2008 bleedCrimson.net Volleyball Preview

Written by: Jordan Bostic and Sam Wasson

OUTLOOK
The Aggies lost a quartet of seniors, the winningest group of players in Aggie volleyball history. The group was certainly one of the most talented to pass through NMSU, but it was their leadership that will be missed the most. The Aggies' thrilling five game match against Nevada in Las Cruces on October 18th might be the best example of that leadership. The Aggies looked to be well on their way to another 3-0 sweep of a conference opponent. The Aggies were ahead 2-0 and up 27-20 in game three when Nevada rallied to win that game and the following game 31-29 to tie the match at 2-2. During a timeout in the deciding fifth game, seniors Jordan Bostic and Briana Akrie recalled a very similar situation from their freshman season. "Bri turned to me and said, 'Remember freshman year at Arkansas-Little Rock?'" Bostic recalled. "Back then, we were still in the Sun Belt, and we had fallen behind UALR 14-8 in the fifth game. Miraculously, we came back and won 16-14. The score was 14-10 during that timeout in the Nevada match, and Bri and I told the rest of the girls about that game three years ago. I believe my exact words were, 'We came back and won that game no problem. And here we are again, so let’s do this!' "

Written by: Jordan Bostic and Sam Wasson

LIBERO
The libero is the unsung hero of many volleyball teams. Receiving serve is one of the most difficult things to do in volleyball, and this is the libero’s primary job. Without a good pass to start with, an offense cannot be executed. The libero is on the floor nearly the entire match and is only allowed to play in the back row. A great libero is expected to get nearly perfect passes to the setter every time (which is a very hard thing to do). The libero is also expected to be the best defensive player and usually possesses a hustling, never-say-die attitude about defending.

The Aggies have one of the best liberos in the country in 2007 First Team All-WAC and 2008 Preseason All-WAC senior Krystal Torres. Torres finished 48th in the country, averaging 5.32 digs per game. "She's a great player and certainly one of the better ones in the country at her position." said Jordan. "She's a great athlete, and she doesn't get rattled. Asked what makes her so special, Coach Jordan explained, "She has athleticism, skill and ice water in her veins." Beyond her tremendous talent, Torres will also be looked upon to provide senior leadership in her final season. "We need her to be a great leader because we graduated great leadership last year," said Jordan. "We're looking forward to a big year from her."

Written by: Jordan Bostic and Sam Wasson

RIGHT-SIDE ATTACKER
Right-side attackers are big elements in a 6-2 offense. The 6-2 uses two right-side attackers throughout the match as opposed to only one right side used in a 5-1. Right-side attackers are matched up against the opposing team’s best attacker and need to be great blockers. After blocking, a right side attacker also has a quick transition to attacking, much like a middle blocker. A right-handed player hitting on the right side has to have great coordination because it is more challenging to hit a set coming across your body. This is the reason why many coaches look for left-handed players to play right side (it eliminates the ball crossing their body before they hit).

The Aggies will look to fill the right side attacker position vacated by departed senior Anna Callis, who finished the 2007 season with 199 kills, with junior Kelli Goodan and sophomore Whitney Woods. Goodan started several matches for the Aggies last season and is the more experienced of the two returning players. "Kelli has really developed offensively over the course of the last year," said Jordan. "She's probably improved more than anybody else on the team, and we're looking for her to have a heck of a year." Goodan can play both the left or right side hitter position.

Written by: Jordan Bostic and Sam Wasson

MIDDLE BLOCKER
Many volleyball teams look to their middle blockers as defensive weapons. Their job is to always be on time blocking the other team’s attackers, and they are a critical point of any volleyball defensive scheme. NMSU is one of the schools that employ their middles as powerful offensive threats as well as defensive stoppers. Middle blockers must be very quick because every skill they perform is in fast-forward speed. They are constantly chasing down attackers to block and then must transition off the net into attacking in the blink of an eye. It takes an exceptional athlete to be good at both blocking and attacking as a middle blocker, and NMSU has a history of producing great players at this position.

