Michigan State University Athletics
MSU Volleyball 1998 Outlook
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
August 6, 1998
Tradition is a word that has been applied to the Michigan State volleyball program a lot in recent years. Some wondered whether the term applied as last years young squad struggled in the early going. The naysayers changed their minds as the team rallied to finish in the upper half of the Big Ten and return to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight year.
This year, that young team returns, still youthful, but a group with a wealth of experience to draw upon. The goal in 1998 is to return to the top of the Big Ten Conference sooner, rather than later, and to head the program back into the top 10. The past four years have shown that the Spartan program has entered the national spotlight. This team wants to make sure it stays there.
"Im looking forward to this season with great anticipation," said head coach Chuck Erbe. "Last year we were a very, very young team, particularly young in the crucial positions of setting and middle. The bright side of that was that we had a lot of young players make major contributions to the success of our program."
Volleyball tradition at MSU started with some great teams in the 1970s. Now the Spartans look to contend for their third Big Ten Championship in five years and compete for a fifth-consecutive time in the NCAA Tournament.
"I try to set very realistic goals for the team," said Erbe. "This year I think we can finish in the top three of the Big Ten, somewhere in the top 10-15 in the nation, play in our fifth-consecutive NCAA Tournament, and have the potential for our team to be playing in an NCAA regional final.
"Obviously you cant predict the future," he continued. "These goals are established with the team staying healthy throughout the season so they can be at their best entering the NCAA Tournament."
The loss of all-time MSU kills, attempts and digs recordholder Veronica Morales, a first-team All-Big Ten, along with honorable mention All-Big Ten Lindsey Clayton and team captain Corie Richard leave gaps in the leadership and experience of the Spartan team.
"Any time that you lose some experienced players, there are big holes to fill," said the sixth-year mentor. "You always hate to see seniors leave who made major contributions. Thats the hard part of college volleyball. Like any program, though, the strength is in the personnel that keeps coming through. There are always players who will step into the roles and maintain the traditions that the players before them have created.
"The cupboard isnt bare this year," Erbe said. "We have players who are ready to step into the roles that these players occupied."
Senior Jenna Wrobel (Naperville, Ill.) will be a team captain again this season along with juniors Jenny Whitehead (Jenison, Mich.) and Tammy Vonderheide (Stewardson, Ill.).
MSUs four sophomores - Christie Landry (Naperville, Ill.), Sarah Gustin (Hesperia, Calif.), Jessica Sanborn (Colbert, Wash.) and Vicki Basil (Bay City, Mich.) - will also play key roles in the success of the Spartans in 1998. All saw significant playing time and were starters for much of the season. The biggest change for MSU this year, as it was last season, is at the setter position.
Setting responsibilities last year were handled by Vicki Basil, who had expected to redshirt her freshman year. Due to the loss of Julie Pavlus, however, she found herself in the starting roll. After Basil hurt her wrist in a bicycle accident, Christie Landry, originally the Spartans right side hitter, found herself thrust into playmaking responsibilities having never set before. Both Basil and Landry will compete for starting duty.
"During the spring, each setter was given equal time in practice and in competition to demonstrate their ability to run our system and lead the team," Erbe said. "I think that our setting will be much improved over last year. It will be competitive now that we have two players who have played the position and can compete against one another. The depth that this situation created for us is really going to make us more competitive on both sides of the net."
Go-to outside hitter Jenna Wrobel returns for her final season in an MSU uniform. The six-foot Wrobel would become only the fourth player in Big Ten history to earn All-Big Ten honors in four-straight years if selected at the conclusion of the 98 campaign. A preseason consensus All-Big Ten selection, Wrobel who earned NCAA All-District accolades last season, needs only 356 kills to surpass Veronica Morales record-setting performance last season of 2,006 career kills. She set MSU single-season records with 671 kills and 1,544 attempts last season while leading the Big Ten and finishing eighth in the nation with 5.46 kills per game.
"This has to be Jennas year," said Erbe. "She is a legitimate All-America candidate. I felt she should have been an All-American last year; theres not a team in the nation that she couldnt start for. The changes in our team affected our ability to execute at very high levels last season so our offense became very predictable. The vast majority of sets went to the outside hitter so every team that we played keyed their defense against that position and particularly against Jenna Wrobel. As Jenna went, so went the team.
"Our primary focus in the off-season was to develop a more consistent middle attack," he added. "One of the beneficiaries of that is going to be Jenna. Shes not going to be the only hitter that youve got to respect now. Our system is more diversified forcing teams to honor more hitters. That will have a very positive impact on Jenna.
"This is Jennas year to really shine as our primary outside attacker and complete her career as the greatest hitter in MSU volleyball history," Erbe said. "I think, personally, that she is the premier leftside hitter in the nation and this is her year to show it.
