No. 9 story of 2019: Gulf Coast volleyball makes 1st trip to nationals
This story originally ran in the Nov. 19 edition of The News Herald
When Gulf Coast's players and coaches step on the court at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, W.V., they'll be in a position no Lady Commodores volleyball team has ever been in before.
But if there was a concern about not being ready for the atmosphere and pressure that comes from competing in a national tournament setting, Gulf Coast's second-year coach Scott Allen put that to rest.
"I don't think we're really worried about it," he said ahead of his team's opening-round matchup against McHenry County (Ill.) on Thursday in the NJCAA Division II Volleyball Championship. "It's a first for a lot of things with the program. This is our first full season playing at the Division II level because of the shortened season last year. It's the first time being in the top 10 nationally and the first time winning a conference championship, so we're kind of just relying on that experience a little bit."
The Lady Commodores (21-6) started the season losing two of their first three matches but went on a tear soon after, reeling off 15 wins in 17 matches.
They dropped a pair of games in October but finished strong by closing the season with four straight victories, including a three-set triumph over St. Johns River State in the Sun-Lakes Conference tournament to punch their ticket to Charleston.
The team had two weeks off before heading to the national tournament and Allen said he and his players have put that time to good use, working on improving all aspects of their game.
"The team is really focused and the practices have been really good," he said. "They're competing extremely well and we're kind of honing in on some of the different rotation things we've been working on. We've been a little more specific for what we're trying to do lately."
Among the areas Allen said the Lady Commodores are looking to continue to progress is in serve and serve receive. Gulf Coast thrived in both categories at the conference tournament and will need to do so again in Charleston.
"Serve and serve receive have been looking really good. I hope it carries over into the tournament," Allen said. "It worked really well for us in the conference tournament. We passed at a 2.3 ratio and anywhere about two is good. That means you're able to run what you want to run on offense."
Allen charts his players' passes from serve receive on a scale of 0-3, with 0 being an error, 1 being a pass that gives the setter just one option to set, a 2 when it gives the setter two options, and 3 when the setter has three options.
The same system is used to grade servers based on the return of the opponent.
Freshman Riley Edwards was the best for Gulf Coast when it comes to serve receive in the conference tournament, making nine perfect serve receive passes in 10 opportunities.
"If we're able to serve and serve receive like we did at the conference tournament, we have a really good shot at making it deep in the national tournament," Allen said.
A deep run has to start with a win Thursday over McHenry County (29-15), a team Allen compared favorably to conference foe St. Johns River State.
"They've got some strong attackers on the outside, some good middles, but they run offense through the outsides," he said. "Their attackers outside are very athletic and hit the ball from a nice, high angle. That puts some pressure on the defense, but if our block is consistent then we can keep them a little out of system.
"We're going to have to serve tough and limit the amount of players they can set and force them into difficult situations. If we're unable to serve well and they're passing great and running a faster tempo with their outside attackers, it could be tough on us."
Tough is what Allen said he expects every round if the Lady Commodores advance, and he said he wouldn't have it any other way.
"If it's not a competitive field then what's the point of even winning," Allens aid. "You want to feel like you've accomplished something. This is a good team. If we don't play well, they're going to make us pay."