The Aggies face the tough task of replacing Kim Oguh, the team's outstanding middle hitter from last season. Oguh was second on the team with 376 kills and led the team in blocks with 141. Tasked with filling those shoes will be 2007 First Team All-WAC and 2008 Preseason All-WAC senior Amber Simpson. Simpson is no stranger to Aggie fans as she finished with 324 kills and was second on the team in blocks with 130. "Amber's a really good attacker. She's very good in transition makes herself available to the setters," Jordan said. Simpson finished the season with a .345 hitting percentage, tops on the team. "She can hit the ball hard when she wants to, but she's more concerned with making it hit the floor so she makes very few hitting errors and hits for a high percentage. We're going to need that out of her again this year," said Jordan. And even though she finished second on the team in blocks, Coach Jordan knows there's room for improvement. "I'd like to see her put up better blocking numbers. I think she's capable of that, she just has to focus on it a little more."

Written by: Jordan Bostic and Sam Wasson

OUTSIDE HITTER
Outside hitters are very important to any volleyball team. They will take the most swings of any of the attackers and have to be able to make good shots when balls are set poorly. In a 6-2 offense, both outside hitters (L-1 and L-2) need to be able to play both the front row and the back row. As a result, outside hitters are usually the most well-rounded players on the team. They have to be able to terminate a perfect set, better a not-so-perfect set, block, serve, play defense and pass serve receive. It’s a big job, and any offense will struggle without solid outside hitters.

The left side may be the deepest spot for the Aggies as they return last year's leader in kills, 2007 First Team All-WAC and 2008 Preseason All-WAC senior Lindsey Yon (435). Also coming back is 2007 Second Team All-WAC and 2008 Preseason All-WAC hitter Krista Altermatt, a junior, who finished third on the team with 356 kills. Heading into last season, Yon was recovering from a bad arm injury and did not work out the entire summer. She was cleared to play just before the Aggies began fall practice. "It took her a while to get going, and as the season wore on she wore down [physically]," explained Jordan. "But now physically she's in the best shape she's been in in a long time." The fact that Yon played the entire season at approximately 75 to 80 percent of her capability and still led the team in kills should strike fear in the hearts of Aggie opponents, and Coach Jordan expects her to have her best season this year. "The exciting thing about Lindsey is she's so far ahead at this time than she was at this same time a year ago. She's prepared to have her best season."

Written by: Jordan Bostic and Sam Wasson

SETTER
The setter is the quarterback of the volleyball team, and they run the show. With a 6-2 offense, the team has two starting quarterbacks that switch on and off, which can be an interesting situation. To be successful in the 6-2, the setters must be good defenders because they are always in the back row. Since running a 6-2 eliminates the ability to use defensive specialists, the setters have to be able to pick up the slack in this department. Setters also need to be able to execute sets to all three front row attackers with ease, especially back sets to the right side hitters. One of the advantages of running a 6-2 is always having a right side attacker, but if the setters are unable to back set accurately this advantage isn’t utilized.

Written by: Jordan Bostic and Sam Wasson

COACH AND PROGRAM
Mike Jordan will be entering his 11th season as head coach at New Mexico State. Jordan has compiled a 221-97 record at NMSU and an impressive 132-28 (.825) record with two conference championships and three second place finishes in the last five seasons. He also won the conference Coach of the Year from 2003 - 2005. The team has made the NCAA tournament four of the past five seasons (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007).

The Aggies are coming off of a 26-6 season that saw them come agonizingly close to breaking through the first round of the NCAA tournament. NMSU finished second in conference behind WAC bully Hawai'i and once again pushed the Wahine to the brink finishing just one game behind them in the standings. The Aggies and Wahine had two five game matches both coming in Las Cruces. Unfortunately the Aggies came out on the wrong end of both matches and the Wahine claimed their 12th consecutive regular season title and 8th tournament title.