by Kyle Koso
Sure, everyone loves a challenge, but if the daily grind drives you to the ground, that can get a bit tiresome. For Chad Willis and his coaching staff, taking over the machinations for the Georgia Southern volleyball program required copious time and energy that got expended well before signs of a real payoff. A tough debut run in 2019 was followed by the mess of the COVID year, enough adversity to seriously tap into one’s reserve of patience. But the rewards are starting to show up everywhere, in the talent base of the roster and the ability of the squad to hang tough upon the competitive turf of the Sun Belt Conference. The latest evidence? – two victories to kick off the 2023 NIVC, where the Eagles (23-8) will play host to South Florida (21-11) on Thursday in the Great 8 in hopes of reaching the Fab 4 semifinals. This is the first 20-win season for Georgia Southern since 2013. Ahead of Willis taking the job, the Eagles averaged 20 losses over each of four seasons, and Year 1 of the new staff saw another difficult campaign at 7-20. In 2021, the sun finally started to peek out for the staff. “We knew we had our work cut out for us. In my time at (Appalachian State) before that, I had a front-row seat and saw Georgia Southern up close and personal,” said Willis, whose team topped Winthrop in five sets in Round 1 of the NIVC and followed it with a sweep of East Carolina, on ECU’s home floor. “I was familiar with where they were, and I recognized it was a place that had a ton of tradition and great history. For us as a staff, we wanted to build culture and lay a foundation – if we could do that, at some point in Years 3-5, the recruiting would catch up with the culture. And here in Year 5, 100 percent of the roster is who we recruited, you’re seeing the fruits of that. It’s a connected group, proud of who they are and how they represent. It’s been a big step forward this year.” A step that found early footing in the summer when the Eagles traveled and played in South America, a classic example of team building that happens when you share experience from a road trip. “We took a trip to Argentina for 10 days in early June; what a great opportunity for us,” Willis said. “We could take the freshmen, so we had our entire group, staff and team, and built a lot of solid connections. That trip served as a great catalyst for us heading into the season. We went through the (non-conference schedule) and felt like the first two weekends at home, we looked pretty good. “We went on the road, lost one we maybe shouldn’t have against UTSA but turned around and beat a quality San Jose State team and then Campbell in five sets. That’s when I started first feeling like we had a group that responds well, knows how to compete. When we beat (Old Dominion) at their place I thought, well, we’ve got something we can work with here.” Teams that stick in the memory are usually made up of surprising newcomers and/or veterans who reach their competitive ceiling, and the Eagles are no exception. Freshman Reagan Barth earned first-team all-Sun Belt honors and leads the team in kills (342) and aces (40), while junior Jillian Gray emerged after not playing much in 2022 to ring up 279 kills. “Reagan, the load she’s carried for us, has been huge. We knew she had the ability and potential, but I’m not sure coming in I expected this much, so fast,” Willis said. “She’s been at an elite level and not just on the floor – her demeanor off the court, in practice. She doesn’t play or act like a freshman and has gained a lot of trust and respect. “Jillian Gray, you’re seeing someone who has starting to come into her own, development-wise, as a junior. She put in a ton of great work in the off-season, tracking back to the spring, in terms of how she attacked the weight room, nutrition, taking care of her body. It’s manifested into what you are seeing on the court. And again, a kid who comes in every day, smile on her face, says let me get to work and do my job, encourage teammates but compete and get after it, she’s the epitome.” Switching to a 6-2 offense this season worked out nicely as senior Callaway Cason (522 assists) and sophomore Kirsten Barrett (682 assists) played every set of the 31 matches, in step and in sync. Defensively, junior Ashlyn Lovett has always been a determined force, starting with her Sun Belt freshman of the year effort and extending through the Winthrop win, where she set a program record with 45 digs. Megan Vickery has come on late in 2023 as a difficult obstacle for teams in the middle. “And for sure, Chamblee Russell (219 kills this year), playing like a senior, hair on fire, and wanting to go out on a good note,” Willis said. “Winthrop presented a complicated matchup with how well they defend. We knew they wanted to grind plays out, extend rallies, make us beat ourselves. We were patient, stayed the course, and I’m proud of the kids for never hitting the panic button. We are battled-tested, and this late, every team we play is good. We won it defensively, then played cleaner against a good ECU team and got the sweep.” Thursday’s match with South Florida will be the fourth all-time between the programs; the Bulls lead the series 3-0 with the last meeting coming in 2008. Georgia Southern is hoping to have the services of Barth, a game-time call after being injured in the Winthrop match. NIVC HAS UTILITY – Willis on the positives of playing in the NIVC event: “What a great tournament and opportunity, and a great thing for our sport. I’m a little upset that more teams aren’t taking this opportunity to utilize it for everything that it is. For our seniors, three from our first recruiting class, this is a culminating experience for them and all the time and energy they’ve put it. To be able to go out on a ride like this speaks volumes. On the flip side, we’ve got a lot of key pieces coming back, and we know the advantage of extending the season and setting the standard of not being a team that just aspires to catch lightning in a bottle for a week at a conference tournament. We are trying to build toward sustained excellence, where we are training and competing in December. This tournament helps set that up and to use it as a teaching moment, where you understand you want to be playing in December.” |
Archives
December 2023
|