The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, September 27, 1993 - 7 rl.,..,.,.. r. .v.: "...., ::...... . Y r l i : Y :::}:.4y ":r4}": ": tv:. ::"..Y:v..v:.,:; r:. :. .. ', '. :: .. '~::.::. i '. } :} :. :.: .. :.}} .. '..: ~:. ::I :: t '' } . ;.. .: :..... ' , <. -::: ". }}' ::. V: ":NA,.. A:.v..X :VI:. :.,a:.v:t: J..:.t .:.:.. ::.:..::.. v.. :. .. .v: [q "."".r rllrrrN. , ,:. ,rr f....r..r..::.r.. .. ........ .. ... ,......, .... ... .... ... " ...A .. .... .. . .. ..... .... . ...... ... ... . .. .... .. . .. ..... . .. . ... ... ...... . . ... . .. . ... . . . .. . .. .. . . .. ...... ..... ....::":::.......':::::.i: is v. ., .: .n,:,t": ": i:.t:.v } i;U ...v .r .:...,..... , "":.. "ra.,. .: :r.:,:::.:.t.r ...:::.:.t:.:::t:":,: .:::.:.: :.:: ::..::. :,::.::::::::>::,,: :::;a::.:.:::.:::":::::.:...::::<:<:.:s :w:. x":a}}" :. ..,.:...1......,..... .r. }::t .. .. .. ...... ... .. .... ...a: :.... ..r r rr ...............r .,r:.....,.. .. ... ..... .. .. ....: . ... .,,. .. . . ..:.: ..., . .. .. . .. By J.L ROSTAM-ABADI DAILY SPORTS WRITER Despite a discouraging start, the Michigan volleyball team (4-6 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) is keeping its spirits up. With six returning seniors, a strong freshman class and a coach who encourages individuality, the Wolverines have all * the right ingredients for a winning season. This year's senior class has gone through many changes throughout their Michigan careers. Head coach Greg Giovanazzi is the third coach the seniors have played under. Granted, adjusting to three coaches' distinct styles has taken some flexibility on the players' part. After coaching the 1992 women's Olympic volleyball team, Giovanazzi introduced his coaching tactics to Cliff Keen Arena. "Greg is an open person," senior outside hitter Michelle Horrigan said. "He says it like it is and he tells you what's going on and doesn't play games" Giovanazzi's approach takes a dif- ferent twist from the usual teamwork stance. "Basically he believes in individu- ality," Horrigan said. "Greg encour- ages diversity - he encourages us to be individuals. When we're together we don't have to all be 'together.' When we're apart we can go and do our own thing. Our styles are all dif- ferent, but yet within his realm, that's what he wants." More importantly, Giovanazzi takes an active role in coaching. "He leads by example," senior middle blocker JoAnna Collias said. "In practice he'll come and play with us. It's good to see him play. Hedoesn't stress the whole team unity. He doesn't think that's as important as playing hard and working hard and playing your game." Giovanazzi said he thinks indi- * vidual responsibility is key. "I believe much more in power and strength of the individual to make the group better," Giovanazzi said. "I would really like to see the players accept individual responsibility for how well this team does instead of always looking at it as a team loss or a team win. ' "I'm not a screamer or physical * punishment-type coach, but I'm in- tense in a different way. As a coach, I expect their commitment is the same as mine. Most of all, I think, and I VOLLEYBALL Continued from page 1 In the first game, the Wolverines notched the opening point and took the lead at 3-2. However, Illinois ran off 12 of the next 13 points and never looked back. The second and third games were dominated by Illinois, as the Wolverines were not able to score after 7-2 in either game. The hitting combination of Kristin Henriksen (12 kills) and Sue Nucci (12 kills) along with the setting of Kathleen Shannon (29 assists) led Il- linois to its fourth straight victory. hope the players would agree, it's a positive coaching style. I'mnotsome- body who wants to dwell on the nega- tive points. I'm somebody who wants to dwell on, hey, this is how you get better." The Wolverines are predicted to finish fourth in the Big Ten this year, which would be a big improvement over the last few seasons. "This is my fourth year here and we've conte so far," Collias said. "My freshman year we had something like a 2-16 record and now we've had a total turnaround. Hopefully we'll come out in the top three in the Big Ten this year. That's what we're gun- ning for as a team." Collias sentiments are shared among her fellow senior teammates. "This is my last year and I just want to go as far as we can go," Horrigan said. Just how far can they go? An important factor to look at be- fore this question can be answered is Michigan's net play. "I expect it to be a team that plays well at the net," Giovanazzi said. "That means that they attack well and block well. We're a good sized team. "I don't think they're necessarily well-suited to being a great ball-han- dling defensive team all the time. I think they're better suited to being an excellent attacking team, and a good blocking team." Starting positions in middle court are held by senior middle blocker Fiona Davidson and first-year player Shannon