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Volleyball Heads Into Summer After Solid Spring Campaign
5/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
With the semester now over, the Seton Hall volleyball team has gone its separate ways to enjoy a little time off before pre-season camp begins in August. Prior to projects and final exams, the Pirates remained hard at work during the spring to refine their game and prepare for another run in the fall.
New head coach Allie Yaeger sent her squad to Rutgers and Hofstra (for a mini-tournament) to refine their skills and build upon the success that has taken them to three straight BIG EAST Championships.
"The good thing about spring ball is it helps you see what you need to work on moving forward," stated the first-year coach. "I was happy with how we played overall, but there are always things we can correct before we get going in the preseason."
Spring matches are broken up into sets, but they typically do not follow the traditional best-of-five series. The teams treat each frame individually and coaches often switch lineups to see what is working and what match-ups work the best.
Seton Hall played the Scarlet Knights in mid-April and played four sets, winning all of them decisively. After dropping a match on the road to their in-state rivals in the fall, Yaeger was pleased to see the results.
"I was just happy were able to get everyone on the court against Rutgers," said Yaeger. "A lot of people who didn't get much action in the fall were able to play so they were able to get more reps to get them ready for the fall. It's also a good measuring stick for us being able to play well against a conference opponent."
The Pirates then headed east to Hofstra, where they split two sets with the Pride and another BIG EAST team, St. John's.
"Both of those games were really close and went to extra points in each set," Yaeger said. "We had one of our right-sides turn an ankle, and we moved Shelbey Manthorpe to that spot and brought Olivia Trudeau back to setter. I thought Shelbey was really good there and I was happy with how Olivia played, so that might be an option for us moving forward."
With the loss of departing senior Meghan Matusiak, one of the best players in program history, Yaeger was hoping someone would emerge from her club to take over not only statistically, but from a leadership standpoint and it looks like she received her wish.
"I think Stacey Manthorpe and Simona Sekulova have made a lot of strides," she said. "I think we will be able to rely on them when it comes down to set/match point. The key with Simona is keeping her healthy, because when she is she can be a dangerous player. Stacey, especially has come a long way, and has shown can really take control of a game. She is also stepping up as a leader on this team."
Even with the success of the team in its non-traditional season, Yaeger says it is too tough to gauge lineups due to certain players dealing with injuries and not having her incoming freshman class in the mix.
"I can't tell you what our lineup will look like or what kind of rotation we want to use right now," commented Yaeger. "I used the spring to do a lot of tinkering with our lineups and positions."
"What I do know is there is competition at every position and we are versatile enough to show teams some different looks," she continued. "Everyone is competing for playing time, which I hope makes them work even harder this summer and come into camp in great shape."