"One of the things weve really worked on with Jenna," continued Erbe, "is to manage her game at a higher level and reduce errors so that she puts herself in a position to be more consistent."
Tammy Vonderheide, a 5-9 outside hitter, and Jenny Whitehead, a 6-4 outside hitter, are returning juniors for the Spartans. Vonderheide has played a key backup role in each of her first two years and has been an important part of the teams back row defense.
"Tammy has had two years of experience, certainly knows our system well, and is now in a position where she can challenge for a starting role," says Erbe. "She has a tremendous work ethic and has given us two great years of backcourt play. This is her opportunity to show that she has all-around skills."
Whitehead was leading the team in blocks before suffering a leg injury in the middle of the season. She had a solid freshman campaign and looks to return to form.
"If she has a good, solid year, Jenny will definitely be an All-Big Ten candidate," Erbe said. "She has been plagued by a variety of injuries throughout her career and for the first time shes been able to put some quality time in the weight room in an effort to get stronger, not in an effort to rehab. When Jenny came in, we felt she had the potential to be a dominant front row player in the Big Ten. I still feel that way. Were hoping that this will be Jennys year. She will be a major factor in the success of our team."
Returning sophomores Christie Landry, Jessica Sanborn, Sarah Gustin and Vicki Basil all have important, established roles on the team after their first year of collegiate competition.
"Now that our freshmen are sophomores, theyve had a year to know what to expect," Erbe said. "Theyve also had a year to get a lot stronger physically and a lot tougher mentally. The players know more about their own strengths and weaknesses."
Landry, who moved from outside hitter in the last part of the season, will vie for starting privileges with Basil throughout the preseason.
"Christie is now training as a setter ," said the head coach. "She has the potential to be an outstanding collegiate setter. How fast Christie makes that transition is really going to be a matter of her training and just becoming comfortable with running the offense. She will be contending for the starting setting position in the fall.
"Vicki is one of the hardest working players in our program," praised Erbe. "She gained a valuable year of experience as our lead setter as a freshman and will be a strong contender for the starting setting role again this season."
Gustin tied the MSU single-match blocking mark with 12 and was well on her way to finishing in the top of the Big Ten in that category before missing much of the middle part of the season with stress fractures in both legs.
Sanborn replaced Gustin in the lineup midway throught the season and blossomed in the middle. Both will compete for starting roles.
"Gustin and Sanborn are two up-and-coming middles, and I think they could be legitimate All-Big Ten candidates," said Erbe.
"Sarah will be a step closer to fulfilling her potential as a sophomore," he continued. "She has spent a lot of time in the weight room to get stronger and worked on some of her front row mechanics. I look for her to be a much more consistent player all the way around. I feel she has the potential to be a dominant front row performer and needs to be a major part of our offense.
"Jessica had substantial playing time in her freshman year and saw time in the spring as a starting middle with Sarah," said Erbe. "I look for Jess to be much more consistent, much more physical and to play a bigger role in our offense this year."
Rounding out the returning letterwinners is senior backrow player/setter Kelly Penney (Mundelein, Ill.). Penney saw time as a setter during the early part of last season as Basil learned the ropes and continued to play an important supporting role throughout the year.
"Kelly gives our team great defense and tenacity on the court," said Erbe. "She also brings great personality to the court and can make the spectacular defensive play. I think theres the potential for her role to be expanded even more. Shell see some time as our third setter this season."
The Spartans have eight new faces joining the team, including the squads fourth Volleyball Fab 50 pick in the last two recruiting classes.
Erin Hartley (Midland, Mich.), Maren Witzel (Palmer, Alaska) and Jennifer Stroffe (Newport Beach, Calif./UC Santa Barbara) headline the newcomers.
Hartley, a 6-2 outside hitter/middle blocker, was named a first-team All-American at the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships last summer after leading the Kalamizuno Frogs to a fifth-place finish.
"I feel Erin Hartley is one of the premier athletes in the recruiting class of 98," Erbe said. "Though shes not well-known on the national level, athletically, she could certainly hold her own with anybody in the country. She will be competing for the leftside hitting position left open by Veronica Morales and has all the tools to be one of the great players in our program."
Witzel, a 6-0 middle/outside hitter, was a redshirt last season. Entering MSU, Witzel was the 1996 Gatorade "Circle of Champions" Alaska State Player of the Year.
"Maren is a lot stronger and has had a year to develop her skills and gain experience. Im expecting her to make a big contribution. How big will depend on her and how hard shes worked."
Stroffe, a 6-1 outside hitter, joins the Spartans for her fifth and final collegiate season after attending UC Santa Barbara for the previous four years. An All-Big West performer for the Gauchos, Stroffe was a first-team All-American and Volleyball Fab 50 coming out of high school.
