Indiana University Athletics
High Expectations – Volleyball Serious About The Future
8/12/2019 10:17:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BY PETE DIPRIMIO
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.– Indiana volleyball history winds down to this:
Serve and dig.
It is a simple drill. Players serve, shift into mid-court position and dig a pass from an assistant coach's soft spike.
It is a drill they have done hundreds, perhaps thousands of times, but this time is different. This time it comes at the conclusion of the first official volleyball practice at Wilkinson Hall, a multi-million-dollar statement that the Hoosiers are -- finally -- taking volleyball seriously.
For this second-year coach Steve Aird and his team give thanks.
"The statement made by the athletics department and the school placing a value on what we do is huge," Aird says. "The generosity of (major donor) Jay Wilkinson and the good people at IU who donated … it matters."
It certainly matters to the players. Consider fifth-year senior outside hitter Kendall Beerman, who endured four years of University Gym, which might have wowed people in, say, 1960.
Wilkinson Hall was originally set to open in August of 2018, in time for volleyball season, but for a variety of reasons didn't open until last January, months after volleyball was over (but in time for the second half of the wrestling season)
"I'm so grateful that I have a fifth year and get to be part of the new IU," Beerman says. "This is night and day from what we had to what we have now. It's a state-of-the-art facility. It doesn't get any better. People will be really excited to be here."
Excitement extends to what Aird can do, for this coming season, and for the future.
He made instant Hoosier impact last year with a 16-15 debut record, 7-13 in the Big Ten. That included a sweep of Ohio State and a victory over No. 14 Michigan.
IU had a 1-19 conference record in the previous season.
••••••••••••••••••
What's Aird's coaching secret?
"All around he's a good coach," Beerman says. "His energy is through the roof. You have no choice but to match it or you're going to get left behind.
"He's always loud, always smiling, always having a good time. He's always expecting so much out of us, which is great. The intensity is there all the time. It doesn't letup, which is awesome for us."
IU returns five seniors and six starters. Nine new players -- five transfers and four freshmen -- add intrigue, but not concern. The new culture that was started last season is well entrenched.
"All the new people are catching on fast," Beerman says. "Steve will whip them into shape quickly, whether they like it or not."
She laughs.
"I don't think it will be that hard."
Aird demands without excess. He's won two national championships as an assistant coach at Penn State, became the head coach at Maryland, recruited a pair of top-20 classes and had the program poised for big things before becoming a Hoosier.
He takes over a perennially struggling program competing in the nation's best volleyball conference. IU could be a top-20 team and not finish in the upper half of the Big Ten.
Let's just say Aird embraces challenges. He describes his coaching style as "Pretty angry."
"It's playing with an edge. Being passionate. Caring more than is wise at times. Being an Every-Dayer. Being grateful for the opportunity to do it."
Yes, Aird just made up a word.
"Players have to understand I didn't come to Indiana to hopefully get a little better or hopefully make the playoffs. We want to turn this into a destination for top players. We want to have real success. Make everyone proud. It's not a mood, it's a lifestyle. I want to be around fun, passionate people who know that when it's go time, they know it's go time."
As far as what needs to happen for the Hoosiers to go this year, Aird says, "We have eight to nine new bodies. It's a brand new Lego set. When I got here I had a 16-month plan. We needed to change the culture. We needed to bring in some bodies. We were really thin last year and had some unfortunate injuries that got in the way.
"Now we have a very veteran team in a lot of ways. There are a lot of seniors. The one thing I'm very clear about is, hey you got better last year, but that doesn't mean you'll instantly get better this year. There are a lot of good teams in the conference. The preseason schedule is rugged. Just because we were better last year doesn't mean anything to me."
••••••••••••••••••
Sustained success ultimately comes down to recruiting. The state of Indiana rates among the nation's best in developing elite volleyball talent. Aird says every Final Four team last season started at least one Indiana player.
