The 2019 season was one of rebuilding for the St. Mary’s volleyball team, and the Spartans plan to move into the next phase of that rebuilding process as they enter the 2020 season next week.
“We’re still in the process of building this program back up to have a competitive, winning culture,” said Spartans coach Mike McDuffee, now entering his third season. “I think we’re now getting to that point where we’re really starting to see all of that work come to fruition. We’re seeing a big growth in the intangibles across the board, and that’s starting to extend onto the court.”
Part of that growth in intangibles comes from the most experienced players on the roster, particularly seniors Ava Benzan, Eva Fainga’a and Alyssa Grossi.
“You need good leaders to go out there and set the example, and that’s what those girls do every day,” McDuffee said of his seniors. “They set the tone in practice for the younger players and they’ve been in game action before, so we take a lot of cues from them.”
Benzan, one of two co-captains, is described by McDuffee as “the heart and soul” of the Spartans and someone who is incredibly devoted to the sport. Benzan will be the team’s starting libero this year after playing the position in a backup role last season. Fainga’a has been named as the other co-captain after making a big leap in terms of on-court capabilities over the offseason. McDuffee’s plan is to have Fainga’a start in the middle for the second straight year.
In addition to the experienced leaders, McDuffee is pleased that he saw a record number of freshmen come out for tryouts this fall.
“It was great to see the enthusiasm of all the girls who came out for the team, and that really bodes well for the future of the program,” said McDuffee. “There was a lot of young talent on the court during those tryouts, so getting some of those girls onto the team to continue to learn has been great.”
As the Spartans have continued to progress through practice over the past two weeks, McDuffee has been ramping up the work on strategy and how to use the newest volleyball safety modifications to the team’s advantage.
“One of the biggest keys for us is getting back into shape both physically and mentally,” said McDuffee. “We worked a lot on conditioning during the first week, and this past week has been more about offensive and defensive strategy. Everyone is excited to be back practicing and it’s been really fun, so that’s a good sign.
“We’ve always been a scrappy, defensive-minded team,” said McDuffee. “I think with the new three-feet-from-the-net rule, teams with bigger hitters will be neutralized a bit more and have to rely on the defensive aspect of the game a little more. Hopefully we can use that to our advantage.”
St. Mary’s opens up the season Thursday evening (5) on the road at Archbishop Williams.
“It’s easy to get the girls pumped up for this, they’ve been ready to go since Day 1,” said McDuffee. “I think at this point it’ll be best for us to just get out on the court and play, then take it from there. We’re excited to embark on this new season and we hope to make it a competitive one.”
