by HANNAH COREY, INDIANA SRN
I want to start off with an apology for the delay in getting these posts out. It’s been a crazy couple weeks for me. Anyway…..let’s get into it.
In weeks four and five of the PVF Ignites schedule had them playing two matches within 48 hours of each other. Indy started off week four at Vegas. They were able to jump out to a 2-0 set lead until Vegas before getting reverse swept. Indy then had to travel back home to play Columbus Fury where they would bounce back with a sweep. In the following week, Ignite faced the reigning PVF champs in the Omaha Supernovas at home on Thursday night. Despite having close sets, Omaha came out on top winning 3-0. Indy then traveled south to face the Orlando Valkyries for the second time this season where they fell in four sets.
In looking at these losses, and even their win against Columbus, something seems to have shifted for Ignite. Their chemistry and team dynamic is not what we saw in their first three matches. So what happened and how can they fix it? In this case, I think there are a few reasons.
- The offense is becoming predictable. When you look at the stats, It is no secret who Indy’s go-to hitter is – Leketor (Lek) Member-Meneh. She is a phenomenal hitter who gets her team kills even when opponents find ways to slow her down. However, Indy needs to get their other attackers more involved in the offense if they want to win matches. Because they rely heavily on their outsides, their offense can become one dimensional. When this happens teams are then able to shift their defensive scheme to defend it. Indy needs to find a way to get other attackers involved, especially the middles, if they want to see a shift in their offensive efficiency. If Ignite can find a way to utilize their middles, it will allow their offense to be more terminal.
- They’re not playing together. In order to be successful in volleyball, you have to play as a team. Every single player needs to do their job all while trusting teammates to do the same. It’s an intricate mix that takes years and years of practice, dedication, discipline, and mental toughness. Part of the reason Ignite jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the PVF was because they had these components as well as the ability to take care of their side of the net. They took every point for what it was and didn’t let a difference in score affect how they played. Ignite needs to find a way to channel this again. Not only will it clean up their unforced errors, but it will bring back a fire to the team.
- Play to win. There is a saying I was introduced to a while back that I continue to use when analyzing volleyball. Playing to win rather than playing to not lose. Both involve winning, yet the mentality behind this statement couldn’t be more different. Ignite started the season playing to win. Even when mistakes were made, they were able to keep their aggressive mindset. In these past four matches, the mentally has seemed to shift from playing to win to playing to not lose. Now obviously as the season goes on, things are going to change, however, your mentality should not. Once Indy finds a way to reignite (no pun intended) the passion and grit they had in those beginning matches, big things will happen.