NORFOLK, Va. - Young players will have to grow up fast for the Norfolk State volleyball program to take a step forward in 2018. Only a few have competed with the Spartans for more than one season, and nearly every player will need to take on a more expanded role this year or even just settle into a new role in their first year of competition.
 
The loss of four seniors from last year, as well as a freshman who was the team's top blocker, leaves plenty of holes in the lineup. It is especially true on defense. In the backcourt, NSU lost nearly 70 percent of its production in terms of digs. The loss is even greater in terms of blocking, where 72 percent of the team's total production is gone.
 
It will be up to players like sophomores Taylor Eichelberger (2.47 kills per set) and Jazmine Craig (1.39 kills), junior Daiysa Burrell (1.08 kills) and others to take the next step in their development. A handful of players who have yet to see action on the court for the Spartans will also be needed right away.
 
Eichelberger was the team's top hitter a year ago, setting the school record for kills in a match along the way. Craig and Burrell are the only other players back who averaged at least one kill per set, although they only competed in roughly 55 percent of the team's total sets. The duo cannot be counted out to play a significant part on offense this year.
 
One player expected to make an impact last year will try again this year after missing all of 2017 due to injury. Junior hitter Anna Rupertova was aiming to be a big part of the offense but instead missed the entire year. A healthy and improved Rupertova and Eichelberger can form a very strong 1-2 punch for the Spartans this year, something they lacked at times last year.
 
NSU's most experienced position is at setter, where junior Jill Aquino (5.73 assists) and sophomore Quiana Griffin (3.14 assists) split time last year. Griffin could also see time as a hitter, and Aquino has backcourt prowess. With NSU set to run a 6-2, and with competition fierce at setter among four players, head coach Dave Albaugh must eventually decide what he wants to do at that key spot in the lineup.
 
Competition is fierce because Albaugh also brought in two junior college players, including setter Halley McKnight. She and middle blocker Bojana Bolozan were both former teammates of Rupertova at Odessa College. The 6-foot-3 Bolozan can help fill the gap in the middle, perhaps the team's biggest need, after averaging 1.50 blocks per set last year at Odessa. McKnight is pushing to start at setter.
 
NSU's third new scholarship player, freshman Symone Thomas out of Texas, will compete for playing time at outside hitter as the year goes on. In addition, junior Jessica Radford and sophomore Jannel Ezeagwu are back for the Spartans up front. Radford could see increased playing time at either hitter or in the middle, and Ezeagwu has the opportunity to see an expanded role in the middle as well. She finished with 12 blocks in 29 sets last year while missing time due to medical reasons, so the potential is there.
 
Albaugh also brought in six walk-on players who may or may not redshirt depending on their development and how healthy the team stays. Up front at middle blocker, 6-0 Alyx Steitz will add some much needed size. In addition, 5-9 "utility" player Kyra Walden has the ability to compete at several different positions up front. Standing 6-1, DaNasia Sneed could also see time at hitter and has the size to contribute as a blocker as well. All four versatile players give NSU a variety of mix-and-match options up front to build depth.
 
But with so many new or inexperienced players – several with just one year of playing time at NSU – much will be determined as the unofficial depth chart shakes itself out not just in preseason but throughout the 2018 campaign.
 
The question of who will anchor the backcourt must also be decided. One player who has some experience is junior Ashley Patterson, who tallied 1.18 digs per set last year. She made several starts late in the year at defensive specialist, a position along with libero that is certainly up for grabs. She and Aquino (1.27 digs) are NSU's top returners in terms of digs.
 
Two more freshmen walk-ons in setter Makenzy Johnson and libero Brenna Ankrum also have an opportunity to make their names known. Johnson joins a competitive setter position for NSU along with Aquino, Griffin and McKnight. Ankrum, meanwhile, could see plenty of time on the court at libero as she joins a backcourt that needs to find starters and depth right away.
 
In addition, junior defensive specialist Destine Hooker has played a little each of her first two seasons, and NSU does enter this year with as little experience in the backcourt as it's had in a while. Freshman hitter Chante Jacobs is another one of the walk-ons whose development will determine if she redshirts or not.
 
In the end, the potential is there for several players to see an expanded role on both offense and defense or jump into a new role in their first year playing in an NSU uniform. With so much that needs to be proven out on the court, any and all spots are open, both now and as the season goes on, to those who seize them.