The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Seniors excited for '07 chances
Resurgent program looks for district title, .500 league mark
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 4, 2007
For the past few seasons, the Milan volleyball team has found wins very tough to come by.
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The five seniors on the much-improved 2006-2007 Big Red team — Liz Sedlarik, Jennifer Dennison, Emily Hoskins, and captains Carolyn Nelson and Jennifer Robinson — remember that clearly. That's why this season — in which, after only two tournaments, Milan has already won nearly as many matches as all of last year — has them beyond excited.
"It's overwhelming," Sedlarik said after a spirited scrimmage Thursday against Ann Arbor Huron in Ann Arbor. "Everyone's really happy right now."
"We feel like we've really improved," said Nelson. "We're getting used to (second-year) Coach (Andrea) Marshall's coaching style –– the way she wants us to do things ... We've improved immensely. We're excited to see how far we can take it."
So far, behind the steady play of the Big Red seniors, Milan has taken it to three-win performances in both the season-opening Summerfield and Blissfield tournaments.
According to captain Jennifer Robinson, the improvement started last season with an emphasis on developing the team's fundamentals and technique. With those tools in hand and Marshall at the helm, the Big Reds have felt ready to compete and win.
"The biggest difference is in our confidence level. We believe in ourselves," Robinson said. "We've really improved our hitting, our defense, our passing … We've perfected those skills, and now we're confident we can compete with anyone we play against."
That confidence was on display at the Huron scrimmage, where (even as both teams substituted freely) the Big Reds would have taken the first game if the teams had played to 25 rather than in timed periods.
That confidence and excitement has grown to the point where the Big Red seniors aren't going to simply be happy by being competitive or much-improved. They expect it to pay off in wins.
The seniors say that unless they meet their goals of a .500 season in Huron League play and a district title — which would enable the Big Reds to compete in the regionals, to be held in Milan, at home — there will be some disappointment.
To accomplish those goals would represent a huge step forward for the program, but Hoskins believes one factor in the Big Reds' favor will be the element of surprise.
"You can tell that some teams don't expect too much out of us," she said. "It feels good to surprise them. You can tell, with us, there's something there that wasn't there before."
While the team has continued to possess what the seniors agree is excellent team chemistry, that something new is the expectation and excitement that Milan volleyball is truly, finally going places.
"That's what puts us above and beyond where we were last year," Nelson said. "Now we know what we can do."
Milan's next competition comes Saturday at the Saline Invitational in Saline.
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