Your future, our focus
Entering his sixth season as the head coach of Northwest volleyball, Shaun Pohlman knows the way his program has been trending, and certainly hopes to continue.
But he also knows the annual coaches worry of the uncertainty that lies ahead.
Since taking the lead of the Lady Trappers in 2011, success has come at first individually and then for the team.
A second team NJCAA All- American honor was earned from players in both 2012 and 2013, with a first team honor earned in 2014.
A berth into the NJCAA National Tournament, and eighth-place finish, came in 2013, for the first of three straight trips.
Last season, coming off a Final Four appearance in 2014, expectations were high.
“We came into last season ranked third in the nation, which was great recognition, and we never dropped out of the top five,” Pohlman said. “That’s a pretty cool milestone, and we went 33-6, which was the first time we’ve finished a season with single digits in losses.”
That season started with wins over nationally ranked teams before a five-set loss to the eventual national champion, Southern Idaho.
“Playing nationally ranked teams early in the season is good, more from a competition standpoint rather than results,” Pohlman said. “And if you’re ranked and lose to another ranked team, it’s not going to ding you as much in the rankings.”
And while the team would go on to reach the Final Four for the second year in a row, as well as land two players as first team All-Americans and a third on the second team, it wasn’t as easy a path as it might have seemed.
“We really didn’t have great leadership within the team last year, and I think the players would tell you that,” Pohlman said. “To have good leaders, you need good followers, and vice versa, and it seemed like each week we were reinventing ourselves.”
From that, however, last year’s followers have learned what it takes to help a team succeed.
“Volleyball is different in that, let’s say a basketball player wants to score, he can just make a move, drive to the basket and score,” Pohlman said. “But if one of our hitters wants to score, she needs a good set from our setter. And for our setter to put up a good set, she needs to get a good pass or dig from someone else. It’s a team sport, but one that relies so much on each individual doing what they do to help the next step.”
And whereas last year’s Trapper team had its strength in hitting, with a lack of experience at the setter position, this year’s team sees that role reversed.
“We had experienced hitters and new setters last season, but now we have experience at setter and new hitters,” Pohlman said. “We were No. 1 in the nation in kills per set last year, as well as No. 1 in assists per set and points. But our three main passers in serve receive from last year aren’t here.”
And as the coach noted, the whole offense stems from the strength of those passes that come from the back line.
“We’ve got a whole new crew as far as our primary passers,” Pohlman said. “I don’t want to call it a weak spot, since we won’t know until we’re tested in competition. But we are aware that it is in transition.”
Unfortunately, those two first-team All-Americans were lost to eligibility and moved on to Division I programs, but that second teamer is back in the form of Lauga Gauta from Garden Grove, California.
“Our returning setters will give us some consistency while we work in some new hitters,” Pohlman said. “And Lauga is a pretty highly sought after player who will likely be featured in our American Volleyball Coaches Association coaching magazine in an article of players to watch. She’s fun to watch. She’s a high-flyer who hits it hard, and people will want to come watch her play.”
Also returning is Olivia Jarvis, a 5’10” middle from Orem, Utah.
“She didn’t get a lot of playing time last year, but she’s really made strides,” Pohlman said. “She’s at the point of being a Division I level athlete.”
On the horizon to help is 6’4” Aleksandra Saric from Montenegro.
“She came in early academically, but while working out on her own, tore her ACL, but we’re hoping to have her back in October,” Pohlman said. “She is tall and is an athlete, who we just have to catch up with the skill aspect a little bit. But if you’re starting with tall and athletic, there’s a lot of room to grow with the skills.”
There seems to be a good mix of returning players from a very strong team and newcomers into a program that know how to succeed, which all starts with the work ethic.
“We have a good group that share the mentality that they’re not afraid to work hard,” Pohlman said. “There’s a lot that can happen over the course of a season, but with our combination of experience at setter (Jelena Slijepcevic of Serbia and Maliyah Tela of Provo, Utah), along with Lauga and Olivia, and the potential we have in our other areas, I see us with the chance to have a pretty successful season.”
Practices for the Trappers continue this week, with an intra-squad scrimmage scheduled at the Cabre Gym at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
The team will scrimmage against the Rocky Mountain Varsity team in Billings on Tuesday, Aug. 23. Their third scrimmage will be at home against the Montana State-Billings varsity team Saturday, Aug. 27, at 3 p.m. and then they will face the Rocky Mountain junior varsity team at home Tuesday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.