Bobcats Take Big Steps in Practice Gym
4/28/2017 5:33:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
“Spring-time is when you make the biggest improvement,” said MSU second-year head coach JJ Riley. “I think technically we’re getting better in passing, serving and defense."
Any coach worth their mettle knows a team takes its biggest steps in the off-season. And, for the Montana State volleyball coaching staff, the recently completed spring campaign was nothing but exciting as the young Bobcats begin their climb up the Big Sky Conference ladder.
MSU returns ten letterwinners from last year's squad that posted a 5-20 overall mark and a 3-13 Big Sky ledger. Seven of the ten were freshmen or sophomores, and the Bobcats graduated just three veterans. Riley will also welcome six incoming freshmen into the mix this summer.
"Spring-time is when you make the biggest improvement," said MSU second-year head coach JJ Riley. "I think technically we're getting better in passing, serving and defense.
"On top of the technical stuff, the comfort level has been a big step for them as well as the confidence of getting in there and being able to compete," Riley added. "Competition at every single spot is exciting. It will help us. Our main focus as a coaching staff was to bring in talent that will compete every day. They will need to prove themselves and I believe everyone will come in with the attitude that they are competing for playing time. They understand they need to battle."
Despite its record last fall, the Bobcats were competitive as almost half of its matches went four sets or more. However, the bug-a-boo for MSU was its errors. The things that were in their control. The Cats registered 542 hitting errors, 144 service errors and 66 blocking errors – all resulting in points for its opponents.
Needless to say, Riley's energy this spring was directed in cleaning up things on the Bobcat side of the net.
"Reducing the errors and playing a much cleaner volleyball game is going to be the key," Riley commented. "The cleaner you play the more chances you give yourself. We gave away too many points on our errors and we've got to cut that down. And, a lot of that is seeing the game, reading what's happening, and as a staff we have to give them the tools to handle those situations."
This fall, MSU will rely on outside hitters Natalie Passeck, Chase Doughty and Evi Wilson. "Right now, we've got a good nucleus on the outside," Riley said. "We've moved a few kids around. Savannah (Laws) has come a long ways on the rightside and is becoming comfortable over there, which hopefully, will cause some problems for our opponents in the fall.
"Our setters have really stepped-up their consistency," Riley said. "Sydney (Mathison) has gained more confidence and Katie (Rutecki) has been solid and has improved her defensive game."
The leadership for this fall will be on the shoulders of MSU's senior middles Kiana Black and Audra Dugan. "The two seniors in the middle have been getting better," Riley said. "They're tough and their blocking is getting better, which we've spent some time on this spring."
Riley and company took the strides needed in the practice gym to take the next step in the program's development. And, the excitement and confidence building towards August has been infectious.
"Overall, we had some good growth," Riley said. "We made some changes, became more competitive, developed our team chemistry and it we had a different vibe as the days went on. It was exactly what we were hoping to get out of spring drills."
MSU returns ten letterwinners from last year's squad that posted a 5-20 overall mark and a 3-13 Big Sky ledger. Seven of the ten were freshmen or sophomores, and the Bobcats graduated just three veterans. Riley will also welcome six incoming freshmen into the mix this summer.
"Spring-time is when you make the biggest improvement," said MSU second-year head coach JJ Riley. "I think technically we're getting better in passing, serving and defense.
"On top of the technical stuff, the comfort level has been a big step for them as well as the confidence of getting in there and being able to compete," Riley added. "Competition at every single spot is exciting. It will help us. Our main focus as a coaching staff was to bring in talent that will compete every day. They will need to prove themselves and I believe everyone will come in with the attitude that they are competing for playing time. They understand they need to battle."
Despite its record last fall, the Bobcats were competitive as almost half of its matches went four sets or more. However, the bug-a-boo for MSU was its errors. The things that were in their control. The Cats registered 542 hitting errors, 144 service errors and 66 blocking errors – all resulting in points for its opponents.
Needless to say, Riley's energy this spring was directed in cleaning up things on the Bobcat side of the net.
"Reducing the errors and playing a much cleaner volleyball game is going to be the key," Riley commented. "The cleaner you play the more chances you give yourself. We gave away too many points on our errors and we've got to cut that down. And, a lot of that is seeing the game, reading what's happening, and as a staff we have to give them the tools to handle those situations."
This fall, MSU will rely on outside hitters Natalie Passeck, Chase Doughty and Evi Wilson. "Right now, we've got a good nucleus on the outside," Riley said. "We've moved a few kids around. Savannah (Laws) has come a long ways on the rightside and is becoming comfortable over there, which hopefully, will cause some problems for our opponents in the fall.
"Our setters have really stepped-up their consistency," Riley said. "Sydney (Mathison) has gained more confidence and Katie (Rutecki) has been solid and has improved her defensive game."
The leadership for this fall will be on the shoulders of MSU's senior middles Kiana Black and Audra Dugan. "The two seniors in the middle have been getting better," Riley said. "They're tough and their blocking is getting better, which we've spent some time on this spring."
Riley and company took the strides needed in the practice gym to take the next step in the program's development. And, the excitement and confidence building towards August has been infectious.
"Overall, we had some good growth," Riley said. "We made some changes, became more competitive, developed our team chemistry and it we had a different vibe as the days went on. It was exactly what we were hoping to get out of spring drills."
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