Season In Review: Volleyball's Barnes Recaps 2017 Campaign
Dec 18, 2017 | Women's Volleyball
2017 Season In Review: Roster | Results | News | Statistics
NEW ORLEANS -- A new chapter has begun for Tulane volleyball: the 2018 season.
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The 2017 NCAA Division I volleyball season came to a close in December when Nebraska defeated Florida, 3-1, to win the national title. Tulane finished the year with a record of 14-19 overall, 3-17 The American, falling short of a postseason berth. Head coach Jim Barnes sat down with TulaneGreenWave.com to discuss the Green Wave's 2017 campaign.
On the challenges that faced the Green Wave entering the seasonÂ
"The challenge with this season really started in the spring. We only had six players in the gym after losing all the graduating seniors. We knew that we were not going to be able to establish our whole training system with all our players that would be have during the season. So we started in a tough situation, and being very young, we knew that there were going to be a lot of challenges by not having that full spring. This spring, we'll have 14 of our 18 players in the gym, but that's just the nature of rebuilding a program."
On the ups-and-downs of Green Wave's seasonÂ
"We did come in and have a good start to the season with some young players, and won some close games that I was proud of the players coming together. As the competition got better and we entered conference play, we started losing those close games. You really need those upperclassmen and the people that have been through those battles to help you get over that hump."
On how this season's struggles benefit the process of building a program
"I like what we learned throughout the season. When you are building a program, you want to learn quite a bit and play younger players, and we were able to do quite a bit of that which is really going to benefit us this year when we have the 14 in the gym in the spring and a much better setup for the season."
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On coaching a young Green Wave team through early season schedule changesÂ
"They handled all of that well. I think kids coming from club volleyball now, they are playing all over the country all the time with these crazy schedules. We handled that well, and we were able to get to a pretty good level of play early with a lot of freshmen on the floor and win some close games. Ultimately, when you fight for the conference championship, you start leaning really hard on your juniors and seniors. We didn't have many of those to really help us get over that hump.
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On Tulane's 8-0 start at Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse, highlighted by a win vs. OklahomaÂ
"It was a big emphasis for us to start as well as we did. In 2016, we did not start well home even though we had a better overall year. We made that a point of emphasis for this season and we scheduled well so that we would be able to play at home against good and comparable talent. Beating Oklahoma ended up being our best win of the season. That was the best overall game we played as a team. We played at a very high level and it was exciting getting started that way."
On the Green Wave's struggles against The American opponents
"When you have younger, inexperienced players, they get really excited by early success. Then, the flip happens when you lose some games in a row: younger players really lose their confidence. We had a lot of success early and then faced struggles. At times in conference play, we had four freshmen on the floor. In The American -- there's not a weak team in it -- you're going to be challenged every night. In a few of those games we were able to finish on top, but too many times we fell just short of beating those conference teams. But, I think you learn a great deal through that process, and we'll be able to draw on that as we start in the spring. You use that fire and experience to make you better, and I think that this team will be much better going forward because of it."
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On the Green Wave's final game as a microcosm for the season
"That loss gave a little picture of our season. We battled hard. The girls worked hard. We did all the things that we were in control of the best that we could. We would just find ourselves come up short at the end of the close games. We had chances to beat every team in this conference -- not just play well, but beat them. We came up short. Like I said, you draw from that experience and it fuels you to work extremely hard in the spring so that there is no question that when we get to the end of games, we are stomping the final points onto the scoreboard."
On the Green Wave's plan leading into the 2018 season
"We're just excited about the plan for 2018. We have a great plan for the season because we're able to have all of our players in the gym to train. It's just that simple. When you get to the end of the spring, you want to be 90 percent ready. Last year after the spring, we were at 10 percent. Now, we'll have a full spring training with the team, as well as two freshmen who will enroll early. Our season doesn't start in August. It starts in January."
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NEW ORLEANS -- A new chapter has begun for Tulane volleyball: the 2018 season.
Â
We're just getting started.
— Tulane Volleyball (@GreenWaveVB) November 27, 2017
??????#RollWave pic.twitter.com/eB0ekHY2xq
The 2017 NCAA Division I volleyball season came to a close in December when Nebraska defeated Florida, 3-1, to win the national title. Tulane finished the year with a record of 14-19 overall, 3-17 The American, falling short of a postseason berth. Head coach Jim Barnes sat down with TulaneGreenWave.com to discuss the Green Wave's 2017 campaign.
On the challenges that faced the Green Wave entering the seasonÂ
"The challenge with this season really started in the spring. We only had six players in the gym after losing all the graduating seniors. We knew that we were not going to be able to establish our whole training system with all our players that would be have during the season. So we started in a tough situation, and being very young, we knew that there were going to be a lot of challenges by not having that full spring. This spring, we'll have 14 of our 18 players in the gym, but that's just the nature of rebuilding a program."
On the ups-and-downs of Green Wave's seasonÂ
"We did come in and have a good start to the season with some young players, and won some close games that I was proud of the players coming together. As the competition got better and we entered conference play, we started losing those close games. You really need those upperclassmen and the people that have been through those battles to help you get over that hump."
On how this season's struggles benefit the process of building a program
"I like what we learned throughout the season. When you are building a program, you want to learn quite a bit and play younger players, and we were able to do quite a bit of that which is really going to benefit us this year when we have the 14 in the gym in the spring and a much better setup for the season."
Â
On coaching a young Green Wave team through early season schedule changesÂ
"They handled all of that well. I think kids coming from club volleyball now, they are playing all over the country all the time with these crazy schedules. We handled that well, and we were able to get to a pretty good level of play early with a lot of freshmen on the floor and win some close games. Ultimately, when you fight for the conference championship, you start leaning really hard on your juniors and seniors. We didn't have many of those to really help us get over that hump.
Â
On Tulane's 8-0 start at Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse, highlighted by a win vs. OklahomaÂ
"It was a big emphasis for us to start as well as we did. In 2016, we did not start well home even though we had a better overall year. We made that a point of emphasis for this season and we scheduled well so that we would be able to play at home against good and comparable talent. Beating Oklahoma ended up being our best win of the season. That was the best overall game we played as a team. We played at a very high level and it was exciting getting started that way."
On the Green Wave's struggles against The American opponents
"When you have younger, inexperienced players, they get really excited by early success. Then, the flip happens when you lose some games in a row: younger players really lose their confidence. We had a lot of success early and then faced struggles. At times in conference play, we had four freshmen on the floor. In The American -- there's not a weak team in it -- you're going to be challenged every night. In a few of those games we were able to finish on top, but too many times we fell just short of beating those conference teams. But, I think you learn a great deal through that process, and we'll be able to draw on that as we start in the spring. You use that fire and experience to make you better, and I think that this team will be much better going forward because of it."
Â
On the Green Wave's final game as a microcosm for the season
"That loss gave a little picture of our season. We battled hard. The girls worked hard. We did all the things that we were in control of the best that we could. We would just find ourselves come up short at the end of the close games. We had chances to beat every team in this conference -- not just play well, but beat them. We came up short. Like I said, you draw from that experience and it fuels you to work extremely hard in the spring so that there is no question that when we get to the end of games, we are stomping the final points onto the scoreboard."
On the Green Wave's plan leading into the 2018 season
"We're just excited about the plan for 2018. We have a great plan for the season because we're able to have all of our players in the gym to train. It's just that simple. When you get to the end of the spring, you want to be 90 percent ready. Last year after the spring, we were at 10 percent. Now, we'll have a full spring training with the team, as well as two freshmen who will enroll early. Our season doesn't start in August. It starts in January."
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