Graduation is generally regarded as a great thing, a right ofpassage, or, a monumental achievement; but for the Loyolavolleyball team, last spring’s commencement brought someuneasiness among players and coaches alike.
Four starters and/or major contributors, Mary Seals, Stacey Kirsten, Sarah Howard and Keelyn Henderson, graduated in May, leaving this year’s team in somewhat unfamiliar waters.
However, never to be discouraged, the team is turning to competition in place of dissuasion, fueling individual performance in order to be picked as the departed seniors’ replacements.
Although replacing key players on any team is tough, Tommy Harold, head women’s volleyball coach believes his recruiting class provides quantity as well as quality specifically at outside hitters and middle blocker.
He has brought in seven hitters and blockers who are all competing for a starting spot. According to Bianca Paggi, marketing and management sophomore, replacing Seals, Kirsten, Howard and Henderson won’t be easy, but the number of girls Harold has recruited helps cope with the losses.
 “We just recruited Sam who is our new setter who will take the spot of Sarah Howard which is great because she is an amazing setter,” said Paggi.
“As for Keelyn and Stacey, Amanda is going to be the new libero and she has been practicing and working her heart out,” she said.
“We also have some new defensive players, outside hitters and middle hitters so the more the merrier,” she said.
Harold though is not dwelling on the past. “Those girls did a great job, but this is a new year and new team and I don’t think we [should] look back and say we worry about what we lost.”
“We are only trying to get better and move forward. The big challenge is learning our system for some of the younger girls, getting comfortable with each other,” he said.
“Keelyn, Mary, Stacey, and Sarah played for four or five years with us accomplishing great things but we haveopportunities for other people to do some great things as well,” he said.
Still, the loss of those starting seniors has not affected the exercise, workouts or drills in practice. Paggi says the team hasn’t done anything particularly different in practice compared to previous years.
 “Coach Tommy always likes to begin the season with emphasis on the basics of defense and passing no matter what … So [we continue to work on] hands and wrists, getting it there, being set, staying put and passing the ball properly to allow us to geta good set so we can make a play,” Paggi said.
 Since there are so many players competing for so few spots, Harold takes the inter-team competition seriously.
 “We are paying attention to who is winning in the drills — every time we are doing a drill, whether it’s three-on-three or six-on-six, we are watching closely to see who is winning and by how much, so we put that into consideration,” he said.
“We weigh things differently and see who’s been paying well and earning that playing time.”
Paggi believes the competition in practice is beneficial for the entire team.
 “It’s very competitive but that’s great because everyone works harder and feeds off of the competitive atmosphere. It’s definitely a good thing for the team which will help everyone improve,” she said.

Melanie Ziems can be reached at [email protected]