Volleyball putting in summer work

By Editor | July 21, 2016 |

Darcy Sunderman

By DAVID MERRILL

Sports Editor

A majority of the Northwest Missouri State University athletes are hard at work in the summer in preparation for the fall season.

The story isn’t any different for Bearcat volleyball outside hitter Darcy Sunderman.

The Bearcats posted the programs first winning record (15-14, 8-10 MIAA) in 15 seasons last year, which gave them a big confidence boost heading into the offseason.

A big part of that is being back on campus in plenty of time before the season starts.

While they are required to be back two weeks before the start of the season, Sunderman has seen a majority of the team spend their July in Maryville.

This allows the team to build chemistry further ahead of when the season starts.

“Each spring season the coaches give you challenges,” Sunderman said. “For example, if we don’t complete a workout in 15 minutes, we lose the challenge. So, the coaches do a great job of pushing us and challenging us during the spring. It showed us that we can push harder and be at the top of the conference.”

Sunderman gives a lot of credit to Northwest strength and conditioning coach Joe Quinlin for getting the team ready to go physically.

The weight lifting sessions start at 6:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with agility drills on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“He really likes to push us both with getting quicker and stronger, so we can translate it on to court play.”

Northwest head coach Amy Woerth knows this time in the offseason is very valuable.

“This is when you make champions,” she said. “Not everyone wants to do this. It’s easy to work out when your coach is telling you to go work out. It takes another commitment level to put in the extra work. When you get to the season, you’re not going to give up because you’ve put in the work.”

Woerth also indentified key areas for improvement heading into next season.

“We need to be better at serve and pass, stay in system more often and get teams out of system,” Woerth said. “Offensively, we need to hit with a higher efficiency. Our goal is to be in the Top 4 this year. If that’s something we want to attain, those are things that we have to do.”

Sunderman feels the Bearcats need to reach their full potential in order to take another step forward in the improvement process.

She knows they have the right pieces in place.

“We have a great group of fun, positive and hard-working girls,” Sunderman said. “It’s about reaching that full potential.”

Sunderman also has one main personal goal for her play this upcoming season.

“For me, it’s about improving the mental strength,” she said. “I feel like I’m in shape and ready for the season, but I have to make sure I’m mentally in the match every second and every point.”