BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The WKU volleyball team opens its 2011 season August 26th at the Belmont Invitational in Nashville, Tenn. With preseason practice in full swing, WKUSports.com is set to provide an in-depth look at the volleyball program as it prepares for its season.
WKU is coming off its fifth trip to the NCAA tournament since 2002, having earned an at-large bid after finishing the season with a 27-9 overall mark and a 14-2 record in the Sun Belt Conference. WKU put together the program's 11th consecutive 20-win season and advanced to the championship match at the SBC tournament for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons.
The Lady Toppers enter the 2011 season under the direction of 17-year head coach Travis Hudson.
Today is the third of a five-day preview on WKUSports.com, featuring a season preview along with a position-by-position breakdown of the 2011 Lady Toppers. Today, we take a look at the defensive specialist position.
August 9 - Season Preview
August 11 - Position Breakdown #1: Middle Hitter
August 16 - Position Breakdown #2: Defensive Specialist/Libero
August 18 - Position Breakdown #3: Setter
August 23 - Position Breakdown #4: Outside Hitter
Who's Back?
Hudson can certainly count on the presence of junior Sarah Rogers and sophomore Ashley Potts in the back row in 2011. The duo is also joined by returning junior Kacy Moran.
"Ashley and Sarah are probably two of the top three (defensive specialists) I have ever coached in 16 years," Hudson said. "They are both more than worthy of being liberos and they are in a situation where one of them is not going to be on a given night. I think they are as good as there is in the country, both of them, and they really, really competed throughout the spring but they competed in a way that wins you championships.
"They were really supportive of each other, really pushed each other and they anchor what we consider to be the best back row in this league. That will be another interesting dog fight in preseason to see who ultimately ends up wearing that libero jersey, but I just have a feeling that could change on any given night between the two of them because they are both so gifted."
Rogers was the starting libero last season in all 36 matches. She led the team with 410 digs, averaging 3.39 digs per set, and aces with 39. She tallied a season-high 21 digs in a win at Xavier and recorded double-digit digs in 23 of 36 matches, including 11 against conference opponents.
Potts made an immediate impact in her first season on the Hill as she was one of only five Lady Toppers to participate in all 121 sets in 2010. She finished third on the team with 243 digs on the year along with 12 service aces and 45 assists. Moran saw action in 23 sets in her second season at WKU.
"With Kelly Potts being our other graduate that leaves some playing time there for another defensive player and that is something that is going to be played out between Kacy Moran and Mollie Pajakowski. We hope one of the two steps forward and provides a little bit of depth for us defensively."
Who's New?
In addition to the experienced backs of Rogers and Potts, Hudson will have another option in the back row thanks to incoming freshman Mollie Pajakowski.
"Mollie is just a really good volleyball player," Hudson said. "She spent most of her life setting and she is a really, really good setter. She is a little small, which is why she didn't get recruiter more as a setter, but watching her play, her team wins, Bottom line. Where we need a little help is that right-back defensive position which is what a setter is comfortable playing and so we think she can develop defensively and certainly that is where her playing time is going to come from, if she gets it, is defending in the right back and we think she is capable of really giving us a lift there."
Pajakowski is from Granger, Ind., and played her high school volleyball at Marian High School. She led her team to their fifth straight sectional crown as a senior in 2010. The 5-9 freshman was a big part of Marian's 3-1 win over St. Joseph in October. She was also a part of two state runner-up teams and was a semifinalist for state as a junior.