Brownlee, with sophomore Suzy O'Donnell as back up. Senior Karen Jacobsen substitutes for Davidson in the backcourt. Davidson returns for her senior season after be- ing ranked in the top ten in the Big Ten in hitting efficiency, blocking and ser- vice aces last year. On the right side, Collias is backed up by junior Robyn Read and first- year player Shareen Luze. "Shareen Luze started the first couple of matches of the year in the spot that JoAnna's now playing," Giovanazzi said. "Shareen's coming in and hitting for Robyn in the front court and I believe Shareen's going to be a very, very good player her four years here." Horrigan, the all-time attack leader at Michigan, who severely sprained her ankle in last week's Michigan State game, has been plagued with injuries since the start of the season. "I just keep getting these little Suzy O'Donnell and JoAnna Collias led the Wolverines in kills with 12 and 11, respectively. Collias also had six digs which moved her into third place on the Michigan all-time digs list. Michigan now looks to regroup before next weekend's matches at Iowa and Minnesota. Health is still a major question, and so are execution and ball control. The Wolverines must work on their passing in order to im- prove. "We'll go back to the gymMonday and practice passing - a lot," Kanim said. things that set me back," Horrigan said. "I need to be out here playing." When able, she will return to help out on the right side. "If Michelle is healthy, she'll carry a big load and play opposite of (left outside hitter) Aimee (Smith)," Giovanazzi said. "But JoAnna is go- ing to be tough to beat out. And I like this situation. I like it where they all have to compete a lot." This is Smith's third position in three years. "She (Smith) was a middle blocker in her first year, she played right side last year and now she's playing left side," Giovanazzi said. "For someone like Aimee, that's a pretty logical pro- gression because the left side is a tougher position to play. It's been a difficult start of a season for her, I think, and she's only going to get better. I have all the confidence in the world in her." In addition to strong net play, Giovanazzi said he believes a well- executed service and service return game is vital. "We've traditionally, in the last two years, become a very good serv- ing team," Giovanazzi said. "And now with Aimee Smith, Shannon Brownlee and JoAnna Collias, we're also a very good serve receive team. "Marita (McCahill) comes in as a serving specialist." But Michigan's strong outside hit- ting will only be as good as its setting enables it to be. "The setting without a doubt has been the biggest dilemma so far this year," Giovanazzi said. "It's been the area where we have the least consis- tency. We've been using three setters almost interchangeably and that's (freshman Erin) McGovern, (junior Julie) Scherer and (senior Erica) Badren-Grycan. "We've settled on McGovern as our starter. I think it's important for the team that they can rely on which setter they're going to be dealing with. Due to Erin's youth and her compo- sure on the court ... for now she's the best person to go in." The No. 1 goal for Michigan is to keep improving and try to make it to the NCAA championships. "We're playing a much tougher schedule intentionally and we're re- ally not going to measure the success of this teamby therecord,"Giovanazzi said. "We're going to measure the success of this team by how we're playing at the end of the year, whether we make it to the NCAA tournament and how much our first-year players develop throughout the year. "If we can become a consistent team, siding out and serve receive then that's going to be the biggest difference for us. We're just really trying to spend a lot more time on controlling the ball in side-out situa- tions. That's the biggest issue for us." The ultimate, long-range goal for the Wolverines is to turn the program into a national title contender. "This is a program that expects to be a Final Four team within the next four or five years, even -sooner," Giovanazzi said. "I think it's a team that should be vying for, the conference title if not next year, then '95 for sure. What we expect is that we'll be competing with the UCLAs and the Stanfords in the next few years." Though they've struggled recently, Erica Badran-Grycen and the Michigan Wolverines look to continue their rise through the Big Ten ranks this season. li 6-1 *,A,, Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM he Jndergradui ibrary is ow open :00 a.m. :.00 a.m. even (7) qays a eek"1'! e GOLF TOURNAMENT (Two Person Best Ball) Entry Deadline: Thursday 9/30 4:30 p.m. IMSB Main Office Tourney Date: Sunday 10/3 For Additional Information Contact IMSB 763-3562 T-SHIRT " PRINTING HIGH QUALITY LOW PRICES I I 0 F-A t ." t 1 vir 05 coo 1 G H vv We11 Y O U. aid l e Risk?" e manage risk rather than just execute transactions. 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