Big crowd on hand today. The reception/dining room was packed to hear Christy Johnson-Lynch. A few highlights:
---said Bigbee is done for the year. Had to have minor knee surgery after an injury, and then developed a huge blood clot in her calf. Coaches, Bigbee and the team were bummed about losing a senior leader, but coach said she was handling it with grace and a positive attitude and is contributing at every practice and match as best she can.
---said her team is loaded with young depth, and it took awhile for her to settle on the best possible line-up because she could play so many combinations.
--said freshman Jess Schaben had always played as a middle blocker her whole life, but Christy moved her to a left-side hitter and she picked up the new position from day one. She said it takes most girls a year or two to really get comfortable at a new position. I believe she said she's been named Big 12 newcomer of the year 4 weeks this fall.
--said Caitlyn Nolan has a chance to be an All-American. Been named the Big 12 defensive player of the week 9 times this fall.
--ISU leads the Big 12 in serving and Aces. Our strength this year is our defense, which Christy always stresses.
--She couldn't be specific, but it sounded like we are in line to sign 2 or 3 of the top Iowa girls next week. She said they are not only great athletes, but great students. Said there are a lot of great players in Iowa this year, and she always expects to get the top ones, but we can't take them all.
--She hinted around that there are several liberos ready to take Nolan's place next year, and the competition for the spot will be tough. Even hinted that the new libero could possibly be an incoming freshman.
--said she was tickled that our RPI was up to 17 now, and she puts more stock in that than being ranked, since that is what the selection committee looks at when selecting and seeding teams for the NCAA tournament. She said 5 of our last 7 matches are on the road and it will be a tough grind, but it will also help out our RPI if we can knock some of those teams off.
--said she we are averaging 2,700 fans per home match, which is Top 10 in the country. Said we've come a long way since she came to ISU (ten years ago??).
--Monique Harris has been a pleasant surprise taking over the setter position. She's short for that position and was only a walk-on from Clinton, but she's fast and quick and can even block at the net for being only
5' 6", so it doesn't hurt keeping her in the rotation. Said she earned the starting spot through hard work and her overall athleticism.
---said Bigbee is done for the year. Had to have minor knee surgery after an injury, and then developed a huge blood clot in her calf. Coaches, Bigbee and the team were bummed about losing a senior leader, but coach said she was handling it with grace and a positive attitude and is contributing at every practice and match as best she can.
---said her team is loaded with young depth, and it took awhile for her to settle on the best possible line-up because she could play so many combinations.
--said freshman Jess Schaben had always played as a middle blocker her whole life, but Christy moved her to a left-side hitter and she picked up the new position from day one. She said it takes most girls a year or two to really get comfortable at a new position. I believe she said she's been named Big 12 newcomer of the year 4 weeks this fall.
--said Caitlyn Nolan has a chance to be an All-American. Been named the Big 12 defensive player of the week 9 times this fall.
--ISU leads the Big 12 in serving and Aces. Our strength this year is our defense, which Christy always stresses.
--She couldn't be specific, but it sounded like we are in line to sign 2 or 3 of the top Iowa girls next week. She said they are not only great athletes, but great students. Said there are a lot of great players in Iowa this year, and she always expects to get the top ones, but we can't take them all.
--She hinted around that there are several liberos ready to take Nolan's place next year, and the competition for the spot will be tough. Even hinted that the new libero could possibly be an incoming freshman.
--said she was tickled that our RPI was up to 17 now, and she puts more stock in that than being ranked, since that is what the selection committee looks at when selecting and seeding teams for the NCAA tournament. She said 5 of our last 7 matches are on the road and it will be a tough grind, but it will also help out our RPI if we can knock some of those teams off.
--said she we are averaging 2,700 fans per home match, which is Top 10 in the country. Said we've come a long way since she came to ISU (ten years ago??).
--Monique Harris has been a pleasant surprise taking over the setter position. She's short for that position and was only a walk-on from Clinton, but she's fast and quick and can even block at the net for being only
5' 6", so it doesn't hurt keeping her in the rotation. Said she earned the starting spot through hard work and her overall athleticism.
