[BJWilliams]

Well boys, this season is now a page in the Liberty athletics history books. We learned a few things this year:

1. Kallie Corbin is the best setter in the Big South Conference and probably has a chance to be one of the best in the country (if she isn't already).
2. Nicki Scripko will probably be the best OH/RS this school has ever seen
3. Shane Pinder can flat out coach
4. We have some amazing and supportive volleyball parents on this board.


Those are the ones that come to my mind right off the bat. Post your thoughts on the 2007 season here.

[ATrain]

This is, perhaps, the best vball I've ever seen at LU. Kallie is an amazing setter, Coach Pinder does a great job, and Nicki, Chelaine and Karyl are just awesome when they hit the ball.

[PAmedic]

never did I imagine that the V'ball forum would be one of our most active.

in fact- I'll go out on a limb and say - never did ANYONE imagine either the success this team would have, or the support they would garner from friends, family and new fans of the sport.

couldn't be prouder of the job the ladies and coaches did this year! GO FLAMES

[thesportscritic]

hopefully it shall get better from hence forth.

[PAmedic]

hopefully it shall get better from hence forth.

umm....

is it still 1857, or did we just go back 250 years?

Thanks for that, Thurm-adiah

[thesportscritic]

hopefully it shall get better from hence forth.

umm....

is it still 1857, or did we just go back 250 years?

Thanks for that, Thurm-adiah

sure why not.

[Gymtalk]

Last year we played the University of Washington (#3 at the time), and lost 15/30, 17/30, 17/30. The average point difference was 13.6.

This year we played the University of California (#8 or #10 depending on the poll), and we lost 20/30, 30/26, 15/30, 21/30. The average point difference was 7.5.

If we use teams who are ranked in the Top-10 for comparison, we’re better this year by 7 points. Note: Top-10 teams are always ready to play, they always have big-time talent, and they’re always well coached.

Those 7 points gave Liberty a Big South Conference Championship, and a trip to the NCAA Championship Tournament.

I believe we got those 7 points from:
 Coaching (Shane, Jennifer and Becky)
 Toughness (Lara and Rebecca)
 Experience & Smarts (Alysson and Mary Alice)
 Athleticism (Jessica and Karyl)
 Blocking & Consistency (Ashley and Chelaine)
 Creativity & Volleyball Talent (Kallie and Nicki)
 Bench Players (hard practices and support)

To make it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament (a realistic goal for 2008), we need to find 4 more points. I think we can get 2 INKWD points (I Now Know What to Do) from the returnees. That leaves 2 points for new players.

Can the 6.1 lefty from Midland, Texas (Claire Jacobsma) give us 2 points from the right side? Can the new setter from Ohio (Courtney Boggs) bring us 2 points if we run a two-setter system? Will God touch the heart of a big-time D1 player (transfer) to provide those 2 points? Will coach Pinder get a call from Europe about an international player who wants to play in the United States? Note: Many college teams now have Olympic level European players on the roster.

It will be interesting to follow the program in the off-season.

GO LIBERTY!!!

[thesportscritic]

i think it was two seasons ago in 2005 when we played Washington.

[thesportscritic]

i think Cal had a foreign player or two.

[ATrain]

i think it was two seasons ago in 2005 when we played Washington.

Nope, we played Washington last year

Two seasons ago was when we went to a couple tournaments on the West Coast.

And yes, Cal did have a couple foreign players. I didn't realize foreigners were becoming common in vball.

[thesportscritic]

nevermind then.

[SuperJon]

i think Cal had a foreign player or two.

Their best played (#26) was foreign.

[Schfourteenteen]

I gotta tell you the fans took over that second game. The girls played really well but Cal missed alot of opportunities(and I will tell myself that its because of us so Ill keep yelling)

We woulda won had we gotten in Morgan's and Elle's heads, "I could be your big bear baby"

[jjbeaty]

This was an amazing season...

I can't wait unitl next year and I'm going to have to stay a couple of extra years as a graduate student since I got to see what this program is going to come up with.

I am going to get a hold of all the big time recruits that I know out from the Northwest in Montana, Idaho, Washington and mention Liberty to them... There are often a lot of players overlooked specifally in the Montana/Idaho realm mainly because lack of club volleyball. The issue is due to finances for families being able to support their girls who play vball outside of school. There have been great players around 5'11"-6'3" that come from Western Montana specifically and they are strong beause they work on farms. I know of several players who would LOVE to play for Liberty and I think could for one, they can literally pound the ball down with authority and they have the shoulders/arms of swimmers because they are on swim teams as well in the off-season. I assistant coached my senior year our H.S. volleyball team and took 3rd place a the State Tournament, which where we only lost to the 2 other top teams that year, but they we were good as them, just a luck thingfor the most part. I love volleyball at every level!!!

A few things to think about/promote:

_Quickie sets from the back row (Scripko could probably pull a few of these), no one expects a quickie set from the back row and she does rather well with them as noted by the tournament play with California.

