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St. Cloud State University
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Husky VB ready for tough road ahead
By Jay Corn
Published:
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Starting this Friday, the women's volleyball team will begin its first competition this season against rival NCC teams.
Sept. 26th, SCSU (7-6) will travel to South Dakota where they will compete against the University of South Dakota (9-4), who currently find themselves in a three-way tie for first place in the division. Only two wins separate the first and last place teams in the division, and according to head coach Patricia Mickow, a consistent and practiced game plan has been the key to the Huskies' surprising success so far.
The Huskies will have their hands full with an extremely competitive NCC conference.
"Even though many of the teams in the division are ranked in the top 25 (Div. II), we don't really add anything offensively or defensively just for a specific opponent," Mickow said. "We scout tendencies to key on, but we're more worried about ourselves and work that we have to get done," Mickow said.
Despite this season being classified as a rebuilding year, the Huskies are in prime position to make a playoff push in the second half of the season. Although the squad finds itself only two wins out of first place, they still face an uphill battle the rest of the way. Nine matches still remain with top 25 teams, but according to senior right side hitter Cara Bartolic, there is nothing but excitement as the team prepares for the meat and potatoes of their season.
"The level of the competition in the NCC is so high," Bartolic said. "Most of the teams in our division are in the top 25, so there really isn't any intimidation when we go up against a good team."
Another source of energy for SCSU will come in the form of home court advantage. Up until this point in the season, the girls have only played one match on their home floor, a 3-0 shutout of the College of St. Benedict Sept. 9.
Starting Tuesday, the Huskies will play two-thirds of their remaining games in Halenbeck Hall, including several important divisional matches.
"Coming home is going to be a blast," Bartolic said. "It's always good to play in front of your home fans on your home campus because it really pumps everyone up and brings out the best in our team. I really believe we'll win at least half our remaining matches, and as a senior, I'm really holding out hope for a playoff spot. This team definitely has the talent to make some noise down the stretch."
The Huskies will play their next home game Tuesday against Bemidji.
The match is an important one for the women for two reasons. The first is that coach Mickow, in her first year at SCSU, was brought up through the Bemidji ranks, and it will mark the first time she will face her former school on her new home court. It will also mark the halfway point in the season, and start the previously mentioned stretch of matches in which the Huskies will play nine top 25 teams.
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