Optimism abounds for Penguin volleyball

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

When Mark Hardaway became Youngstown State’s volleyball coach in January, he expected a long-term rebuilding project.

After an encouraging spring season and fall camp, he learned that rebuilding may not be much of a project at all.

Hardaway has been on the bench for 344 victories at the Division I level as both a head coach and assistant. He’s seen the qualities that winning teams possess, and he said he sees some of those same qualities in the Penguins.

“If you want to be good, you have to work hard. High-caliber teams don’t get there by accident,” Hardaway said. “This team works extremely hard. You always need to have a certain amount of physical ability and talent, and we have a lot of very athletic and physical kids. Those two things together give me a lot of hope for this season and not five years down the road. I think we can turn it around quickly.”

The Penguins won three of their final five matches last season and won more than twice the number of sets they did in 2010. They accomplished that with sophomores and freshmen accounting for 94.7 percent of the team’s kills, 92.5 percent of its blocks and 76.3 percent of its digs.

Now, Hardaway and the Penguins have their sights set on proving voters wrong who picked them to finish last in the league’s preseason poll.

Hardaway’s focus in the preseason has been on playing smarter and passing better.

“Most people associate diving on the floor to get a ball as good defense. We’re looking to work hard before you get to that point so that you can play that ball without going to the floor,” Hardaway said. “We also have to be smart about what we do with the ball. If you’re not in a balanced position to where you can hit hard, you have to be able to take the ball with control and put it somewhere on the other side of the court that will put stress on the other team without making an error.”

Hardaway says for the Penguins to get to their desired level, they need to improve the intangible parts of the game.

“If we want to be better, something has to change. By something, I don’t mean the coaching staff,” he said. “It’s volleyball. I may have different ideas on subbing and drills, but it’s got to come from the players. We have to do something different, whether it’s work a little harder, work a little smarter or be more prepared.”