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Central State volleyball teams opens season at home this Wednesday
WILBERFORCE, Ohio – Major changes surround the Central State University women's volleyball program as the team prepares for Wednesday night's opening game against Earlham College.
One of those major changes fans will notice on Wednesday will be on the sideline when
Danielle Benson-Robinson makes her head coaching debut for the Lady Marauders.
"We have all been working hard and I am excited for us to finally play a regular season match on our home floor," Benson-Robinson says. "When I accepted the head coaching position, I was pleased with how the ladies came in ready to work. They accepted my coaching style and have been working hard since the first day of practice in order to be more successful than in the past."
Taking over the volleyball program in June, Benson-Robinson quickly worked towards assembling a roster despite an abbreviated recruiting season.
"In the timeframe given to assemble our roster, we really focused on recruiting student-athletes from the state of Ohio. The players who I brought in were the ones that I had already seen play and I knew that they could make a positive impact right away."
The 2017 roster is comprised of 8 returning players and 6 new players. Of those 14 players, the majority are either freshman or sophomores.
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"We are a young team but I have liked the play of
Michaela Powell and
Adaiah Johnson. I expect them to be major contributors for us this year. I also have been impressed with the improvement of individuals like
Danielle Lyttle."
Powell, who will enter her sophomore season, transferred to CSU after one season at Texas Southern University. At 5'11, Powell is expected to be a "go-to" player on the attack. Johnson, who has been praised by her coach for her leadership qualities, will be one of the main setters on the team. Lyttle is projected to start the season as the libero.
LaKendra Worthy,
Brea Lowe,
Akaila Howard and
Regine Harris are expected to round out the starting rotation on opening night.
While Benson-Robinson has a lineup ready for Wednesday, the first-year coach continues to put emphasis on competition.
"We had a completely open competition and created our first lineup about two weeks into preseason workouts. While we now have a starting lineup, I continue to emphasize that no spots are safe," Benson-Robinson says. "My favorite people are the ones who work harder than everyone else. As a coach, I am going to lean towards the player who is playing hard at all times and fighting for everything they earn. The majority of the time, those types of people are the ones who are going to play."
Taking over a team that has historically finished at the bottom of the conference standings, Benson-Robinson has fueled a healthy competition in practice which she expects will create a winning mentality on the court.
"My own competitive mindset is something that I want to instill in our players. We have a lot of competitive drills throughout our practice sessions. As we talk about changing the culture of CSU volleyball, I have been trying to get our ladies uncomfortable with losing," Benson-Robinson said with emphasis. "Every time someone loses a drill, there is some type of consequence. By promoting competition, we are going to quickly implement a culture where each player will expect to win and know what it takes to be successful."
Regarding her first opponent, Benson-Robinson believes Earlham will provide a great early season test for her team.
"Earlham is a very strong program from the state of Indiana. We have to be strong in our passing and serve receive in order to be successful against Earlham and any other team we play."
The 2017 season should prove to a year of much improvement for a program hoping to establish itself as a premier program in the region. Benson-Robinson hopes to establish a brand and style of play in order to attract a strong talent pool throughout the Midwest.
"There are a lot of talented girls throughout Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois that I believe will be interested in Central State University when they see how we play and how our program is built. It is going to take some time to become a perennial power, but I am confident we can get there," said Benson-Robinson. "CSU will be a place where players can come in, compete and win. Our goal is to eventually have the brand where our program can speak for itself. The first step towards that goal begins on Wednesday."
The Lady Marauders' match against Earlham on Wednesday will begin at 7 pm in Beacom/Lewis Gymnasium.
Admission to all home Central State volleyball matches is free. Live video of the match will be streamed on the
Marauder Sports Streaming Channel (
http://maraudersports.com/watch/?Live=80&type=Live ).
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