Mixing and Matching Maximizes Rams' Potential

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Tom Hilbert loves to tinker with his lineup in the offseason.

It's not done just to do something. By doing so in the offseason, the Colorado State volleyball coach generally comes across with some pleasant surprises, and at the very least, some questions to ponder. Not only for him, but his players.

In turn, it also leads to increased competition, which in turn makes his players better and the team as a result. The end result also makes his roster more versatile for the upcoming season for when the unexpected expectedly happens in a match and adjustments have to be made on the fly.

Some of the hints came last season. Annie Sullivan played both right and outside, as did Jacqi Van Liefde, who was also thrust into the middle at the Mountain West tournament. Then they gave Malaya Jones a look outside which really put everything in constant motion through the summer and during the team's summer trip to Europe.

"That's given us some depth and made some interesting things happen," Hilbert said. "You also see Alyssa Groves, when we were on our European tour, probably had the best hitting percentage of anybody on our team. Naeemah Weathers is getting very good; her arm swing is developing, her blocking is developing."

What he sees is nine or 10 hitters who can all attack well, giving him plenty of reason to keep exploring the options up until the first match of the season, Aug. 26 against North Carolina in Moby Arena.

For Van Liefde, it's a return to her roots, when she played middle her first season of playing volleyball as a teen. Being placed there at the end of the season was a bit of a shock, and while the entirety of her game there didn't feel comfortable, she did really enjoy it.

She also wasn't surprised when Hilbert told her he wanted to explore it even further.

"I was like, let's go back to those days and remember what that's like, and I have a blast doing it," she said. "I enjoy stepping into a new position where I knew it was going to be challenging and I knew I was going to be uncomfortable, but I embraced it and am having fun with it. Walking into those last couple of games of last season in a new position was really weird for me, but the team supported me well."

The hitting part was the best, as it allowed her to attack at a quick tempo and without having to think about much. Most of her attacks in those matches came in the front, so during the spring and in Europe they've really worked on getting her comfortable with slides.

The tricky part as the blocking, where the approach physically and mentally is different. She's also having to be mentally in tune with her spacing with the setter. While she's still putting in quality swings at times on the right, she's embracing her reps in the middle wholeheartedly.

"Full force. I'm learning a lot with the blocking piece and feeling a lot more comfortable with my vision there," she said. "I'm embracing it. I still play some right side in practice; I still play some middle and you'll likely see me in both positions in games. I think that's the next piece is reminding myself to flip the switch from a fast-tempo 1 to a right side set that's higher."

Sullivan's flip isn't so different she said. Left side or right side, there are similarities she can carry from one pin to the other. She said the key for all of them is to give it their all no matter where they are at, then trust in the coaches to find the right spot for them so the best six are on the court.

While there is comfort in being in one place all the time, she, like Hilbert, likes the safety which comes with the ever-changing look of practice, which she says amplifies the competition in those sessions. She said you don't always know who you're competing with for a spot, or even which spot you're competing for, but competition rules the day.

"It's definitely nice we have a lot of people who can play different positions, just because in games if we need to switch people around," she said. "It shows how athletic our team is that Jacqi can play outside, middle or right side; I can play outside or right; Malaya can play outside, middle and right side. It challenges us in practice, because no one really has a set position, so we're all just going at it.

"When you're lined up against someone in practice, you never really know who it's going to be so you can't get used to their tendencies and everything. You have to stay on your toes."

Inevitably, Hilbert seems to find more questions the further into he goes, and a lot of them present him with good problems to solve. It's not all just about how they swing and block at a spot, but he's finding some are improving their ball handling skills as an aside, well enough he's considering options to keep it a viable tool.

Eventually, he will settle into some primary spots for all of them, at least in the beginning. He expects the Tar Heels, a team which the Rams lost to in five last year on the road, could be the best non-conference foe they face. But he's also apt to change his mind after the first couple of matches, or right before the opener.

He's taken a decision down to the final day before, and he's made a major lineup change within the first 10 matches of a season. It's all to give him looks and for he and his team to be prepared for anything.

"We're trying to practice that way, too. We move people around and put them in different positions," he said. "We do a lot of drills now where were trying to get everybody to handle the ball. And that's another thing that came up. Jacqi is developing into a pretty nice little ball handler. She makes some defensive plays, does some passing, so if we play her in the middle, she might not be able to do that, so we may have to find a hybrid way of getting her to do that. Who knows, but the fact is she has the ability to do that."

Which is why he loves moving his players around. He's never quite sure what he'll find, but as history has shown, he's found something. What the Rams feel they have in droves is versatility, which has never been a detriment.

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