0.
"It's interesting at this point because we are trying to do as many different things as possible," said Decker, who was head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan the past two years. "The girls are playing different positions, different offenses, different defenses. We are doing a lot of experimenting. We are really working on the fundamentals, getting low, making good passes."
Lander (4-1) suffered its first loss of the season Aug. 30 at Limestone 24-30, 30-23, 30-20, 30-20 and heads next to a tournament at Carson-Newman (Tenn.) Sept. 1-2. The team's home opener is Sept. 4 versus North Greenville at 7 p.m.
But the first tournament was a big success.
The first day was relatively easy with Lander routing Claflin 30-13, 30-12, 30-12, and then sweeping the more challenging Notre Dame of Ohio squad 30-26, 30-14, 30-25.
The Sunday matches were a bigger test and the Lady Bearcats passed. They came from behind to beat Brevard 31-29 in the key first game of a three-game sweep. Lander won the next two games 30-20 and 30-17. The first blemish came against Anderson, but the Lady Bearcats still came out on top 30-25, 24-30, 30-27, 30-18.
Lander finished 10-23 last year with many of the losses coming in five-set matches and close games that the team just couldn't pull out. So the Brevard Game 1 victory was especially important for a team that returns seven players who experienced last season's difficult losses, Decker said.
"I was very pleased when we came back from behind and won that first game against Brevard. It showed a lot of character for a team that was down quite a few points to come back and end up winning that game. That was one of the things that I was very proud of," Decker said.
"The other thing was we kept our communication very high on the court whether it was enthusiasm or talking," she said. "But we made quite a few mental errors against Anderson that hurt us during some crucial points."
The Lady Bearcats got some respect in the preseason Peach Belt Conference coaches poll with a fifth-place vote despite the team going 0-12 in last year's league matches. That is mainly due to the return of five starters.
Among the returners are Kerri Sorensen, Sara Senn and Andrea Griffin. Sorensen, a 5-11, outside hitter from Maple Grove, Minn., led Lander in kills her freshman season with 2.92 per game and added 55 total blocks. Senn, a 5-7, junior outside hitter from Fond du Lac, Wisc., averaged a team-high 4.48 digs per game and also posted 2.86 kills per game and 51 total blocks. Griffin, a 6-0 junior middle hitter from Simpsonville, S.C., averaged 2.37 kills and had 101 total blocks.
Other key returners include Melissa Trippany, a 5-9, junior libero from Fort Myers, Fla., and Kay Stewart, a 5-11, sophomore middle hitter from St. Louis, Mo. Trippany was second on the team in digs, with 4.47 per game. She also recorded 48 service aces. Stewart averaged 1.66 kills per game and had 81 total blocks.
But perhaps the biggest concern coming into the season was at the setter position, where Lander lost Claire Damon to graduation. Carly Plecha, a sophomore from Anderson, S.C., played in 30 games last year and averaged 6.9 assists per outing. She will share setter duties with Jennifer (JJ) Edwards, a freshman from Georgetown, Ontario. Plecha twice had 22 assists at the Anderson Invitational while Edwards twice had 18 assists.
"The girls are progressing," Decker said of the setters. "It's definitely a position that they both need a lot more experience like any setter does. They just need to get a lot more touches. Everybody is still learning each other."
Other new players who will be counted on heavily are defensive specialists Katerina Prosser (5-8, freshman, Sumter, S.C.) and Marina Camps (5-5, sophomore, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago) and outside hitter Ashley Ferry (5-9 freshman, Woodbridge, Va.).
"They are learning that this is definitely different than high school or club," Decker said of the newcomers. "But they are definitely progressing as time goes on. They need more touches and experience."
The team will have plenty of time to get to know each other. Melissa Hedberg is the only player who is a senior academically, but she has two years of eligibility left as do Senn, Griffin and Trippany. Sorensen, Stewart, Plecha and Camps have three years left.
"We have a good group and a lot of experience coming back which is part of the reason we were picked fifth because we have a lot of returning players," Decker said. "I have high expectations and I think there is a lot of potential on this team. If we can keep them focused and get them to fulfill their potential, then we'll see how things turn out."
