Rachel Roth, Sam Worsham and Ashley Abendschein have not had much time to adjust to their new roles on the team before the season started, but it doesn’t matter. Tommy Harold, head volleyball coach, is glad they are contributing fairly early in the season.

Replacing three starters from last year has been difficult for the team, but according to Harold: Roth, general studies business freshmen, Worsham, political science freshmen and Abendschein, music business freshmen, have made life much easier for the Wolfpack.

“They are doing great so far, we put a lot on their shoulders and that’s tough. At the same time, I think they are up to it, very capable, and very talented,” Harold said. “They bring a lot of different things to the table and we expect them to step up and fill those roles.”

Although Worsham, Roth and Abendschein have excelled this season, it hasn’t been easy making the transition from high school to college. There’s been a significant learning curve along the way.

“It’s a lot different than what I’m used to, things have changed and have turned out to be the total opposite of what I’ve learned,” Worsham said. “It’s a bunch of things to learn but I think it’s worth it.”

For Roth, it’s about overcoming her nervousness.

“I need to improve on my timing. I get really anxious and nervous and step too early sometimes.”

    Harold knows there are going to be mistakes as the freshmen continue to learn and grow, the key to alleviating those problems, he feels, is becoming comfortable and improving each day in practice as well as in games.

The more they practice and learn from their mistakes, the less likely they are to become nervous and commit errors.

“I want to see them get more comfortable with what they are doing, embrace their roles and stay within the system we are teaching.

The main thing is to just get better each day,” he said. “I want them to not to look sideways at the people next to them but look at themselves and compete with themselves to improve. If they do that, then I think the sky is the limit for all three of them.”

Despite some minor miscues during the games, Harold said they have been able to adapt well because of their hard work and determination to get better.

“It’s a different pace than they are used to, it’s a much quicker pace and there’s much more competition. But I think they have embraced that and really stepped up,” he said. “They are coming in, working hard, learning how to learn and getting involved in practice everyday so that’s helped them.”

Craig Malveaux can be reached at [email protected]