Ladyjack 2010 Preview: Setters
8/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 16, 2010
Returning: Laurel Kuepker, Allison Gideon
Newcomers: Meagan Veach
For the first time since 2004, Debbie Humphreys will turn over the reins of the Ladyjack offense to a freshman. Fortunately, that freshman was able to take last year to learn the nuances of the offenses while earning a redshirt and watching on as SFA advanced to the Southland Conference Tournament finals.
Humphreys had three setters in camp in 2009, but a midseason injury to Laurel Kuepker hampered her production and freshman Allison Gideon was in the midst of her redshirt season, forcing Paloma Buckner to handle the majority of the setting duties. She responded with more than nine assists per set and finished as one of only 10 Ladyjacks with 1,000 assists in her career, despite only spending just two seasons in Nacogdoches.
This season it will be Gideon that steps in with her 5-11, left-handed frame to run the offense and Humphreys could not be happier that they were able to survive 2009 without having to burn her redshirt.
"It was tough at times," Humphreys said. "It was tempting because with Lo (Kuepker) hurt, it really forced us to be shorthanded for a while, and there are points during a season when you just want to shake things up to see if you can get more out of a position, and we were not able to do that without losing Allison's redshirt. In the end it worked out, and now she has four full years remaining and we could not be happier about that."
It will be the first time since JJ Jones in 2004 that a freshman enters the season as the primary setter for SFA, and that year Jones led the Ladyjacks to the first of four straight conference titles and was named the league's top freshman. "We know there will be some growing pains from time to time, but in the end we know that she (Gideon) can get the job done," Humphreys said. "She reads defenses very well and with her size, she is able to be much more aggressive and an offensive threat at the net."
In addition to Gideon, senior captain Laurel Kuepker will also see time at setter in 2010. Kuepker opened her career as a libero and defensive specialist and was even honorable mention all-conference as a sophomore; however, she moved to setter as a junior and was putting together a very solid season before suffering an injury midway through the year that caused her to miss seven matches and slowed her for the remainder of the year.
"It is important to keep Lo as healthy as we can this year, because just having her out on the floor is a big deal for us," Humphreys said. "She is one of our leaders and you want to see your leaders leading from the floor, not the sideline."
Even though Gideon enters the season as the primary setter, Kuepker's experience and versatility should keep her consistently in the rotation; however, the majority of her time will likely come in a back-row role, offering solid passing and defense, something she has provided for each of the last three seasons.
Freshman Meagan Veach and junior Melissa Miksch will also provide depth at the position, but will likely see the majority of their time at other positions as well. Miksch received time at setter several times as true freshman in 2008 but saw all her time on the outside last year. The junior has been receiving reps in practice early this season, but Humphreys knows that she will be primarily used in a ball-control role on the outside. As for Veach, Humphreys has plenty of options in utilizing her as she can both set and play on the back row as another option there.
-SFA-
