Season Preview: Middle Blockers
August 26, 2011 | Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2011
» Season Preview: Setters
» Season Preview: Outside Hitters
» No. 7 UW Opens 2011 In Long Beach
SEATTLE - The middle blockers are the one position that has seen the least changeover from last year, which provides excellent stability while the outside hitter and setter positions begin to sort themselves out in the early part of the season.
The position is appropriately named this year as seniors Bianca Rowland and Lauren Barfield, and junior Kelcey Dunaway will be counted on to hold firm in the middle of a squad embracing changes at other key spots. Rowland was recently named a co-captain along with libero Jenna Orlandini, and the All-America honorable mention is ready for the job.
"We have a nice mix of veterans and we have some newness," says Head Coach Jim McLaughlin on the overall makeup of the team. "The newness can be a concern, but when you have people like Bianca and then you have the skill level of the people coming in, then there's less of a concern for sure and I think we can be very successful."
Every young player needs a veteran to look at and look up to, McLaughlin says, and "Bianca is one of those older persons that has the wisdom to help the people around her get better."
Still, despite the returning experience, the goal is not to maintain the status quo for this group. McLaughlin, and the players themselves, expect career-best seasons and are putting in the work to make that a reality.
McLaughlin doesn't want to just see Rowland continue to be honorably mentioned, "I think she should be a First Team All-American this year, I really do," he says. "Not to put any higher expectations on her, I just believe she's that good."
After a sophomore season where the Lynnwood native posted the third-best attack percentage in Pac-10 history, hitting .456, it was clear that opposing defenses made her more of a target in 2010. Her hitting average slipped to a still-outstanding .409, but Rowland's numbers in every other category rose to career-bests last year, including kills, blocks, and digs.
"She can do a lot of things and she has made a lot of progress," McLaughlin says. "Very mature, smart kid, with a good head on her shoulders and all the physical ability. So I'm expecting her to have her best year as a Dawg this year."
With Barfield, the 6-foot, 5-inch Bellevue native, McLaughlin does not merely hope that this year will be her best; he says "It's got to be." The recent news that All-American junior Amanda Gil would miss the 2011 season with a knee injury only made it more of an imperative for Barfield to be a force on both offense and defense this year.
Step one in that process is simply for Barfield to keep her hands out of harms way. Each of the past two seasons, she's suffered a broken hand early in the season that kept her out of action for several weeks. Last season she returned with an unwieldy cast on her hand, and then continued to improve up to the season's end. One overlooked stat from 2010 is that Barfield ranked second in the Pac-10 in blocks per set in conference matches, upping her average to 1.28 per set. That kind of production from day one, or even improving on it, would be big for the Dawgs this year.
"This kid has made a lot of progress, but we're still not near where she can be in any facet of the game. She has moments where she's hotter than hot, now it's just a matter of doing her job over a period of time, and really understanding what her job is and how she can contribute to this team," McLaughlin says.
For Barfield, "physically, everything's there. She's an intelligent girl, she makes good choices, and I think she's showing a much higher level of commitment this year, which the great ones do. You can't get anywhere in life without committing at an extreme level and she's starting to pay that price, and now we're seeing the return. So I expect even greater things from her."
Dunaway, from Bainbridge Island, made herself a regular in the rotation last season by developing a very effective jump-float serve. Her 25 aces were tied for second on the team and 10th in the conference, and she had four aces in the NCAA tournament. And Dunaway brings a work ethic and team-first attitude that makes her an invaluable teammate.
"I love coaching her," says McLaughlin. "Every day in practice she goes harder and harder, and she does that in every part of her life. Her identity right now is her ability to block, and she continues to improve her hitting. Her serve has gotten good, her defense has gotten good. Getting playing time could be a function of what system we use. Whether we can put Bianca opposite and plug Kelcey into the middle. She'll be ready to go wherever we need her, but it would be nice to see her improve enough in her attack to get on the floor as a starter."
While the Huskies will surely miss Gil this season in the middle, they won't play the `what if?' game because what they still have is more than capable of being one of the best groups in the country.
