Gaining confidence

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- To be sure, the Minnesota Valley Lutheran Chargers are thinking about volleyball. But their success in another sport may be the difference this season.

MVL's girls basketball team advanced to the 2000 Class 1A state tournament and eventually finished second. The confidence gained from that success could be a factor that makes the Chargers a factor in the Tomahawk Conference title chase.

One of the problems MVL (9-15, 2-7 in 1999) had last season was confidence. The Chargers often folded in close games, something coach Lori Unke hopes won't be a problem this season.

"The success they experienced last winter at the state basketball tournament really helped their confidence level," Unke said. "I really want to try and bring that confidence into our volleyball program as well. That's really what has been hurting them in the past -- not knowing how to pull out the win when they had to."

Helping is the loss of only two seniors from last season's squad and the return of six letterwinners. Several of them were on that basketball team.

Now they know what it's like to win.

"The problem (last season) was that we got down on ourselves," Sarah Gronholz said. "We're working on that, just to keep everybody's spirits up because when we play, and we just put every mistake behind us, we play better."

Gronholz -- a 6-foot-1 senior middle blocker -- is one of the returning letterwinners and was one of the key players on the Chargers' girls basketball team. She'll also be a key player on the Chargers' volleyball team.

Gronholz was All-Journal and All-Tomahawk Conference as a junior, and was MVL's leading hitter and blocker. Also returning are seniors Alisha Majeski and Erin Czer, and juniors Leah Morgan, Amanda Ristow and Katie Hermanson.

Ristow is a 5-foot-9 outside hitter and the left-handed 5-foot-11 Morgan will also work the outside with the 5-foot-8 Czer playing middle blocker. All saw starting stints at one time or another last season.

One of the key newcomers for MVL will be 5-foot-9 sophomore Emily Buck, who will spell Hermanson at setter. Unke said Buck went to two camps during the summer and will likely split rotation time with Hermanson.

"Setting looks good," Unke said. "I wasn't sure if (Buck's) speed was up the varsity level ... but she came into tryouts really strong."

Majeski, a 5-foot-6 utility player, was the Chargers' MVP in 1999 and the team's best defensive player. Unke sees her as being a key part of the MVL passing game, which should be improved this season with a newly-instituted three-girl service receive.

"When the ball goes to Alisha, our passing is perfect," Unke said. "I try and have either Alisha in the back row passing or Leah Morgan in the back row passing. Leah's probably my second-best passer.

"We've been working on a lot of short and deep serves. ... That's something we're really concentrating on getting down."

MVL is also working in several new offensive sets in Unke's second season. The main goal of the new sets is to improve the Chargers' transition game and to hide the main hitters from opponents' blockers.

"It's coming," Majeski said. "We have to keep trying them because we're not going to get better if we just say, 'Oh, forget about it.' I think what's more is that a change in our offense and switching things up will keep defenses guessing."

That's something else that makes the Chargers more confident as they open their season with a nonconference match against Sibley East at Arlington tonight.

"We have real good team morale, everybody's come real enthusiastic," Unke said. "They've been very anxious to get back at it."

Still, the Chargers are realistic -- you don't go from 9-15 to the state tournament. Realistically, MVL wants to finish in the top of third of the Tomahawk and be in a stronger position when the postseason arrives.

"A lot of us have played together for almost three years, we know each other," Gronholz said. "I want us to get better each game. We're not really going to worry about the winning or losing, just improving each game."