Indiana University Athletics
Hoosier Hitters in Full Swing
8/12/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
August 12, 2002
Bloomington, Ind. -- The Indiana University volleyball squad, under the direction of head coach Katie Weismiller, returned to the U-School Gymnasium today for a 9:00 a.m. practice that lasted approximately two hours. The practice session followed a team conditioning session that last about an hour. The Hoosiers will take Tuesday off before returning to practice on Wednesday morning. Indiana opens its 2002 campaign on August 30 when it takes on Drake University at the Northern Illinois Invitational on August 30.Below, Weismiller and senior libero Hillary Toivonen discuss recent practices and look ahead to the 2002 campaign.
Said Weismiller on the opening days of practice: "I couldn't be happier with the condition that they came back in. They obviously worked hard all summer long and you can see it. We are so much more ahead of the game this preseason than we were a year ago. We're able to jump into drills. We're able to get through drills. Condition-wise, in 10 years this is the best squad that I've ever had."
Weismiller on who deserves the credit for improved conditioning: "I credit our improvement to our team and (strength and conditioning coach) Geoff Eliason. Geoff has done an incredible job motivating them and they wanted to go. It's a voluntary situation (over the summer) but they wanted to go and they went in and worked extremely hard. You've got to give the players credit as they are in great shape. We came back and did our strength and conditioning and test drills and we had personal bests across the board. That's when you know they've accomplished something this summer."
Weismiller on what athletes were the most impressive during testing: "There's a group of them that you have to look at, from Melissa Brewer, to Katie Pollom, Hillary Toivonen, Nikki Hilli, and you can go on. Christina Archibald physically is so gifted. We didn't have numbers before for her but she put up some great numbers. She's touching over 10'2". We're getting up there and she's doing some nice things. They are definitely in shape."
Weismiller on how being in better shape translates to on-court performance: "On the court, we're getting back to work calling out plays and stuff like that. We're able to jump into a scrimmage and the group is already gelling, which is a huge plus."
Weismiller on setter Victoria Zimmerman: "Every day keeps getting better. She went through this defensive drill (at the end of today's practice) and we saw a lot of leadership from her. She was going after every ball, was talking, communicating, and getting her teammates to play harder. With each day she's starting to understand and accept her role. That's been a huge plus."
On how the new libero position has changed practices: "It affects practice from the standpoint that some people are going to be off the court more. Hillary's going to be on more but right now she's also our third outside hitter. She still has to go through all of our offensive drills, all of the attacking drills, plus we almost expect her to do almost two-to-one defensively compared to what others are doing. Her on-court time has definitely increased but it also requires our front-row players, who in the past haven't had to see the court at all, to step on and play some defense. They have to go through a rotation and play backcourt. That's interesting because they have to go back and serve and play defense. We're working hard at that. Katie Pollom has picked it up well because she's one of our better defensive players."
Weismiller on the off day and upcoming practices: "We are off tomorrow and then we'll be back on Wednesday for three consecutive days. The intensity is high and they are going hard. The will to win is so great right now. They are going for every ball and no balls are hitting the court. At the same time, I think they are enjoying practice. They know how hard they've worked this summer and they are picking up the intensity even more when they step on the court."
Weismiller on freshmen Mandy Eberle and Ashley White: "When you look at the two freshmen you know that down the road they are going to be great players. Right now, getting them in shape and involved in the system is critical. They are going through a lot and there are only two of them. Everybody else knows what is happening. It's a little bit more difficult for them this year because they are being thrown into the mix. It's been an eye-opener for them. We didn't start slow. We started with full intensity and the transition for the freshmen this year has been a little bit tougher. But, here are two players who are going to be the future of Indiana volleyball. This is going to pay off in the long run."
Said senior libero Hillary Toivonen on the start of practice: "Well everyone, I think you can tell, is in shape. We were really ready to jump right in and learn new skills instead of backtracking and getting in shape. Everyone is in shape and everyone is playing very well together. We've also already scrimmaged, which is really good."
Toivonen on playing libero as well as outside hitter: "I work more on helping out the other outside hitters, talking a lot more, and trying to jump start the defense a little bit, especially when we are scrimmaging. That's what I'm trying to focus on this year."
Toivonon on libero fitting her skills: "I've been known for ball control, so it's been really good as I can come in and pass and play defense. Plus, I'm a little bit shorter so I think it will work well this year."
Toivonon on what she is looking to gain from upcoming practices: "The key thing is getting back to playing together as a unit. We all have the skills but we have to work on our blocking and defense together as a team. We played together all spring so we should be able to get back into it rather quickly."
Toivonen on playing at the USAV Nationals: "It helped me learn what I need to do to play against the top players, especially in the Big Ten. It helped me realize what I have to work on and I've tried to bring that knowledge into what we've been doing at practice."
