FORT COLLINS — Tom Hilbert laughed, because he was joking.
A bit.
In some regards, he was laughing because the thought of the main goal for spring practice being his Colorado State volleyball team survive without injuries is actually true to some extent.
The concern centers around his outside hitters, of which the Rams have but two for spring. It came as a bit of a shock when Michelle Lawrence decided to leave the program shortly after the Rams’ appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Then with the new semester, it was learned Kaila Thomas would no longer participate because of repeated concussions she has suffered.
That left Marlee Reynolds and Dri Culbert all alone on the outside.
“I joke about that, but you do have to be careful not to overuse people,” Hilbert said. “I started to see Marlee get some fatigue the other day. We want them to get better, but we don’t want to wear them out.
“We go through a 2-hour practice, and to us it’s short, but it’s not for them. They have to give us some sort of indication how they’re doing.”
Reynolds said she’s doing just fine, thank you. She said Hilbert is really good at watching their body language and cutting back when the time calls, and conversations with the trainer are rather helpful.
As tough as some days are, the senior has tried to find the silver lining.
“Both of us knew it was just going to be us two, so we kind of have the mentality, even if we’re taking a lot of swings, what’s going to happen in the fifth set next year?,” Reynolds posed. “This is good practice for that. I don’t want to overuse it and kill it for fall, but Tom’s good about being concerned about that and taking into consideration our shoulders.”
The Rams played in a tournament this weekend, but the overriding theme to the season is to get better individually, but have it translate into the team concept.
There is some mixing and matching (Culbert is taking swings on both the left and right sides), and with Acacia Andrews expected to step into a starting role in the middle, getting her better at blocking has taken on a greater importance.
As good as the Rams were defensively last year, they want to be better. Being able to count on a steady block makes the back row that much more effective, libero Jaime Colaizzi said.
“It helps a ton, and I’ve noticed it over the past couple of practices,” Colaizzi said. “Tom is working a lot with Acacia, and when the block isn’t in the right spot, I sit back there and hope I see where the ball goes. When they are lined up perfect, I know exactly where I need to go, I can read the hitter a lot better. It helps a ton when our block is formed well.
“I think we’ll turn into a really good blocking team. Kelsey (Snider) is already there, and Acacia is polishing up and doing great.”
The Rams will get an influx of new players in the fall, but until then, the Rams have who they have, and that is limited numbers in some areas. But the better they can get individually this spring, the smoother the transition will be in the fall as the Rams look to defend a fifth straight Mountain West title.
“It’s really to make certain people — to make everybody — better. You want to make everybody better,” Hilbert said. “Acacia is getting a lot more playing time, Dri is going to play left and right and the defensive specialists are getting better. It’s just a matter of seeing how much we can raise the level within the limitations we have.”
Contact Sports Editor Mike Brohard at 970-635-3633 or mbrohard@reporter-herald.com and at twitter.com/mbrohard
