Hardaway guides YSU volleyball reversal

October 2, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

BOARDMAN

You have to go back to the 1999 season to find the last time the Youngstown State University volleyball program had a winning record.

That was when Joe Conroy led his team to a 27-5 mark and the Penguins’ only conference title (13-1 in Mid-Continent Conference), Both remain high water marks for the program.

First-year coach Mark Hardaway, hired in January as the ninth head coach in the team’s 39-year history, has his Penguins netters out to an 11-7 start, an auspicious beginning to what he hopes will be the first of many future successes.

Speaking to the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s weekly luncheon meeting at the Blue Wolf Banquet Center, Hardaway said he was pleasantly surprised with the group that he inherited.

“I found out rather quickly that this group was very athletic; a strong group with an excellent work ethic and a group that really wanted to win,” Hardaway said.

“We have 16 players on our roster and only one senior,” Hardaway said. “Casey D’Ambrose and Missy Hundelt are our co-captains and both continue to grow into that leadership position.

“Casey is a setter and that implies leader right there. Missy is not afraid to get in your face to get things done right, just sometimes has to temper her enthusiasm. Both have a burning desire to win with very high expectations,” Hardaway said.

Ironically, it was Hardaway who was passed over when Krista Burrows was hired in 2010, departing with a 7-51 mark after just two seasons on the job.

In just 18 matches, Hardaway’s teams have nearly doubled the team’s win total of the past two years.

“I was at Bowling Green as an assistant coach and when head coach Denise Van De Walle retired, I knew that the athletic department was looking to move in a different direction so I began to look elsewhere,” Hardaway said.

“I researched YSU and while a lot of people told me negative things, such was not the case when I talked to my friends who had either graduated from YSU or lived in Youngstown. It was Joe [Conroy] who actually encouraged me to once again apply for the open position. Joe is just so very passionate about YSU, the volleyball program and the city,” Hardaway said.

Hardaway added that another plus was the way he was treated during the interview process.

“Some athletic directors only treat you nice if you’re a donor, but that was not the case with Ron Strollo,” Hardaway said. “I was so impressed with the way he treats everyone from top to bottom not only in athletics, but across campus as well.

“I have said all along that this is a beautiful campus with a lot of green, and I even interviewed in the winter. The facilities are excellent and I wasn’t even halfway through my interview when I realized that I wanted this job.”

With only one senior, Hardaway won’t be signing a scholarship player for 2013 as his only scholarship has already been promised to a current team member.

In 2014, however, seven (and possibly eight )scholarships will be available for incoming recruits.

“It’s tough because a large portion of the 2014 class is already committed and many schools already have commitments for 2015,” Hardaway said. “Our 2014 class, however, is very important in that it will dictate our long term success,” Hardaway said.