Daniel Miller (Staff Writer)
After a revitalizing offseason, the KSU Volleyball team is ready to hit the court for their 2014 campaign.
“I like where our team is at right now,” said Owls head coach Keith Schunzel.
Schunzel, who is entering his second year at the helm, made it a point to his players that this season will be all about improving on last year’s record. “The expectation that we can win some more matches and move up in the conference is kind of a given,” said Schunzel. “I think we have a little more talent on this team, and we’ve reloaded in some positions that we needed too.”
KSU is led by Sophomore Kelly Marcinek, coming off a 2013 season in which she was awarded A-Sun Freshman of the year, will be counted on to lead the way for the Owls. “I was here all summer training, and the preseason went really well,” said Marcinek.
This season Marcinek will be the primary focus on every teams scouting report as she was selected to the Preseason A-Sun All Conference team. But for her, individual accolades aren’t a main focus. “It’s an awesome honor, but it doesn’t really mean anything,” said Marcinek. “What matters is what happens at the end of the year. It (the award) is just a nomination for our team.”
Along with Marcinek, KSU will have eight players returning from a season ago. Sophomores Fanise Cannon and Megan McGuiness, Juniors Toure Hopkins and Cierra Royster, and seniors Chade Martin and Ria Ridley. The returning players will be relied on heavily this season to produce at a high level while mentoring and teaching a talented recruiting class that features six incoming freshman.
“The first day we came in I felt like this was a new team but the chemistry was really good,” said Ridley. “I really like this team and how we work together on the court.”
With all the depth on the roster, Schunzel has been able to test out a variety of different lineups during the offseason. “Our gym is a lot more competitive this season from last,” said Schunzel. “Almost every single position from top to bottom is still a battle. We talk after every day we train about what our starting lineup is and it changes almost every day.”
The mindset of competition has trickled down to all the players and it starts with the seniors. “It’s going to really be a dog fight with starting and that’s what I like because it pushes us all to go harder,” said Ridley.
While Schunzel would like to eventually settle on a line up as the season progresses, he has certainly been impressed with the battles that have taken place every day in practice. “Kids are fighting for playing time,” Schunzel said. “ They understand what it is and that’s a good thing for our program because there is more competition in the gym.”
One area that KSU will have to improve on is finding ways to win on the road. The Owls went 13-17 last year with 10 of those wins coming at home in the Convocation Center. “We need to do a better job of understanding of what it’s like to play on the road,” said Schunzel. “Whether its 50 people, 100 people or 1000 people we’re playing in front of, the road is tough.”
KSU will have a strong test early with some tough non-conference games against the likes of Purdue, Tennessee and Georgia Tech. The team will compete in the Stoney Brook Tournament in New York before A-Sun conference play begins in late September.
“We’re playing a lot of talented teams and playing a wide variety of teams from all sorts of different conferences that have different styles of play,” said Schunzel. “Non-conference will definitely get us ready for conference play.”
“This team is going to go all the way,” said Marcinek. “There is no doubt in my mind, this is our year.” After opening the season against Belmont Aug. 29 in Nashville, Tenn., KSU will finish the weekend competing against Evansville, Youngstown State, and UT-Chattanooga. The Owls first home contest is Sept. 5 against Elon in the Convocation Center.
