Northwestern University Athletics
Head Coach Keylor Chan Gauges the 2011 Season
8/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 12, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Under the direction of NU head coach Keylor Chan, now entering his 12th year at the helm, the Wildcats are gearing up for the 2011 season. With practices started and the first match only two weeks away, Northwestern is looking to build on its stellar season a year ago, this time utilizing a very young group of gifted athletes.
Chan recently sat down with NUsports.com to weigh in on the upcoming season, the impact players will have, who needs to step up and the landscape of the new-look Big Ten.
On the excitement and expectations for the upcoming season...
"Our goal is to make the tournament again. That's going to be an evolving goal for this team, and I'm excited for that. We obviously have a whole bunch of new faces, and we need to reinvent ourselves. We have a lot of freshmen and some older girls who need to step into new roles.
"This team is going to be fun. They recognize who they are specifically, and we know what we are not good at and what we can be great at. That's a talent in itself. We'll have to improve in certain areas, but the players know themselves, know where they want to go and they have the direction to do it. We've worked hard in the winter, spring and summer to put ourselves in those positive situations, now we just have to go out and take that test and see if we pass it. I'm excited for this group. I think a lot of people are excited as well to see this team compete. If we stay healthy, this team should be very proud of what it has accomplished. It's an exciting time to start a new chapter for Northwestern Volleyball."
On the roles of the two seniors, Alex Ayers and Mary Grace Gallagher...
"Alex has been playing on the floor in some capacity her whole career, so I think she just has a lot of experience and she know what it takes to win on our level. She has really grown into being a really good leader within our program. Mary Grace has been absolutely great. She's worked her way into a wonderful role and a leader as well. I think together, what they represent are the people who are willing to work for the successes in their lives and I think that's really going to help our freshmen realize that success isn't easy, that it takes time and a lot of work. Those things are irreplaceable values that they're going to instill in this young team."
On the expectations of the incoming class...
"Our expectations are really simple: help us win. Focus on what they can do to help this team reach its goal, which are to make the tournament and to be a team that can bring about repeatability in success. I think that they're a great group and are willing to help us."
On the impact sophomore Stephanie Holthus will need to have...
"She's going to have to take another step. We lost a lot of players who actually score points for our team, and Stephanie is going to have to fill that void. She led our team in attempts last year, so we know she can handle the load, but now she's going to have to be one of the feature players that we have in our program. It's a really exciting time for her, that's why she wanted to come to Northwestern, and this is what she's prepared her whole career to do, and now it's her time. We're excited to see her do it."
On the non-conference schedule...
"We're testing people here. There's a lot of testing going on in our program with what works and what wont work or needs to be fixed or improved. My only expectation is that we play hard and that we represent ourselves and our university well. I think that if we've done the work needed, we'll be successful and get wins. But if we aren't successful (in the non-conference slate), it wont be because of a lack of work or representation, it'll be from things that we'll learn about this team. Our goal is to learn these things and work on them and improve them to a point where they become assets for us."
On the outlook of the Big Ten...
"The Big Ten is always one of the top two or three leagues in the nation, and last year it was by far the best league, if you ask me. There are so many really good teams, teams that had seriously talented players. The Big Ten has graduated a lot of those great seniors, and teams are changing. There's just a lot of change with Nebraska joining the league, too. I think we're just trying to temper what our expectations are (for the conference schedule). We've got to take each team for what it is, seeing what they're going to bring. Obviously the 10 remaining teams in the Big Ten, we know a little bit about them, but with adding Nebraska, the schedule is changing a little bit. There are a lot of new faces in the league, so it will be different."
On making the NCAA tournament for a second year in a row...
"We need to grow tremendously. We all recognize that making the tournament would be a very good accomplishment, winning a round would be a great accomplishment and a second-round win would be outstanding. I don't know if there's a ceiling on our season, it's just how fast we learn and how fast we compete on that level."
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