April 22, 2002
WACO, Texas - With only seven players available for the spring developmental season, Baylor's volleyball team has improvised in many ways in order to get quality workouts. One such way has been practicing on the sand courts at the McLane Student Life Center two-to-three times each week.
Baylor, coming off an 18-12 campaign that included a second NCAA Tournament appearance in three years, saw six seniors exhaust their eligibility last fall. The small spring squad created by their departure has allowed the seven active athletes to develop their skills at all positions.
"Practicing and playing on the sand gives us a wide variety of skill development," said Hosfeld, entering his seventh season at Baylor. "It is amazing to see how much more development can occur when working on the sand courts where you have two players responsible for covering the same amount of space. I'm very happy with the way the girls have worked with each other and competed against each other."
Hosfeld, a Long Beach, Calif., native who grew up playing the sport on the sand courts of Southern California, introduced the Baylor program to the sand last spring. He said that prior to the building of the SLC, sand development was not possible for Baylor.
"It all has to do with the SLC," he said. "We have a great facility with two great sand courts. Getting this training is so important for these girls. There is always the possibility of playing on the beach after college. It also helps from a physical standpoint, simply because you have to deal with the resistance of the sand. This will only help us indoors."
Rising juniors Sarah Braga, Stevie Nicholas, Tisha Schwartz and Lisa Smith have experienced spring drills on the sand, but it is completely new for Kara Kennedy, Laura Daniela Lloreda and Jillian Mazzarella, all of whom joined the program last summer.
"It has been interesting to see the juniors this year compared to when we went outside last year," Hosfeld said. "They were able to see dividends of their hard work last fall, and they use that knowledge to encourage the younger players."
Baylor concludes its spring developmental season this Saturday at the Texas Spring Tournament at the Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, Texas. The Bears face Southern Methodist at 10:30 a.m. CDT, Arkansas at noon and Houston at 2 p.m.
