Football vs. UCLA Saturday, 12 noon Michigan Stadiuv The Michigan Daily SPORTS Thursday, September 20, 1990 Field Hockey vs. Ball State Tomorrow, 3 p.m. Tartan Turf Page 9 BRADLEY-DOPPES TEACHESNEW ATTITUDE: Spikers ready to move ahead by David Schechter Daily Sports Writer It never used to be like this - hopping on wooden platforms to build power, lifting weights, and maneuvering through ropes to in- crease leaping capacity. But Michi- gan volleyball won't ever be like it used to be. Soon they will be win- ners. It's just a matter of how soon. The University showed it's com- mitment to the volleyball program when it built Varsity Arena. They've gotten serious about building a team to play there. The women's athletic department wooed the 1989 ACC Coach of the Year, Peggy Bradley- Doppes, from the University of North Carolina to build the type of winning program she is known for. "Michigan was like a diamond in the rough," Bradley-Doppes said. "A great facility, and you're looking at a great academic institution.... And I think the people at Michigan deserve a very good volleyball program." Bradley-Doppes, 33, hired another nationally known volleyball figure, James Smoot, to aid in molding her team. A former head coach at the University of Hawaii and more re- cently an assistantiat LSU, Smoot brought his expertise in physical conditioning. With Smoot and assistant coach Jennifer Dhaenensreturningfor her fourth year, Bradley-Doppes started the season with a solid staff, but that doesn't translate into wins. This year's team has produced only one win in eight matches. This year the staff has to look more towards the future. Half of this year's playing rotation consists of first-year students. The Wolverines are a team more concerned with learning to play smart and win so they can soon be competitive. "Our biggest problem right now is we don't have the offensive prowess that's needed. We don't have anyone who can spank a ball," Bradley-Doppes said. The team has few veterans and is limited in the ways it can produce offensively. So the team doesn't concentrate on things they can't do, but rather on things they can. "We can't concede our physical conditioning because right now we are already aware that we are shy on experience. So we have to make up for it with conditioning and we have to be smarter," Bradley-Doppes said. The team is noticing the differ- ence, too. "Technique-wise it's a 180 degree turnaround (from last year)," sophomore Michelle Horrigan said. Players are in the best shape of their lives, and it shows in their level of play. The team is more dis- ciplined and more focused, not to mention more competitive. Since there are no starting roles set in concrete, the players go all out in practice to secure a starting role. That competitiveness has obvious results. And double sessions are not unheard of if Bradley-Doppes doesn't like what she sees. "Everything is so much better," sophomore Tamisha Thompson said. "In practice there's more competi- tion, and it'stveryhard to make a starting line-up because everyone's competing for that line-up. You can't sit back and not work and think you have your position under lock and key." Bradley-Doppes has concerns about today's team, but sees promise for the future. "It will take three to four years for us to be competitive in the Big Ten," she said. "To be a respectable program in the top 20 or 15 nationally, I'd say five years." Those are big words for the Big Ten's recent doormat, but Bradley- Doppes has delivered at other schools. Her players are convinced of the coach's ability. "Our record so far may be a losing one, but we ex- pect to do well in the future," Horri- gan said. A major part of the anticipated success will come from recruiting. Smoot just returned from a recruit- ing trip and Bradley-Doppes leaves for Chicago on Friday. "We have to be able to establish a tradition of recruiting the top play- ers....We want to get the word out," Bradley-Doppes said. Smoot knows Michigan has plenty to offer prospective players. "This is really one of the places in the Midwest that could draw the players needed to win a national championship." Michigan begins Big Ten play against Northwestern on September 28 and welcomes the addition of Thompson. She returns to the lineup after ankle injuries caused her to miss the beginning of the season. "I'm not promising anything be- cause there is a lot of pressure on me right now, but I'm in full swing right now and I think I can make a really good comeback and help the team out a lot," Thompson said. The positive attitude found in this year's team might aid in beating teams such as Northwestern, Iowa, Michigan State. "The thing is peo- ple aren't going to be looking past Michigan anymore," Bradley-Doppes said. Both Bradley-Doppes and Smoot can't wait for the day when they've made winning a tradition, not an ex- ception, and recall the days when they turned to each other and asked, "What are we doing here?" That day may be sooner than ex- pected. 