Arizona setters Lauren Fuller and Chanel Brown are any opposing defense’s nightmares. Though they are both undersized by volleyball standards, their combined talents allow the Wildcats to put them on the court at the same time in a 6-2 offense.
The Cal volleyball team travels to the Grand Canyon State to face Arizona State (12-3, 1-1 in the Pac-12) on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by a match against Arizona (9-4, 1-1) on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. While both teams have respectable records thus far, it is the matchup against the Wildcats and their unique strategy that presents more issues for the Bears (7-5, 1-1).
Many schools across the country prefer to run a 5-1 tactic, with one setter dictating the flow of the offense. For the Bears this season, junior transfer Joan Caloiaro has filled this role effectively.
Arizona is different with its rare 6-2 offensive strategy.
In order to execute a 6-2, a team must have two setters who can communicate well with one another and have similar styles of play so the outside hitters do not have to adjust on the fly.
Fuller and Brown are interchangeable and play in both the back and the front row, giving the Wildcats the ability to always set from the back.
“There is no downside to this offense if you have two equal setters and two big blockers to go in for them,” said coach Rich Feller.
The Wildcats will put a lot of stress on Cal’s defense to be well-organized and quick-minded to unpredictable net play. While the ball is coming to an Arizona setter, Cal will always have three Wildcats to track, all of whom may get the chance for a kill.
In order to slow down the explosive Arizona team, Cal plans to hit the ball to the setter in the back row. With the first hit taking the back row setter out of the rally, the setter lined up in the first row must come and set the second hit. Now, there are only two net hitters available for the kill
opportunity, making the rally more predictable.
“It’s harder to deal with it, but if we serve tough and get them out of system it will be harder for them to have all their options,” said senior Shannon Hawari.
While dealing with the Arizona offense will be a challenge in and of itself, the Bears must resolve their own slow starting issues so they don’t find themselves playing from behind again.
The Bears are coming off a gritty five-set victory on the road against Colorado last Saturday, but a poor first set was once again the root of their struggles.
“We didn’t start out well, we did not play well into the last two sets and we never really played our best,” said senior Kat Brown.
While the road trip against the Arizona schools are an easier stretch of Cal’s conference schedule, the team is not taking the Wildcats and their unique strategy lightly.
“(ASU) and Arizona are not ranked as high as other teams in the Pac-12, but they are definitely teams that can surprise you,” Hawari said.
Austin Crochetiere covers volleyball. Contact him at [email protected]
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