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Will Bigger Equal Better for Dominion Volleyball?
Titans look to get bigger this season but will that equate to more wins or bigger falls?
Gradually, members of last season’s volleyball team and potential players rising from the Junior High School will assemble in the Main Gym at
Volleyball, especially at the upper levels, caters more to athletes that are tall, explosive, agile, and poses qualities unique to the sport. Unlike basketball which also looks to the tall and athletic athletes, volleyball is a test of athletic and mental prowess without the impedance of pushing, pulling, or other means of limiting ones abilities. Ten pounds more of muscle will rarely beat out the more skilled volleyball player. However, two athletes that have identical skills will be unevenly matched if one of those players has a two inch height advantage and in the area of height, Dominion may be moving up the charts this season.
Leaving for the 2009 – 2010 season is All District selection Lauren Wong. Lauren at six feet, was one of the tallest and most skilled players on the roster. This season though, the Titans may actually be able to gain height across the roster and certainly will not lose any with returning starters Stephanie Lummis and Erin Davenport. Lummis, a five foot eleven Outside Hitter and
Coupled with an increase in size may be increased skill and athleticism. Coach Meyer feels if the girls who are not playing club get into the open gyms and the weight room, that they have received enough instruction over the last two seasons that they should be able to be ready come August. Coach Meyer also feels that it is no different than studying for a final exam; if you focus, put your mind to the task at hand, and work at it, you will get what you put into it at the end.
Certainly however, the Titan roster will not be stacked with six foot athletes that are accomplished volleyball players. With the players that don’t have what Coach Meyer refers to as “ideal height” he still wants them to be big. “If you are a player that is say, five foot six, we don’t want you to play as a five foot six player, we want you to play as a five eight or five nine player. There is certainly a place on the roster for those sub five ten players, but we want them to play much bigger”.
One example of needing additional big play would be an Outside Hitter from last year’s team, Kristina Brown. Meyer mentioned that while having the skill and athletic attributes, Brown did not always play above her size which resulted in many of her errors when attacking. Kristina has very good jumping ability. She probably has a vertical close to Stephanie (Lummis) when she gets into it. The problem was at five foot six she is thinking she has to put the ball straight down like some of the taller girls when in fact we need her to start thinking about out jumping the block and hitting either over or around the block. Kristina has a lot of good tools to work with but is a different player than Stephanie who is a lot taller, longer, and jumps pretty high so she will be able to get away with that a little more often. There are not too many blockers that Stephanie will face one on one this season that will be able to just shut her down. Kristina will have to be more crafty with her shots but the potential is there.
Another area that Dominion looks to improve on is its blocking. Last season the Titans registered 36 solo blocks and 59 block assists. Leading the way last season was Sophomore Erin Davenport who has continued to play club and looks to improve on those numbers.
In addition to returning team members, the Titans will look to add to the programs strengths through its incoming Freshman Class. Last season the Titans increased their size and athleticism through its Freshman Class and this year they look to do the same.
So as spring steps into full gear and players start preparing for the upcoming season, one of the early questions will be, are the Titans going to be big enough to compete with some of the larger teams in the district such as