_***Get the ladies into the swimming pool to get those shoulders strong***- Cutura from Cal is a swimmer and it was evident by her ability to pound down those kills she gave us in the tourney game

_Get some more leg workouts going for verticals, almost like basketball workout for men so their calves will become stronger and gain maybe 1/2-3/4 of an inch over the next year-- it all helps at the net!!

_Convince Nu’uhiwa from Winthrop to join our team (hahah- like that'd ever happen!!) for the extra defense!!

_Work on our tragectory angles in hitting to get more of a 40degree angle on our hits at the 10ft line

_Work on those jump serves- that will help us tremendously if Kallie and Bacon can start pounding those down, Scripko is starting to get a serve like Winthrop's Toepke-keep it up!

Notes Concerning the Cal Game:

Too bad Lara was out of the match... Waneka did awesome coming in and taking Lara's place--Cal really gave it to her, and she rose up to the occasion- she's going to be a good one! I think if Lara was in the game we'd have been a lot closer, maybe put it five games with the added digs she would have given us due to her expereince as the libero/setter combo.

I noticed right off the bat that Cal hit to McCartey everytime (as far as I can remember) she was in the back row for that one position time frame; I think we need to develop her to be able to work in that corner specifally with technique for corner digs and -emphasize- that area for her to develop more...

That's all for me...as of this moment

[Vadim]

Time to list my thoughts on the year:

1. Great fan support. Over 1,500 at some of the games this year? And what a crowd at Cameron! As Coach would say, "That's off the hook!"
2. First-rate message board commentators. You guys are on top of things.
3. Wonderful recruiting class. All 4 girls contributed hugely to this year's success (Chelaine, Becca, Carol and Nicki).
4. Great work by the athletic department. Jeff and Meredith have been superb in their efforts for LU.
5. It was great to have Jess back.
6. Phenomenal senior leadership from Lara, MAP and Allyson.
7. God knows what he wants from LU and is laying out the roadmap for them.
8. Next year we need to have a pregame tailgate party with all the message board contributors that can come in attendance.

[ATrain]

I agree with the tailgating for volleyball...that would be a crazy, amazing new tradition

[bigsmooth]

congrats to coach pinder and the ladies on a great season!!! im looking forward to seeing more volleyball next year.

[SuperJon]

Wow:

Good team

plus

Me actually working locally

plus

Tailgating

equals

Good times.

[ToTheLeft]

3. Wonderful recruiting class. All 4 girls contributed hugely to this year's success (Chelaine, Becca, Carol and Nicki).
.

I think someone is a bit biased!

Haha, kidding, she had an amazing year, and only got better as the season went on. All of the younger girls have very very bright futures here at LU. As long as Becka can give us good play from the libero spot, the and we continue to improve and grow together as a team, we will have 28 or more wins next year. This team is going to be a tough matchup.

[jjbeaty]

I am sooooo down for the tailgating... let's start a new tradition!!

Any mottos for next year??

I have a simple one, but I think it says a lot....

"Liberty Volleyball: BELIEVE"

Also, if we get a motto going between us message boarders, we should perhaps get a big banner made or something for the Vines Center or to put it up inside during games or outside the arena (if that is possible).

[ATrain]

Actually we do have a banner we use at football games...I'm sure it could be used for volleyball tailgates as well.

[prototype]

What I liked was that Coach Pinder was given a chance to succeed!! There was talk of him getting let go when he wasn't winning, but finally it proves - ROME WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY.

[Vadim]

I left out a very important part of our success this season. Great coaching by Shane, Jennifer and Becky. Maddie was awesome at keeping the ladies functioning through injuries, aches and pains. Casey has to be the best manager ever. Mollie and Paul were the best at promoting the team with their writing. Wow, what a great season!

[Gymtalk]

Amen brother Vadim! The coaches and support staff did a great job!

I would also like to add a few thoughts about the "Fan Factor" of 2007:

1. Student support for the team was huge and a real factor in close home games.

2. Without a doubt, the LU players play better when the Vine has 1,500+ yelling fans!

3. The Vine already had a reputation for being a difficult place to play (the high ceiling and big screens have a way of confusing opponents), now you add volleyball-crazed fans that wear body-paint, scream and high-five after every Liberty point, and you have a cemetery for visiting teams.

4. The program cannot get to the next level without fan support.

Fans bring energy... energy turns into adrenalin... adrenalin turns into quickness and power... quickness and power turns into crazy-digs, mind-bending-sets, and canon-kills... digs, sets, and kills turn into exciting points and wins... exciting points and wins turn mild-mannered LU students into crazy fans... crazy fans make blue-chip recruits smile, clap and dream… dreams are connected to the heart… the heart is at the center of coach Pinder’s program… coach Pinder’s program, above all things, puts God first… when you put God first, all things are possible!

I honestly believe Liberty’s best chance of playing for a NCAA National Championship comes from the volleyball program!

Do I hear any amens?

[thesportscritic]

amen!!!