A 2008 Long Beach State women’s volleyball season preview
It’s important to note that Long Beach State fans have impressively high expectations when it comes to women’s volleyball. That’s because—if you are visiting us from the moon—the program is very successful. Two former 49ers brought home silver medals from Beijing, and last year’s team “underachieved” because it didn’t make the Final Four. Rough crowd.
“We don’t think about last year,” says senior outside hitter Quincy Verdin, who will be expected to fill the void left by AVCA All-America hitter Alexis Crimes. “We don’t want to dwell on it. We’re a completely new team and just looking for a fresh start.”
For all intents and purposes, the 2008 49ers are a very talented squad, already making waves. Conference coaches ranked Long Beach State 2nd in a preseason poll, and the Beach will begin the year ranked #24 in the nation.
With eight holdovers and eight new faces (including five freshmen) suiting up, a fresh start is the easy part. The hard part will be getting the talented, new-look 49ers to play to their potential. Verdin isn’t worried about the team’s chemistry, and neither is head coach Brian Gimillaro.
“I’ve been coaching for thirty-something years [Ed note: 24 with the Beach, and 7 prior], and I still don’t know what ‘chemistry’ means,” he chuckles. “I know that if you win, you’ve got good chemistry and if you lose, you’ve got bad chemistry.”
Click here to read the rest of the season preview, including profiles of the players you need to know…
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor