Indiana University Athletics
Second Week of Two-A-Days Well Under Way
8/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
August 20, 2002
With the second full week of preseason volleyball practices under way, 10th-year head coach Katie Weismiller's squad is looking forward to its season opener vs. Drake, which will be played at the Northern Illinois Invitational on Friday, August 30. Following Tuesday's first practice, Weismiller gave her impressions of this week's practice sessions and touches on hot topics such as Victoria Zimmerman's handle on the setting position, Monique Pritz's improved play, and Nikki Hill's work ethic.
Weismiller on this week's practices: "We're getting better and we are starting to gel as a team. We are still working on basic fundamentals and individual skills but we've also been able to do a lot more "team" work. We've been working on gelling and doing a lot more scrimmaging. We're seeing a lot of returners starting to elevate their game. A lot of the returners are starting to get their timing down with the setter, timing down with the blocking. We're improving from that end. I think our freshmen are starting to find out what Division I Big Ten volleyball is all about and they are starting to do a better job as well. They are getting used to the system and getting used to the endurance factor. We've been able to intermix them with the starting squad."
Weismiller on the realization that the season opener vs. Drake at the Northern Illinois Invitational is only 10 days away: "We keep talking about how close the season is to starting. In two-a-days, because our roster is small in terms of numbers, we are getting a lot of touches and a lot of reps. They are pushing through every day and getting a lot accomplished."
Weismiller on sophomore setter Victoria Zimmerman: "Setting has probably been the biggest difference between last fall and this fall. One thing is, our location is better. It's certainly a daily task for her but she's getting better and better. She's been working on outside sets. I think our setting locations are better this year because she gets all of the reps. There is nobody stepping in. Because of that, our timing is getting so much better. The outside hitters know where the ball is going to be. The middles know what to expect and our timing is improved. Over the last three days, we've also started to see better leadership. We've seen better communication and her taking charge on the court. That's been the biggest turnaround since our last off day. Victoria also has so much fun when she plays."
Weismiller on what she wants to accomplish over the next few days: "One of the most important things is to pick up our level of play during our scrimmages. It helps that we have some good men's club players that come in and scrimmage against us. On Friday night, we are going to have a scrimmage and we hope to have most of the men's players here because they are a pretty big blocking team and they are scrappy. What we need to do is focus on our determination. Last need we passed a 28, which is almost unheard of. Hillary (Toivonen) and Melissa (Brewer) did a great job from the passing line. We're now talking about terminating on first opportunities. That's been our focus this three-day segment, learning how to terminate with the block. Those are areas we have to improve on. Every day we're in working on defense, and we're working on defending attacks, but we're working just as hard on our offense. Between this Thursday and Saturday we're really going to work on scoring more points offensively from the service line. Individually, we've been working on our skills and now we are going to put it all together."
Weismiller on whom she expects to be formidable from the service line: "It depends. If our jump servers, Victoria (Zimmerman) and Nikki (Hill), can get consistent, they'll be pretty strong. We need them to be consistent from the first serve through the last. After that, I think Christina Archibald led our team in service aces last fall. She's going to be strong as she just attacks from the service line. Melissa Brewer was probably second last year, in terms of service aces. She's a finesse server. She hits targets and she can put a ball where we need it. I think one of the biggest surprises right now is Monique Pritz. She's doing a really nice job from the service line. She's physically stronger and she's able to control her serve a little bit more. That's five of the six positions that are pretty strong."
Weismiller on player development: "Most of the returning players have really improved. You look at Nikki Hill's work ethic all spring and all summer. Our expectation is that she is going to be a totally different player than she was last fall and she's definitely held true to that. Monique is definitely playing better all-around volleyball. She's doing a nice job offensively, defensively, and in the passing game. Christina is one of our go-to players and our expectations for Melissa Brewer are very high. She's living up to those expectations and has a very well rounded game. Because our expeactations are so high, we're pleased that she's coming in and meeting those."