He needs those players to start coming to IU. His style and approach will help. So will Wilkinson Hall.
In some ways, it already has. Aird has landed freshman Emily Fitzner, a 6-foot setter out of California who earned first-team Under Armour All-America honors. That's the first time IU has landed so highly rated a player. She's the sister of Evan Fitzner, who played basketball for the Hoosiers last season.
Fitzner reflects what Aird wants in a player.
"I want kids who want to compete. I told them during our intro meeting (on Friday) that everything is on a scoreboard. Everything is measured. That's true in volleyball or if you're trying to get your first big job and 90 apply for it.
"Competition never goes away, so learn to embrace it. I want to be around competitive people."
Competitive, he adds, doesn't mean being a jerk.
"You can be competitive and still be a good human being. Being a great teammate and being competitive aren't mutually exclusive. You can do both at the same time. You can have great energy and want to win the right to represent the school and program."
IU's nucleus comes from its seven seniors -- Beerman, Megan Sloan, Deyshia Lofton, Jacqui Armer, Meaghan Koors, Hayden Huybers and Victoria Brisack.
"I think we'll have a pretty good team," Aird says. "I don't know if I thought I'd say that in Year Two. There's been so much transition.
"We'll be vastly improved. We can't control how good everyone is. We can control our roster. We've recruited well. We've trained well. We feel good about what we have. Is that national championship good? We're a long ways from that, but from where we were two years ago, it's night and day.
"We want to do things the right way. We don't cheat. We don't bend rules. We have a good time doing it.
"This is a unique program. It's not for everyone. The energy is different. We're starting to get the right people around us. We have fun every day. It's a great group of kids. A great staff."
And, thanks to Wilkinson Hall, a great place to try to make dreams come true.
"We feel a part of campus," Aird says. "This building is beautiful, but if it were three miles off campus, there would still be issues. The fact that it's right next to Assembly Hall and Cook Hall, we feel part of it. That's a huge thing."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.– Indiana volleyball history winds down to this:
Serve and dig.
It is a simple drill. Players serve, shift into mid-court position and dig a pass from an assistant coach's soft spike.
It is a drill they have done hundreds, perhaps thousands of times, but this time is different. This time it comes at the conclusion of the first official volleyball practice at Wilkinson Hall, a multi-million-dollar statement that the Hoosiers are -- finally -- taking volleyball seriously.
For this second-year coach Steve Aird and his team give thanks.
"The statement made by the athletics department and the school placing a value on what we do is huge," Aird says. "The generosity of (major donor) Jay Wilkinson and the good people at IU who donated … it matters."
It certainly matters to the players. Consider fifth-year senior outside hitter Kendall Beerman, who endured four years of University Gym, which might have wowed people in, say, 1960.
Wilkinson Hall was originally set to open in August of 2018, in time for volleyball season, but for a variety of reasons didn't open until last January, months after volleyball was over (but in time for the second half of the wrestling season)
"I'm so grateful that I have a fifth year and get to be part of the new IU," Beerman says. "This is night and day from what we had to what we have now. It's a state-of-the-art facility. It doesn't get any better. People will be really excited to be here."
Excitement extends to what Aird can do, for this coming season, and for the future.
He made instant Hoosier impact last year with a 16-15 debut record, 7-13 in the Big Ten. That included a sweep of Ohio State and a victory over No. 14 Michigan.
IU had a 1-19 conference record in the previous season.
••••••••••••••••••
What's Aird's coaching secret?
"All around he's a good coach," Beerman says. "His energy is through the roof. You have no choice but to match it or you're going to get left behind.
"He's always loud, always smiling, always having a good time. He's always expecting so much out of us, which is great. The intensity is there all the time. It doesn't letup, which is awesome for us."
IU returns five seniors and six starters. Nine new players -- five transfers and four freshmen -- add intrigue, but not concern. The new culture that was started last season is well entrenched.
