49er volleyball looks
to youth
By
Michael Bower
On-line Forty-Niner
The
16th ranked Long Beach State women's volleyball
team has the usual height and talent, but
the team is younger than ever and with just
two weeks of practice behind them it could
be a tough hill to climb early in the year
for the 49ers.
Head
Coach Brian Gimmilaro may have a difficult
task ahead of him as he lost two All-Americans
and five other athletes from last year's
squad. The only starter returning is junior
middle blocker Erika Chidester.
"This
is the youngest team that I have ever coached,"
Gimmillaro said. "We don't have anybody
on the team that is (at least) twenty-one.
That is a very unusual thing."
Chidester
led the team in hitting percentage last
season and is looking to help the team compete
with the front-runner in the Big West Conference,
the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.
"There
is not a more enthused player in the country
than Erika," Gimmillaro said. "She
was a good player last year, but now she
is a tremendous player... She has got to
be able to bring what she does in practice
to the game, and she will. There is no player
who has improved more in this country than
Erika. Erika can do everything."
The
Gauchos were picked to repeat as champions
in the Big West as the 49ers were picked
to finish second in the pre-season coach's
poll. The 49ers placed second behind the
Gauchos last season.
"I
want to beat Santa Barbara so bad, but I
want to beat every team in the Big West,"
Chidester said. "I don't like to come
in second in anything."
Chidester
knows that she will have to lead the young
49ers out on the floor if a Big West title
is to come.
"The
difference this year from last year is that
last year I was looking up to (the seniors)...
this year I am the one leading and the freshmen
are looking up to me," Chidester said.
How
does she like it?
"I
love it...It's a big responsibility, but
it's worth it," she said.
Chidester will also be leading a trio
of transfers including Liz Hudson from San
Jose State. Hudson recorded double-digit
digs 19 times during the 2002 season at
San Jose State. She also was a first team
All-Western Athletic Conference selection
in the 2001 season.
"We
are very happy to have Liz," Gimmillaro
said. "We have known her since she
was a little girl. She has never played
left side, but she is playing left side
for us. She is making a big adjustment for
us...and it's great to have a player who
could do that for you."
Gimmillaro
has also loaded up with six incoming freshmen,
which he refers as the "fab freshmen."
"It
is very enjoyable to see the young kids,"
Gimmillaro said. "They are close together
so early."
Most
are going to red shirt, but Natalie Uhart,
middle blocker, and Mariko Crum, outside
hitter, are going to contribute this season,
according to Gimmillaro.
The
6-foot 2-inch Uhart is from Lansing, Kan.
where she was a four-time all-league selection,
a two-time all-state selection, a two-time
all-state tournament selection, and the
2003 Gatorade Player of the Year while in
high school.
"We
are very lucky that she is mature enough
to help us this year," Gimmillaro said
of his talented freshman. "She has
performed very well and has survived these
two weeks."
With
all the young talent and inexperience as
a unit that The Beach brings, Gimmillaro
is still confident in his team and is looking
more into doing well nationally than with
winning the Big West.
"I
am not concerned really with the Big West,"
he said. "We have not won the conference
and have won a national championship before."
The
national championship game is still far
away, but the journey to getting there begins
now for the 49ers.
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