Buffs New Hitters Progressing Positively

Photo by: Shaun Wicen/CU Athletics

August 19, 2019 | Volleyball

By: Shaun Wicen, Assistant SID

BOULDER – The University of Colorado women's volleyball team will start the season with one returning hitter from last season's NCAA Tournament team, but have a number of talented young hitters to fill voids.

The Buffaloes look to fill spots left by Alexa Smith and others, something CU has successfully done for consecutive seasons now. Two upperclassmen and four freshmen all are looking to fill voids and step into rolls, led by senior Justine Spann. Redshirt junior Emily DeMure, who will split time working at the right side and as a backup setter, is the other upperclassmen.

Freshmen Jill Schneggenburger is a hopeful six-rotation hitter along with Elissa Alcantara and Kelley Levaggi. Sterling Parker is a middle that has shown strong plays working on the right side in fall camp.

Transition is a normal thing for head coach Jesse Mahoney's Buffaloes. The last few seasons the team has moved on from the departure of Frankie Shebby, Joslyn Hayes and Stephie Shadley with Anyse Smith and Lauren Dorrell as well as Spann. This year the team will be without both Smiths or Dorrell, but the team is hopeful the young talented freshmen crew will fill the voids and lift this team.

Coach Mahoney discussed the progression of his hitters this morning and what the future looks like prior to the season's first match against Wyoming Aug. 30 at home.

How does Justine look as the leader and lone returner of the group of hitters?
Justine is the veteran of the group. She is having a real good preseason, not only from an efficiency standpoint but also from a leadership standpoint. She is trying to get all of our new kids on the same page. We are trying to limit her jumps when we can and keep her as healthy as we can throughout the season. I think China and this fall preseason she has taken a step forward.

What do the other three hitting positions look like?
The other three positions, the other outside and the two right sides, is a little bit up in the air. Jill Schneggenburger is like Justine and Alexa Smith as a six-rotation kid that can pass, defend and attack at a really high level. Right now she is attacking very well. She is still working to be a better ball handler, though we are pretty excited about where she's trending and where she is going to be. The other two freshmen outsides: Kelley Levaggi, from where she started to where she is now she has taken huge leaps. She just has to start playing with a little more confidence and a little bit more aggressiveness but we are excited about what she is doing. Elissa Alcantara is probably our most dynamic outside right now. She is touching 10' 5" and she can score. She is working on the six-rotation part of the game, the passing and defending.

How do the right sides look?
On the right side, right now we have Emily DeMure who is splitting time working on setter and working on the right side. Emily is the veteran kid that has been here for three years and redshirted, so this is her fourth year. She is very mature, knows what to do and makes good decisions. She is doing a good job with her opportunities on the right. Sterling Parker, we didn't know if she would be a middle or right, I think right now we are looking at her as a right side. She had some shoulder issues her senior year that she is still working on so she isn't hitting with the pop we think she can eventually. She is so physical and of the freshmen she is the one making high level plays more often than anyone else. We are excited about all of them, they all have to grow up a little bit. It's still too early to tell who will start on the first day, but there's definitely really good competition at those spots.

What does the timeline look like of setting a starting lineup or do you envision it being a fluid lineup?
In a perfect world we are competing day in and day out. In another version of that perfect world you want your best players to show up from day one and you have a set idea of what you're going to be. As of now, I have an idea of how it will play out but that doesn't mean it will play out that way. I think we will be tested enough early and we are young enough that some players may struggle and we are going to see some different kids do some different things. Every one of those players that ends up not starting will be really talented and do some really good things in practice and is probably going to earn an opportunity when someone else is struggling. I think early on in the season we will see some mixes of lineups, then hopefully we solidify into this is how we think we can be the best team we can be and grow from there.