Women’s volleyball looks for first win this weekend

Photo courtesy of Sports Information
Set on the stars · Junior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley and the women’s volleyball team have three matches to earn their first win of the season.

The women’s volleyball team (0-3) will be looking for their first win of the season in the USC Radisson Classic after dropping all three matches in the USC Baden Invitational last weekend.

“We need all three,” head coach Mick Haley said. “We need to be 3-3 after this weekend if we can.”

Last weekend was a rough start for the Women of Troy. They lost in four sets to Marquette and Santa Clara and then got swept by UC Irvine. Hitting and service errors plagued the team, totaling up 110 errors through three matches. 

“We started on Monday by saying we want Christmas to be over here,” Haley said. “We’re not in a giving mood anymore.”

Practice this week offered a fresh start in  hopes of a renewed level of play this weekend. Haley said practices have been productive. At Wednesday’s practice, everyone was working hard, cheering each other on and dialed in.

“We’ve changed a few things, but not too much,” Haley said. “So I think we’re getting close.”

While not having starting setters is the main source of their problems on the court, the team’s youth is another component they’re dealing with.

“I’ve got my young kids, that are wonderful athletes, having to carry a pretty big load pretty quickly in their lives,” Haley said. “But that’s what they signed up for.”

In terms of the setter battle, all four are still in contention for this weekend, but senior Alice Pizzasegola and junior Reni Meyer-Whalley “are in the driver seat” right now.

Senior setter Alexa Strange, a two-time national champion and All-American in beach volleyball, hasn’t played organized indoor volleyball since her freshman year at Nebraska in the fall of 2012.

“Strange is starting to come on here now, not as a setter but just as a player,” Haley said. “She’s really liking this right now.”

Junior setter Nikki Leonard is the other player in contention. Haley praised her raw athleticism and her coachability and emphasized the need to get her more relaxed on the court.

“Leonard is showing that she can take instruction right now,” Haley said. “We just need to get her to play without making too many errors.”

For Haley, it comes down to the team finding confidence in themselves and each other for everything to start clicking on the court.

“All they need is one person that can step up,” Haley said. “And then, we can be a team that was as good as last year’s team.”

This season, it looks like the spark plug could be freshman outside hitter Khalia Lanier. She had back-to-back double-digit kills to close out the tournament and was the only USC player to make the Baden Invitational All-Tournament team.

“Khalia is good enough to do that, but I just don’t want to put that kind of pressure on her yet,” Haley said. “But we may have to try, because if we get ourselves in a hole here, we’re going to be in trouble.”

The team will face a higher level of competition in No. 22 Creighton (1-1), No. 23 Kentucky (2-1) and Northern Iowa (2-1) than they did last weekend in three unranked opponents. The Women of Troy have never lost to any of these teams in the 10 combined times they’ve faced them. For USC to save the start of the 2016 season, they will need to keep their perfect records against these teams.

“So I’m pretty optimistic; I’m usually the pessimist,” Haley said. “I’m optimistic that maybe we can turn this around, you know?”

The Women of Troy kick of the USC Radisson Classic tonight night at 8 p.m. against No. 23 Kentucky. On Saturday, they face Northern Iowa at 10 a.m. and No. 22 Creighton at 8 p.m.