Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcat Volleyball Progressing Through Preseason
8/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 21, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - They swim. They do yoga. They do Tae-Bo. And they also play volleyball.
The preseason workouts for the 2001 Northwestern women's volleyball team consist of more than just digging, setting and spiking. In an effort to increase the all-around athletic abilities of his players, head coach Keylor Chan and his staff have implemented a cross-training program that is fun and functional.
"The players look good, they enjoy it, and it's something new," Chan said of the morning workouts. "They work different muscle groups and it causes less fatigue and wear and tear."
But there is still pleanty of time for volleyball. The Wildcats, who open up their season on the road Aug. 31 at the Deacon Invitational at Wake Forest, are in the middle of intense preseason workouts.
The players are learning game strategies and battling for starting positions. They held a fiercely competitive intrasquad scrimmage on Aug. 18, playing four close games in the new rally scoring format.
During the scrimmage Chan was impressed with the play of freshman setter Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly) and redshirt freshman middle blocker Jill Buschur (New Bremen, Ohio/New Bremen). As the only newcomer to the team, Chan says Robertson is adjusting well.
"The players are definately ready to compete," Chan said, "but we need the next 10 days to work out the details before going into the season."
This season there is only one goal--make it to the NCAA tournament.
"That's the one thing we focus on right now, making it to the NCAA's," Chan said.
To achieve that goal, Northwestern must battle a tough conference schedule, facing four nationally ranked opponents in Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio State.
The first home match of the season will come Sept. 14 as Northwestern hosts the annual Wildcat Classic at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The tournament also features Army, Butler and Western Kentucky.
