Leah Mercer sees the USI volleyball team in the NCAA tournament this year.
For the volleyball head coach it isn’t just about making it to the tournament, but about advancing past the first round.
The team ended last season 19-11, but Mercer said they underachieved a little bit.
During the spring she said there was a lot of growth in leadership and team cohesiveness.
Senior middle-blocker Abbey Winter said their ability to communicate could improve after last season.
Communication is something a team can do better when they understand one another. Prior to this season the team went through personality testing with a program called Coaching C.L.O.U.T.
Mercer said this program gave the team an insight into each other and the coaching staff.
The program focuses on helping teammates understand each other and the different reactions team members may have. It can help players understand why one player reacts in a more reserved manner than another.
Helping the team get to know each other was important for a team adding both a new assistant coach and five freshman players.
Mercer said she thinks the respect for Assistant Coach Elisa Joris is evident in the girls and she and Joris are both on the same page coaching-wise.
“It’s the same message,” Mercer said, “just even louder.”
The five freshmen provide upperclassmen players like Winter the chance to lead.
“We know what it’s like to be freshmen,” Winter said.
Mercer said the leadership has been fantastic. As a team the girls participated in a program over the summer they had never done before.
Mercer said everyone was ready to participate in a 10 week program based off of a book by Jeff
Janssen called “The Team Captain’s Leadership Manual.”
Mercer said it showed the girls how they could each lead in their own way.
The freshmen are making their mark on the team either by getting into starting positions or pushing the girls already in those spots.
Mercer said she sees all of them making an impact at some point and believes the athletes have continued to get better every year.
“We have depth in places we haven’t had depth before,” Mercer said. “We have people competing for positions.”
