The Mississippi State University Women’s Volleyball team played their annual Maroon and White Scrimmage on August 21; the final dress rehearsal before heading to Dallas this week for the team’s first tournament of the season.
With only four returning players from the 2016 squad, head coach David McFatrich is presented with equal challenge and opportunity to prepare the inexperienced squad for the quickly approaching season. Transfer players and freshmen account for 70 percent of the squad.
McFatrich, entering his third season, often switched players during the scrimmage to give him different offensive and defensive looks, like a mechanic tinkering with an engine until it purrs. After the final whistle, he expressed his takeaways from the scrimmage.
“I wish we were a little smoother and had a little more in rhythm before we head to SMU this week, but the effort was there, the heart was there we just have to get a little better on the execution,” McFatrich said.
A key element to the team’s success this season will depend on how quickly the players can come together as a cohesive team. During the scrimmage, there were several instances of missed point opportunities due to miscommunication and a lack of timing between setters and hitters. However, senior middle blocker Jelena Vujcin and freshman right side Sara Maddox showed spectators several examples of impressive offensive fire power.
Payton Harris, a senior from Houston, Texas, said the scrimmage highlights what the team needs to fine tune before the tournament as well as providing a psychological benefit.
“We definitely have some things we can improve on,” Harris said. “Also, it was a good place for the new girls to get out in front of a crowd instead of it just being at practice, to get some of those pre-tournament jitters out.”
Much like a quarterback in football or a point guard in basketball, the offense flows through the setter in volleyball. A setter is the coach on the court, instilling order and precision into every offensive set. Their predominate job is to facilitate the transition of the ball from the defensive specialist or libero to the hitters. While seemingly insignificant on paper, the setter can be the difference between a bad, good or great team.
Morgan Kath, junior from Muskego, Wisconsin, is a new face to MSU, but not the volleyball court. After completing two successful years at Stony Brook and etching herself into the program record books for seventh all-time assists, Kath decided to transfer to MSU to fill the crucial position of setter.
Arriving in June for preseason camp, Kath was given the difficult task to build the vital chemistry between the other players so each of her sets are optimal for the different hitters on the team. Some hitters approach the net low and quick making the set mirror the approach while a set for 6’3 Jelena Vujcin might be higher with more air under the ball allowing Vujcin to hit the ball with a greater force.
Kath explains it was a good transition and she focuses on learning what McFatrich expects from his starting setter.
“I think it’s just getting in the motion of how he (McFatrich) wants things run and getting connections with the girls overall during camp, getting in the rhythm with everything,” said Kath, “It has been a transition, but a good transition.”