"Jennifer, who will be working toward a masters degree, has the experience and skills to compete for the starting right side position," said Erbe. "The thing that well be monitoring is how her recovery from ACL surgery (summer of 97) has progressed. Shes also a great backrow player. I felt that for a young team, this was an opportunity to bring in an experienced player who is an outstanding student."
Another rookie who should have a bright future with the Spartans is six-foot-four, middle Angela Morley (Holland, Mich.). Morley is a talented recruit who was an honorable mention on Volleyballs list of Fab 50 recruits. She teamed with Hartley on the Kalamizuno Frogs club team which finished fifth in the USA Volleyball National Junior Championships last summer.
"Angela brings us excellent size in the middle position. She will redshirt as a freshman so she has a year to gain experience at the collegiate level and to get physically stronger."
Also joining the team is junior Kayleen Cook (Mendon, Mich.), a 5-4 back row player from Glen Oaks (Mich.) Community College. Cook, an all-state and all-league performer in high school was primarily a setter in junior college tallying 2,050 assists and 562 digs in two seasons.
Lisa Ashton (Watervliet, Mich.), a 5-10 outside hitter/back row, Katie Kowalski (Dearborn, Mich.), a 5-7 back row/setter, and Uzonna Olumba (Detroit, Mich.), a 5-9 outside hitter, are three other talented freshmen who will be waiting in the wings as the season progresses.
The 1998 schedule provides three strong tournaments where the youthful Spartans can gain experience, learn to work together, and where Erbe can mix and match his lineups to find the right mix for the start of the Big Ten season.
Michigan State opens with the L&L/MSU Classic on Sept. 4-5. Formerly sponsored by Goff Foods, the tournament, in its fourth year, features Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Pittsburgh.
"This year the Classic turned out to be kind of an in-state tournament," noted Erbe. "It will be an excellent start to our season where, hopefully well be able to play a lot of our team and Ill be able to take a good, solid look at the positions that the players will be competing for."
Next on the 98 agenda is the Louisville Tournament, slated for Sept. 11-12, with Louisville, the Czech Republic and Murray State.
"Louisville has been a strong team the last couple of years," commented Erbe. "They have a Russian coach and hes brought in some Russian players who have added a real international flavor to their program. I expect them to be very competitive. The Czech Republic is an international team and should be very strong. I like to have international matches for our program. We do have players with goals of playing on the national team and playing in the Olympics, and this is a nice introduction so they can see whats down the road for them."
Returning home again, the Spartans host the MSU Invitational on Sept. 18-19, with Utah, Notre Dame and New Hampshire. The tournament provides two reunions of a sort. Notre Dame coach Debbie Brown played for Chuck Erbe at USC, while New Hampshire coach Jill Hirschinger was the head coach at nearby Ferris State a few years ago.
"Its always fun to play Notre Dame, a very strong, always highly ranked team," Erbe said. "There is also the natural rivalry with Notre Dame which always provides excitement. Utah is a strong, up-and-coming program with fine athletes while New Hampshire also has a program on the rise."
The Spartans Big Ten season begins the weekend of September 25-26 as MSU hosts Illinois and Purdue on consecutive days.
MSU will make two appearances on national television this season; Nov. 21 vs. Penn State (Fox Sports Chicago) and Nov. 22 vs. Ohio State (ESPN2).
Erbe sees 97 Big Ten co-champion Penn State as the favorite for the second year in a row.
"Obviously, coming into the Big Ten season, Penn State is the odds-on favorite to repeat as Big Ten Champions," predicted Erbe. "They lost one player, and they are one of the more powerful teams I have seen in my college coaching career. The nucleus of their team is juniors with two years of starting experience and they were one game away from the national championship.
"But, I certainly feel that our team is going to be knocking on the door. We will be much more competitive with the teams that finished ahead of us in last years Big Ten race."
The Conference coaches agree with Erbes assessment as they chose Penn State No. 1 in the preseason poll, followed by last years co-champion Wisconsin, Michigan State, Illinois and Minnesota.
"Last year the Big Ten was the No. 1 volleyball conference in the nation," said Erbe. "A lot of that had to do with the success of Big Ten teams against Pac-10 teams. I dont see any reason for that to change this year. You see teams in the bottom half of the conference getting stronger which means everyone else has to improve to maintain or improve their position. There are no gimmees. Every single night you play a match in the Big Ten you can get beat. It doesnt matter if youre No. 1 or No. 11. That makes everyone better and it means theres more excitement in the Big Ten."
"Our players are looking forward to this season with great anticipation," said Erbe. "They have worked very hard to get stronger over the summer.
"I thought last year was a remarkable season," Erbe said. "With all of the challenges that we had to overcome, we were still able to maintain a high degree of success. Thats why I feel that in this season and the next season, we will be back in that top level again. The lessons of perseverance we learned last year cant do anything but serve us well in the future. And were still a young team. Young, but talented. It is going to be another exciting year."
