I was at the Cal Poly volleyball team’s intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday night, and if you read this blog a couple days ago and got the details for yourself, you might have been at Mott Gym, too.
(On a side note, if you did read the blog and decided to go see the scrimmage after reading, leave a comment. I’m interested to know.)
There weren’t a ton of people there, but it really was the last time any locals will get the chance to see the Mustangs play before Sept. 18, when they return from a three-week road trip.
I unofficially dubbed it the Rocky Mountain Road Trip last night since the team will spend three weeks between Colorado and northern Utah.
I got a lot of good quotes from the players and coach Jon Stevenson, and we’re running a more in-depth season preview in a future print edition of The Tribune, but I also wanted to give some thoughts on how the team is shaping up after the scrimmage.
It had a very intriguing start. For the first set, it was veterans facing off against the newcomers. The No. 9-ranked recruiting class in the nation taking on the returners from last season’s third-place Big West Conference finishers.
The newcomers looked impressive, taking a 10-5 lead early on. But it wouldn’t hold. The vets came back to tie the score at 18-18 before pulling away for a 25-23 win.
Dominique Olowolafe, Hailey Fithian and Ashleigh Bertoni shined for the returners. The veterans were in obvious trouble when Olowolafe rotated out, but when she was on the court, the team was better on the block, and she was money on her attacks.
For the newcomers, freshmen Molly Pon and Jennifer Keddy impressed with their attacks. Pon has a vicious jump serve, and Keddy’s was impressive, too, especially coming from a 6-3 middle blocker.
The freshmen seemed to have the most trouble receiving serves, something coach Jon Stevenson talked about after the scrimmage.
A couple of players were traded between the teams for the second set, but the one with the most veterans again erased a deficit to come back for a 25-21 victory.
The teams were much more blended in the final two sets, which both had very competitive scores. It was 25-20 in the third and 17-15 in the fourth.
Stevenson was encouraged by the close competition. It means the team has depth. It also means there still is no clear-cut starting lineup. Even the players don’t know who’s going to get the starting nod when the season tips off next Friday.
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3 comments
voleyqueen
August 23, 2009 at 10:45 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I was excited by:
Ashleigh Bertoni — I was so impressed with her. She looks so much more of a leader out there (being only 1 0f 2 seniors). She looked quicker to the ball (lost allot of weight).
Molly Pon — Looks so unassuming but wow can she serve a killer jump spike serve. She can blast the ball too.
Jennifer Keddy — Slow to start but we were finally able to see her connect with setter Keanini and blast the ball. She’s got some much to learn and a great teacher. We have 4 years to see her grow as a player. Can’t wait.
Who won the Setters battle:
Keanini! But maybe Jon will run at 6’2 rotating the Setters out when they are front row and put his lefts OPP’s in.
1. Anuhea Keanini — Looking at her she doesn’t look like at vb player .. let alone a setter. 5’7 and very thick. I was really blown away bye her hands and how she connected with her hitters. SHe was able to set her lefty Opp’s Holly Franks very well. Reminded me of the connection between Hayes and Atherstone at times. She also connected well with OH Molly Pon, MB Dominique Olowolafe and at time MB Jennifer Keddy. Only drawback is that she is a little slower to the ball on a bad pass and if she plays front row the block may be lacking.
2. Hailey Fithian — The Senior setter seemed better that last year at times. She seemed to have ore confidence and showed more leadership. She was consistent nad steady. She also seemed to connect well with the vets and rookies. Last year was rough for her, so I hope that this year is better. Maybe having some competition with Keanini will make her work hard and shine.
3. Sarah Cawrse — I feel bad for saying this, and may she just was rusty but her hands are lacking. UGLY! I was a setter and I would like to thnk that when you hit the D! level hands shouldn’t be an issue. At one point she had 3 sets in a row were the ball came out spinning. The biggest problem I see her having is connecting with her hitters. She set Pon and Olowolafe numerous times and it was way off. If you can’t connect with your biggest hitters.. your sitting the bench. She is a lefty setter though so maybe John can continue to work with her. I wonder if that is way she only played 2 games for the Ducks last season?
Other thoughts:
They had the liberos rotate out for the MB’s and play defense in the middle. That way Poly ran a bic (lower pipe let) with there OH often and it worked. Jon had Allison Mort his libers playing OH a bit. Looks like Lauren Law may be the primery libero? Law wears her jersey 1 size to big. Weird. Anicia Santos will be the 3rd MB going in. Her arm swing is very different..more like a circle rather than a proper bow and arrow. I was surprised to see that kind of swing on the court.. most coaches wont recruit a swing lie that. She did it serving too.
Overall it was exciting to see. With so much talent and only 6 positions on the court Jon has some tough choices to make. I am sure the GMS and competitive cauldron will help him out. His white board was there on the sidelines and he and his coaching staff referenced it often. I liked how Ossie and Walters took the reigns of each team and Jon went back and forth. I really liked seeing Ossie coach.
Joshua D. Scroggin
August 23, 2009 at 3:16 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Nice breakdown. Thanks for sharing the insight.
How do you think the team will fare on its road swing?
surferdog
August 31, 2009 at 9:23 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Missed the scrimmage but looking forward to their upcoming home games. Hearing great things about the freshman! On the Oregon transfer, heard she had a bad case of mono in 2008. Hopefully the rust is wearing off!