1999 Green Wave Volleyball Outlook
Aug 12, 1999 | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 12, 1999
NEW ORLEANS - It is not uncommon for a visitor to New Orleans or the southern Louisiana area to receive a little something extra from a local vendor or merchant after making a purchase. Whether it is a bag of candy or additional french fries with a po-boy, lagniappe is an added extra bonus that makes someone or something stand out above the rest. This is an idea that head coach Betsy Ferrer, a New Orleans native, intends to incorporate into the 1999 volleyball season. By giving extra, the Tulane volleyball team intends to rise above expectations and make this season a memorable one.
In her first year at the helm of a team with such potential, Ferrer has set high expectations for the squad and it?s coaching staff. Through hard work and discipline from the team and coaches, Ferrer wants to establish a tone of greatness. With a winning spring season under the Green Wave?s belt, the team looks to build on the success throughout the 1999 season.
?We want to be competitive as a team, beat the teams that we should and surprise all of the others,? Ferrer said. ?Focus on improvement and the wins will follow.?
Ferrer has implemented a new offensive system and added two new styles of defense. The quicker offense allows the smaller Green Wave squad a wider variety of attack options than in the past and a creative way to out think its opponents. Not unlike a basketball team, Tulane has adopted multiple defenses that differ depending on the opponent.
Looking towards the future is one of the core elements in the game plan for the upcoming season. Through a mixture of good ingredients the Green Wave is prepared to attack what the future has in store. As for the ingredients, the team returns four starters in Kim Sentmore, Liz Gruns, Ashley Reese and Jennifer Witte, as well as three additional letterwinners - Erin Dobyanski, Marie Schenebeck and Linda Hallberg.
?We have a very athletic team who succeeded and won in the spring. The returning players combined with the three incoming recruits will help us gel as a team,? Ferrer said. ?If we can get our team chemistry, mentally and physically we can contend with anyone.?
Leading the team in 1999 is the upperclassmen trio of Sentmore, Reese and Gruns. Sentmore, who leads by ability, Reese, a leader by example, and Gruns, the vocal leader, have a big load to carry as the team enters a challenging season.
Setting
Jennifer Witte returns for her second season as the Green Wave?s setter serving as the glue that holds the team together. With a year of experience under her belt, she has improved her set selection over the spring and has earned a great deal of respect from her teammates. Last season, Witte set the Tulane record for assists in a single match with 84 against Southwestern Louisiana and is currently second on the career assists list after recording 1,421 in 1998.
The Middle
In the middle the Green Wave returns two experienced players in junior Liz Gruns and sophomore Erin Dobyanski. In addition the squad adds former Tulane basketball stand out Lacey Vicknair as well as walk-on Gina Cordero.
Gruns and Vicknair are probable starters in the middle. A vocal leader on the court, Gruns is a 6-0 native of Arlington, Texas, and was named a C-USA All-Freshman selection in 1997. In 1998 she totaled 195 kills and 93 blocks, second best on the team. At 6-2, Vicknair is the tallest player on the squad, and brings a winning attitude after claiming four conference USA championships wit hthe women?s basketball team.
Dobyanski, who had an outstanding spring blocking for the Wave, is vying for a starting spot in the middle. Last season she averaged 2.16 digs per game and 22 service aces. Cordero, a 6-1 native of Dayton, OH, was a three sport standout at Colonel White High School, where she lettered in volleyball, softball and swimming.
The Left Side
This season three returning players, senior Linda Hallberg, junior Ashley Reese, sophomore Marie Schenebeck, as well as newcomer Lindsey Bennett will be competing for the starting positions on the left side. Reese, who is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season, is a savvy hitter who can see the block and hit around it. Before she was injured, Reese recorded 170 kills and 228 digs in 25 matches. Schenebeck, who is an experienced swing hitter, saw much action last season as she started for the injured Reese in the last eight matches. She averaged 2.05 kills a game and is expected to make an impact on the squad. As a senior Hallberg should come out strong and push the team to its limits. Last season Hallberg was used primarily as a defensive specialist.
Bennett, a 6-1 freshman from Port Allen, La., was named Miss Volleyball during the 1998 Louisiana all-star tournament and is expected to contend for a starting position.
The Right Side (Opposite)
The athletic duo of junior Kim Sentmore and freshman Britney Hurst strengthens the opposite side with speed and power.
Sentmore, a New Orleans native, returns to the squad after a solid sophomore season on the court. For her efforts in 1998, Sentmore was named to the LSWA All-Louisiana Second Team as she recorded 386 kills and 85 blocks. After spending much of the spring working on a shot repertoire, Sentmore is expected to continue lighting up the court for the Wave.
Hurst, who was named Baton Rouge?s Female Athlete of the Year, brings a great deal of athletecism to this position. Britney Hurst, who will primarily see action as an outside hitter, is versatile player and may also see action in the middle.
The Schedule
With the season divided into three segments, preseason, the season, and postseason, Tulane?s schedule consists of national powers, local rivalries and tough Conference USA opponents. The strength of schedule is essential to improving the strength of the team.
?To be a great team you have to play great teams, bottom line,? said Ferrer. ?All of the teams we are playing in our preseason will help us in Conference USA play.?
The ?preseason? consists of three demanding tournaments that offer the Green Wave a competitive start to the year. The first weekend of September, the Wave travels cross state to Ruston, La., for the Louisiana Tech Tournament. Entered in the tournament are host team Louisiana Tech, Georgia State and Lamar. This tournament gives Tulane a few matches before traveling back to New Orleans for a Labor Day match with perennial national power Stanford.
?Opening up at Louisiana Tech will be a good experience because we played them in the spring so we have a good idea of what they are going to be like,? Ferrer said. ?They have some competitive teams in their tournament and we will be better prepared for Stanford, because we?ll have a few games under our belt.?
The following weekend, the Green Wave competes in the LSU Invitational against Central Florida, and the feisty Louisiana teams of Southwestern and LSU, before traveling to Hattiesburg, Miss., for their first Conference USA match-up against Southern Miss on September 15.
?The LSU tournament is a strong tournament with local teams,? Ferrer said. ?Typically the Louisiana teams are very good defensively and that puts us to a test offensively.?
Tulane?s third and final tournament of the preseason is hosted by North Carolina and includes traditionally strong squads. This tournament offers Tulane some of its toughest competition of the season as they face the likes of Northern Illinois, American and the UNC Tarheels, all of which are NCAA contenders. Last year, all three teams won their respective conference titles and advanced to the NCAA postseason, American and Northern Illinois went to the second round.
Upon returning from the tournament the Green Wave begins ?the season? and plays four matches at home, including C-USA opponents South Florida and Houston, as well as the annual ?Fill Fogelman? extravaganza against cross town rival New Orleans on September 28.
The heart of C-USA play begins in October and continues through November as the Green Wave plays nine of 16 matches on the road. South Florida hosts the 1999 Conference USA Championship in Tampa, Fla., on November 18-21, marking the ?postseason?.
