Volleyball Preview Part 6: Cleveland State

Aug. 22, 2005

In volleyball slang, a "six pack" is used to describe spiking a ball off an opposing player's face. This year's class of a half-dozen seniors would like nothing more than to leave their mark on the rest of the league by winning the school's first conference title.

"You say heading into every season that your goal is to win a conference championship," head coach Chuck Voss said. "This year, everyone is not only saying it, but has bought into the hard work that it's going to take to get it done. It's the only thing that's been on the players' minds since losing to Loyola last November."

For the first time in his six-year tenure at Cleveland State, Voss has the depth across the board that he feels is necessary to take the program to the next level.

"We are talented and deep at every position," Voss noted. "Not a single player on this team should feel complacent about their role. If someone is struggling, we have a player on the bench ready to step in and take up the slack."

The Vikings return four starters and nine letterwinners from last year's team that had its best season ever in the Horizon League -- advancing to the championship match after finishing fourth during the regular season. However, the two losses from that team were big ones in AVCA honorable mention All-American Jamie Bouyer and Kelly Crain, four-year starters at middle hitter and setter respectively.

"While it's impossible to replace players of Jamie's and Kelly's caliber, I think that we can be a solid, more complete team this season. Jamie was arguably the best player to ever come out of the program, but our middles will be able will do some things that Jamie couldn't.

"I also think that, when you have a player like Jamie, the other people on the court have a tendency to defer to her. I don't expect one player to fill the void left by an All-American, but I know we've got players ready to step up in her absence. In the long run, that will make us a stronger team and one that is harder to defend because the team across the net won't necessarily know where we are going with the next set.

"With our diversity will also come a more consistent style of play. You won't see the huge swings and long stretches where we just seem to be in a funk. While having six seniors is quite unusual, it will be nice to have that level of composure."

Setter
There will be a new quarterback running CSU's offense for the first time since the 2000 season. Sophomore Mel Snyder will step into the void left by Crain, the school's all-time assist leader. Snyder took over the reigns in the spring, impressing the staff with her decision-making and strength.

"Mel is a dynamic, take-charge kind of setter and she really won over the team with her play last spring," Voss noted. "With her strength, she is able to run just about any set regardless of where the pass ends up, and our outsides will really benefit from that. It's going to be a little weird for a match or two not having Kelly out there, but people are really going to like what they see out of Mel."

Outside Hitters
With six players on the roster listed at outside, depth won't be an issue for the Vikings.

"[Seniors] Emily Clark and Julie Stover are the odds-on favorites to start heading into training camp, but they must work hard and perform at a high level if they hope to hold on to their spots," Voss pointed out. "We've got people waiting in the wings who will be more than ready to go in and show what they can do."

Clark is an athletic dynamo that plays much taller than her 5-6 frame suggests, while Stover is more of a punishing, physical presence.

Challenging for the starting role will be seniors Alisa Hatcher (who missed all of last season with an injury) and Jenna Maddocks, sophomore Seanna Steinle and freshmen Liz Fazio and Alexis Korovich. Hatcher and Maddocks are obviously the most experienced having combined to play in 151 matches. Both are versatile athletes and solid defensively. Steinle is a very good blocker, but could see more time in the middle. Fazio and Korovich are similar in that they are both very athletic and strong defensively.

Regardless of who is on the court, Voss wants consistency out of the position.

"We need outsides who, if they don't terminate the set, are smart about the swing and keep it in play. Last year we gave away far too many points on the outside. They will also need to be solid passers and really hit the floor on defense."

Middle Hitters
The middle of the Viking offense will look much different this season, even with the return of junior Danielle Siefker. For most of the past four seasons, CSU has run nearly every play for the middles in front of the setter. Don't expect that to be the case in 2005.

"Now that Danielle's legs are healthy and with the addition of our new freshman, we are going to be running a lot of back slides for our middles," Voss explained. "It will add another dimension to our offense that will make us even harder to defend."

A two-year starter, Siefker proved that she is among the best middles in the league last year, recording 144 blocks (second in the league behind Bouyer), including 30 during CSU's run to the Horizon League championship match. Now that her shin splints are a thing of the past, she is an all-league candidate.

Steinle stepped into the middle in the spring and played superbly. She will be challenged for the other starting spot by freshmen Jenni Ramminger and Sarah Parker. Both are athletic players who can run almost any set.

"Seanna really impressed us in spring practice, but I look for her to get a real battle from Jenni and Sarah," Voss said. "All three are very athletic and good, strong blockers."

Opposite
Senior All-Horizon League performer Nickole Kennedy returns as the starter at opposite after a breakout season in 2004. She ranked among the league leaders in both hitting percentage (5th, .251) and blocks (7th, 1.05) and is a powerful presence on the right side, although she will also swing around for the occasional set on the left.

"I expect Nickole to be our go-to player this season," Voss pointed out. "She worked hard in the offseason on hitting a variety of shots and on her ball control. She just never stops when she's on the court, and I think our team will feed off of that."

Parker could also see action at opposite, with an eye towards moving there after Kennedy's departure.

Libero/Defensive Specialist
With the addition of three more substitution opportunities each game this season, an even greater emphasis will be placed on back row play, and the Vikings are loaded with talented, steady players.

Senior Katie Calhoon has played both libero and defensive specialist for much of the past three seasons and is an excellent passer with very good ball control. If Hatcher or Clark are not at an outside position, both immediately become the top option in the back row with their superb passing skills and athleticism. Joining the trio in the back this season will be junior Margot Frederick and freshman Jordan Bateman.

"I am excited about how much better I think our defense will be this year," Voss said. "We have so many options, and every single one of them can come in and do a great job. I think we're going to give our hitters more swings because we will be keeping more balls in play."

Schedule
Voss has put together another challenging schedule that will test the Vikings early and often. CSU welcomes Toledo to Woodling Gym on Aug. 26 for its earliest season-opener ever. Following a trip to the Duquesne Invitational, the Vikings will host Ohio State on Sept. 6. The Buckeyes, who are ranked 12th in the preseason coaches poll, will make their first appearance at CSU since the 1981 season.

Cleveland State keeps the Big Ten theme going by taking part in the Michigan Invitational the following weekend. The Vikings then return home to host the fifth annual CSU Medical Mutual Invitational. Having won the tournament in 2002 and 2004, CSU will be challenged this year by Binghamton, Niagara and San Diego State, all first-time participants.

The Vikings open the Horizon League schedule by playing four of their first five on the road, beginning with a swing to Butler and Wright State (Sept. 24-25). The home league schedule will be highlighted by an Alumni Day match with UIC on Oct. 16 and Senior Day festivities on Nov. 5 versus UW-Milwaukee.

CSU will make consecutive trips to Chicago at the end of the season, battling Loyola and UIC one week (Nov. 11-12), before returning five days later for the 2005 Horizon League Championship, hosted by the Flames on Nov. 17-20.

"Our confidence is sky-high coming off of our performance at the end of last season," Voss noted. "I set the schedule up to get us battle-tested as we head into an always tough Horizon League schedule.

"It's a good thing we're starting so early this year, because everyone has been chomping at the bit to get back on the court. Our intensity level has been tremendously high from the start of spring right on through the summer. We're going to be satisfied with nothing less than our first trip to the NCAA Tournament."

If hard work, dedication, experience and perseverance mean anything, then Cleveland State's six pack of seniors will be hard to stop in 2005.

Story Provided by Alan Ashby, Cleveland State Sports Information