"All the new people are catching on fast," Beerman says. "Steve will whip them into shape quickly, whether they like it or not."
She laughs.
"I don't think it will be that hard."
Aird demands without excess. He's won two national championships as an assistant coach at Penn State, became the head coach at Maryland, recruited a pair of top-20 classes and had the program poised for big things before becoming a Hoosier.
He takes over a perennially struggling program competing in the nation's best volleyball conference. IU could be a top-20 team and not finish in the upper half of the Big Ten.
Let's just say Aird embraces challenges. He describes his coaching style as "Pretty angry."
"It's playing with an edge. Being passionate. Caring more than is wise at times. Being an Every-Dayer. Being grateful for the opportunity to do it."
Yes, Aird just made up a word.
"Players have to understand I didn't come to Indiana to hopefully get a little better or hopefully make the playoffs. We want to turn this into a destination for top players. We want to have real success. Make everyone proud. It's not a mood, it's a lifestyle. I want to be around fun, passionate people who know that when it's go time, they know it's go time."
As far as what needs to happen for the Hoosiers to go this year, Aird says, "We have eight to nine new bodies. It's a brand new Lego set. When I got here I had a 16-month plan. We needed to change the culture. We needed to bring in some bodies. We were really thin last year and had some unfortunate injuries that got in the way.
"Now we have a very veteran team in a lot of ways. There are a lot of seniors. The one thing I'm very clear about is, hey you got better last year, but that doesn't mean you'll instantly get better this year. There are a lot of good teams in the conference. The preseason schedule is rugged. Just because we were better last year doesn't mean anything to me."
••••••••••••••••••
Sustained success ultimately comes down to recruiting. The state of Indiana rates among the nation's best in developing elite volleyball talent. Aird says every Final Four team last season started at least one Indiana player.
He needs those players to start coming to IU. His style and approach will help. So will Wilkinson Hall.
In some ways, it already has. Aird has landed freshman Emily Fitzner, a 6-foot setter out of California who earned first-team Under Armour All-America honors. That's the first time IU has landed so highly rated a player. She's the sister of Evan Fitzner, who played basketball for the Hoosiers last season.
Fitzner reflects what Aird wants in a player.
"I want kids who want to compete. I told them during our intro meeting (on Friday) that everything is on a scoreboard. Everything is measured. That's true in volleyball or if you're trying to get your first big job and 90 apply for it.
"Competition never goes away, so learn to embrace it. I want to be around competitive people."
Competitive, he adds, doesn't mean being a jerk.
"You can be competitive and still be a good human being. Being a great teammate and being competitive aren't mutually exclusive. You can do both at the same time. You can have great energy and want to win the right to represent the school and program."
IU's nucleus comes from its seven seniors -- Beerman, Megan Sloan, Deyshia Lofton, Jacqui Armer, Meaghan Koors, Hayden Huybers and Victoria Brisack.
"I think we'll have a pretty good team," Aird says. "I don't know if I thought I'd say that in Year Two. There's been so much transition.
"We'll be vastly improved. We can't control how good everyone is. We can control our roster. We've recruited well. We've trained well. We feel good about what we have. Is that national championship good? We're a long ways from that, but from where we were two years ago, it's night and day.
"We want to do things the right way. We don't cheat. We don't bend rules. We have a good time doing it.
"This is a unique program. It's not for everyone. The energy is different. We're starting to get the right people around us. We have fun every day. It's a great group of kids. A great staff."
And, thanks to Wilkinson Hall, a great place to try to make dreams come true.
"We feel a part of campus," Aird says. "This building is beautiful, but if it were three miles off campus, there would still be issues. The fact that it's right next to Assembly Hall and Cook Hall, we feel part of it. That's a huge thing."
Players Mentioned
Middle Blocker
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Outside Hitter
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Setter
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Setter
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Middle Blocker
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Defensive Specialist
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Middle Blocker
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Outside Hitter
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