Prior to the season opener, less than a month and a mere 9 matches ago, I had posted my thoughts regarding our 12th ranked* Gophers depth chart. I was right about the order of who ranked where for some positions and wrong about others, but the big development concerns the DEPTH itself. Prior to the season opener, we appeared to have a lot of it, but no longer. Even before we have concluded our non-conference season, we are extremely dependent on keeping our starters healthy. * I think the #12 reflects our 8-1 record – but ignores our relatively weak non-conference schedule AND our current depth issue.
We never had depth at SETTER. We play a 5-1, and Stella Swenson is the ONE. Georgia Lee has, a pleasant surprise, turned out to be a strong designated server, and she sets well enough for minimal spot duty, i.e., in for a point or two, as a setter. But we are unlikely to fare well in the rugged Big Ten schedule with Lee or third string setter Chloe Ng as our one setter.
We had good depth at LIBERO, with the excellent Zeynab Palabiyik as our #1, Kate Thibault as our #2, and true freshman McKenna Garr as our #3. So much so that it appeared we were going to routinely play all 3 at the same time in certain rotations. But Palabiyik is out for the season, leaving us with only Thibault and Garr. I predicted that Garr might jump ahead of Thibault, and for now, she has, getting the 11 half-rotation jersey and keeping Thibault in the 6 half-rotation D.S. spot. But Thibault has been playing really well, so this might continue to be a competition between the two of them. The bigger issue is that we need at least two healthy Liberos, so we no longer have any depth at this position. Maybe Gilk?
We had good depth at MIDDLE, with the excellent 5th yr transfer (from Purdue) Lourdes Myers as our #1, the undersized junior Calissa Minatee as our #2, and the long and talented true freshman Jordan Taylor as our #3. But Minatee is out for the season, leaving us with only Myers and Taylor. Taylor instead of Minatee won’t hurt us on defense, as Taylor has the potential to become a dominant blocker. In the short-term, losing Minatee will set us back a bit on offense as Minatee had been quite productive on the quick-sets from Stella, and the Stella-Taylor timing is still off. The adjustment from setting the short & quick Minatee to the tall & slow Taylor falls on Stella’s shoulders; I think Stella is up to it, but it won’t happen overnight. Again, the bigger issue is that we need at least two healthy Middles, so we no longer have any depth at this position. Maybe Kinney?
We had good depth at OUTSIDE HITTER, where we’ll play two LEFTSIDES and one OPPOSITE. We had Julia Hanson, The Wooker, and Alex Acevedo at Leftside, the true freshman Carly Gilk and 5th yr veteran Lauren Crowl at Opposite, and the true freshman and versatile Kelly Kinney who can perform at either position. (I did not, and do not, entertain playing the slow-moving Olivia Swenson in a Big Ten match. I’m sure Olivia is a nice person and a supportive teammate, but if she really wants court-time, she belongs D-3.)
So we had 6 players for 3 positions, and losing The Wooker drops us to 5 options for 3 positions, with Kinney’s versatility a critical asset. For now, it appears that the starting Leftsides will be Hanson and Acevedo, and Kinney at Opposite, and Gilk and Crowl hopefully performing so well in practice as to push Acevedo for a starting role (moving Kinney to Leftside). Hanson is a stud. Acevedo has looked good lately, and starts quick in Sets 1, which is helpful. But Acevedo was inconsistent at times last year, which we can’t afford. Kinney and Gilk are true freshmen, which often portends inconsistency. Crowl is an adequate, 5-tool backup, but I scream in frustration every time she dinks – which is way too often. So OUTSIDE HITTER is the one position where we still have a little depth, but precious little.
Injuries play a role in every team sport, but losing 3 of your top 13 players competing for 8 starting roles is enough bad luck – and the Big Ten season hasn’t even started yet. We can’t afford much more and still remain competitive.
NEXT UP: The Gophs finish the non-conference season with
Friday: Loyola at Loyola, 6:00 on ESPN+
Sunday: Marquette at Marquette, 5:00 on FS1
We need to win both!