FORT COLLINS — Tom Hilbert understands the perception.
Being a former setter himself, it stands to reason the Colorado State volleyball coach might possibly ride his setters a little harder. He’s not exactly sure that’s the truth, but when he is animated during a match and has a short amount of time to get instruction to Deedra Foss, he knows appearances take on a life of their own.
“The problem with all sports and volleyball in particular, often times you have 30 seconds to communicate something, and there’s some urgency to it, so that comes across as being yelled at,” Hilbert explained. “But she doesn’t care. To her, it’s like listen to what he says, go execute it.
“I’ve had a lot of setters here. I get along with her better than any of them, and it’s because of her ability to just have Teflon. She just lets is slide off.”
What you’ll see Foss do in those times is look at Hilbert, nod her head and direct her attention back on the court. To her coach, the response if very adult, very mature, and that’s why both feel they have a kinship.
The bottom line for each is to make the Rams better, and as good as Foss has been in her four-year career as the starting setter, her contributions are at their peak this season with the Rams ranked No. 8 heading into this weekend’s Residence Inn Classic in Tempe, Ariz., where CSU will first take on No. 18 and host Arizona State on Friday (8 p.m.).
“Tom and I have a really good relationship,” Foss said. “He talks to me about my decision making, what I’m doing, what I need to improve. Not only that, but he really cares about us outside of volleyball, so my life, too. I think having that connection with him really helps us on the court.
“When he coaches me, I look at it as a chance to get better and improve. Whatever he’s telling me is obviously something I can use to get better. I don’t take it personally. It’s all to get better for the team.”
There is a reason her hitters, present and past, rave about her skills. It’s her ability to have the ball to the right attacker just at the time and place they expect it. To Foss, it is something she does much better now than when she took over the team as a redshirt freshman from McKenna, Wash.
For her, all sight is key. Don’t view it as a skill, because it’s more in line with her sense of vision — especially peripherally — being keener and better trained than most.
While she’s tracking the pass, she’s also spying out her hitters. Out of the corner of her eye, she’s deciphering how the block is set up. At the point where leather meets skin, her decision has already been made. The result is an offense that is operating with very low errors, hitting at a clip of .281.
“I have never had a setter who has gotten me so many one-on-one situations, and as a hitter, that’s what you want,” opposite hitter Dri Culbert said. “There have been so many times this year I’ve had one-on-none blocking, so that really makes my job easier. I don’t have to worry about the block, I don’t have to worry about where the set location is going to be. She’s so accurate, it really does make my job easy to just be able to go up and hit.
“It’s just what she sees, especially in the blocking, and the ways she can trick the middle blocker is incredible. She’s really good at that, and that’s why it’s so hard for teams to block us, because you can’t really scheme against us because Deej is so good at changing things up and not being predictable.”
Culbert understands Foss’ job, having come in as a setter herself. While she believes most fans see her as just a setter, the junior said her all-around game is crucial to the team, highlighted by her ability to lead.
That Foss does with a very level-headed approach. She will celebrate with her team, but she never loses the focus that keeps her team contained despite the atmosphere. Her look is very much the same with the Rams up 20-10 as it is when a set is 23-all.
“That’s just how I am. I think just staying calm through good and bad, and it’s definitely important to keep that calmness when we’re down and in a rough situation, because players are going to look up to you,” she said. “If you’re calm, then they’re going to be calm.”
There’s that maturity Hilbert likes, and he’s definitely a fan of her career arc. She was the Mountain West newcomer of the year, all-conference as a sophomore and the setter of the year as a junior, becoming all-region and honorable mention All-American in the process.
Hilbert has worked with a lot of talented setters, and he won’t pick one over another because they all brought different traits to their teams. Foss will never leave with the best career numbers because of the way the scoring has changed in the sport, but she entered the season sixth in career assists, averaging 11.06 per set, a number which is at 11.45 for this season.
But what he likes best is what she does for this team, one that is a cocktail of experience levels and is seeking a fifth consecutive Mountain West title
“I think the truest value to her team is she understands how to win,” Hilbert said. “She’s been there. She doesn’t crack, she doesn’t panic. She stays really composed, and she hasn’t always been that way. She understands tempo and can maintain it through the course of a game, where as in the past, we get under pressure, she’s setting higher. Now, she doesn’t do that. She never gets desperate.”
Contact Sports Editor Mike Brohard at 970-635-3633 or mbrohard@reporter-herald.com and twitter.com/mbrohard