3 Service that brngs you to your feet" Sandals, clogs, & shoes for all-weather comfort Repair Service 663-1644 209 N.4th Ave. (By Kerrytown) Mon-Sat 10-6 New volleyball coach Peggy Bradley-Doppes left a successful University of North Carolina team to build a winning tradition here in Ann Arbor. USA spikers to battle Cuba at Crisler Arena by Albert Lin Daily Sports Writer Ann Arbor will get a rare look at international competition tonight when the United States National Women's Volleyball team kicks off a six-city Midwest tour against the Cuban National team. First serve is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Crisler Arena. The Americans beat the Cubans in the bronze medal game at last month's World Championships, 11-15, 15-12, 15-9, 15-6, even though Cuba was the pre-tournament favorite. , U.S. coach Terry Liskevych's team is led by Caren Kemner, an outside Ohitter who has been on the team for five years. Liskevych called Kemner "one of the best hitters and all-around players in the world." : Two of the newest American stars are Teee Sanders and Tara Cross. Liskevych calls them, "The who's who of collegiate women's volleyball." Both led their colleges to the NCAA Championships, and although they are new to the team, "they've been coming into their own internationally." The Cuban team has its own star in Mireya Luis. "She is an outstanding leaper, one of the best hitters in both men's or women's volleyball, and many times has been MVP in major tournaments," Liskevych said. Although Cuba has many younger players, boasting half-a-dozen athletes ,born after 1970, the entire American team was born before 1968. The Americans, however, do not have an edge in experience because the Cubans start at a much younger age. A good example is Luis. She joined the team when she was 13 and is now a ten-year veteran. "When they're 19 years old, they have three or four years of international experience, which rivals some of our veterans," Liskevych said. The Cubans are a team with "a lot of firepower. They're a great hitting team, a great blocking team - a team that's been in prominence world-wide for the last thirteen years," Liskevych added. The Americans were able to win last month by playing a steady match and frustrating the opposition after Cuba appeared on their way to winning *the third game and taking control of the match. The United States also served tremendously, "perhaps the best serving match since I've been coach here," Liskevych said. In order to beat Cuba tonight, Liskevych says, "We need to serve at that level, we need to block well, and we can't be timid. We have to come out aggressively." Middle blocker and team captain Kim Oden will have to be strong at the net, and veteran hitters Kemner, Liz Masakayan, and Tammy Liley must take advantage of all their scoring opportunities. The Comic Opera GuIld presents BERLIN .. Mfr i Y ..... Men's soccer wins, 2-0 Songbook.. A Briaqf Parisian Romp! Offenbach's Stage Direction by Ted Heusel Musical Direction by Matthew Savery SeptA. 19-22 Mendelssohn Theatre Tickets on sale at the Michigan Theater box office: Monday-Saturday, lla.m.-6p.m. Call 668-8397 by Walter Butzu Daily Sports Contributor Western Ontario coach Ron Clayton admitted after yesterday's soccer game that, "Michigan played well and hard. They obviously wanted it more than we did." The Wolverine 2-0 victory increased their winning streak to three. With about ten minutes left in the first half, senior captain Todd Neff managed to squeeze the ball past the Western Ontario goalie to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead. Both teams played well in the second half, but on a perfect corner kick from Neff, Tim Puckett headed the ball into the Western Ontario goal with only eight minutes left to play. Michigan coach Don Schwartz had nothing but good things to say about his team. "Todd Neff had a stellar match, but the unsung hero would be (sophomore) Scott Seabolt who played excellent defense, frustrating the Western Ontario forwards." a h Soph Show Productior5 PRESENTS qO 0OO00 ) Qo