After University of Idaho volleyball played last season with no fans in the stands, a delayed season and many other COVID-19 safety restrictions, several of the players said they are excited to get back to something resembling normalcy.
But the past year of hardships hasn’t gone without taking its toll. Head coach Debbie Buchanan said the team is not quite where they should be compared to where they normally have been in past years, and there has been a change in strategy for how the team will play.
“I feel like we’re still a little behind, just based on COVID and probably restrictions that certain athletes have had either at home or different places, so we’re getting a little banged up a little earlier than what we normally would see,” Buchanan said. “I think the hardest thing for me, as a coach, is to be able to step back a little bit and not have as much control and as much structure as we’ve done in the past.”
Where the style of the Vandals is usually to count on experience, power and the number of times they can smack the ball down in the competitor’s court, this year’s team has a few changes coming their way.
With the loss of previous key offensive players like outside hitter Avery Housley, who graduated, and middle blocker Kennedy Warren, who transferred and is now playing as an outside hitter at the University of Houston, the Vandals are focusing more on building up control and defense moving forward.
“This season we’re going to be really focused on our defensive game and being a strong ball control and defensive team,” senior outside hitter Allison Munday said. “I think we’re going to have a lot of opportunities there if we really keyed in on those two aspects of the game.”
While being smaller on the pins than usual, Buchanan said they will still be big and physical, especially in the middle. Playing smarter, keeping control and keeping the ball in play are going to be the focus this season.
Munday said players on and off the net have been really practicing getting a groove nailed down on the court. Showing adaptability and “setting a new standard” for practice, especially with five new players this semester, is what Munday said her goals were for the beginning of the season.
“I feel like when being a leader, it’s best to show by example,” Munday said. “No one wants to listen to you if you’re not putting in the work yourself, so making sure I’m going above and beyond for every ball and really just setting a good example for my teammates, focusing in on communication and really doing everything for my teammates, the program and for my coaches.”
Due to the pandemic, recruiting the new players was different than it has been any other year. New players weren’t able to meet their coaches and team in-person until they were here and being thrown into the season. Buchanan said this made establishing bonds of trust and friendship between recruits, coaches and players difficult.
“I’ve been really impressed with [the new players’] overall ability to just blend in,” Buchanan said. “[Practices] were their first interactions and meetings with the team, and I feel like they’ve done a great job.”
Buchanan said she hopes the return of fans and family to the gym during games will give the players an energy boost, particularly after a season persevering without parents in the stands.
“I’m just excited for us as a younger team to really go and show everyone what we have in us,” sophomore setter Peyten Ely said. “We’re a little bit smaller, but we’re so powerful and we have so many tools under our belt. I’m excited to show everyone what we have, really go out there and give it our all and just have all these leaders on our team come out to really lead our team through this [season].”
Anteia McCollum can be reached at [email protected]