Links for All Interviews Done at the 2025 Southland Conference Tournament

 This post will maintain a running list of links to interviews done at the 2025 Southland Conference Tournament.  This year's tournament is in Commerce, Texas and hosted by East Texas A&M.  Here is a link to my complete SoundCloud historical respository.  The most recent interviews appear at the top of the page.

Sunday, November 23 (Post Match Interviews with SFA)

Izabella Ortiz, MB

Jayden Flynn, S

Camryn Hill, OH [All-Tournament Team]

Katherine Holtman, RS

Caroline Kahle, L [All Tournament Team]

Debbie Humphreys, Head Coach

Illana DeAssis, OH [All Tournament Team, MVP]

Saturday, November 22:  Post-Match Interviews (Semifinal Round)

Jordan Henderson, MB (SFA)

Camryn Hill, OH (SFA)

Julianna Bryant, MB (UTRGV)

Celianiz Cabranes, L (UTRGV)

Friday, November 21: Post-Match Interviews (Quarterfinal Round)

Illana DeAssis, OH (SFA)

Debbie Humphreys, Head Coach (SFA)

Calissa Allison, S (UIW)

Gabby Ording, Head Coach (UIW)

Dimitra Nanou, OH (UTRGV)

Todd Lowery, Head Coach (UTRGV)

Tatum Mason, RS (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)

Steve Greene, Head Coach (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)

Thursday, November 20 (Practice Day)

Allana Archie, 2nd Team All-Conference (HCU)

Setter of the Year Isabella Costantini (UTRGV)

Freshman of the Year Dimitra Nanou (UTRGV)

Newcomer of the Year Martina Franco (UTRGV)

Lamar Head Coach Ariel Apolinario (LU)

Maja Malinowska, 1st Team All-Conference, (Lamar)

Kyla Malone, 1st Team All-Conference (UIW)

Gracie Campbell, 1st Team All-Conference (East Texas A&M) 

Camryn Hill, 1st Team All-Conference (Stephen F. Austin)

Katherine Holtman, 1st Team All-Conference (Stephen F. Austin)

Wednesday, November 19: (Prior to Practice Day)

Player of the Year Krya McKelvey (Southeastern La.)

India Bennett, 1st Team All Conference (Southeastern La.)

Alexis Logarbo, 2nd Team All Conference & HC Lee McBride (Southeastern La.)

Libero of the Year Brooklyn Jaeger (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)

Virginia Van der Werff, 1st Team All Conference & HC Steve Greene (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)

13th Annual SFA VolleyBlog All-SLC Teams

 It is time once again for the Annual SFAVolleyBlog All Conference Teams! A lot of this post is recycled from year to year, but if you take the time to read here, then please make sure you refresh yourself with my methodology and where I tend to align and diverge from the way that the conference creates its official lists.

 Continuing the Changes

 Last year I wrote that I had made decision to dovetail this post into one that mimics the conference structure for the first time. We’ll continue that into 2025.

 This is the 15th year (13 in SLC, twice in WAC) I have done this exercise, and I have made repeated arguments for creating actual teams. Typically, I would pick a first, second and third team that each had minimum positional requirements so that, for instance, the "first team" was actually a playable team on the court. I've tried to make justifications for why I thought this was best in the past and I still believe in those arguments. However, over the years I've seen just how many different ways this can be done and how virtually every method has its pros and cons.

 

Similarities and Differences to How the Conference Makes Official Lists

 Let me explain the similarities and differences in my methods and those that you will see that generate the official lists later in the week:

 First, coaches nominate a list of players. I find this totally unnecessary and this is one place where I have chosen continually not to yield. What this means is that the pool of players that can receive official votes is dictated entirely by the coaches themselves. Sorry, coaches... that's too much power and it can occasionally be abused. Here at SFA VolleyBlog, the player universe that we can choose from is all rosters on all teams. To me, I see the coaches nominating players as a MAJOR flaw in their process.

 That's basically the only main difference in how these picks will be made, because now what happens is that the coaches rank 21 players from the submitted nominees and the votes are tallied up. The top 14 vote getters receive first team honor and the next seven are awarded second team. A coach cannot vote for their own players. From these votes the top vote getter at freshman, setter, libero, and newcomer are determined and given those special awards. A coach of the year is chosen and of course, the top vote getter overall is the player of the year. Each school submits one list which is meant to be a representation of both that school's coach and sports information director.

 I'll make a 14/7 pair of lists like mentioned above and I'll also throw in a few "just missed" athletes because honoring players is good and I wish that the conference had an "honorable mention" list. Below is a disclaimer section (this is important), my lists, a statistical breakdown of "stat pros" and "stat lows" and then my overall methodology for full transparency.

The "stat pros/lows" is something that I started while doing this in the WAC because when people would ask me why I made certain choices I was almost always answering those questions with something from this section. So, I decided to start publishing those statistical rankings to aid people by getting in my head about these things.

 As the folks here at SFA can testify, I keep spreadsheets of data on every starting player in the conference on my laptop that I use while I call matches. Those spreadsheets include statistical rankings for every key player in the conference and how they compare to other players at their respective positions.

 

Disclaimer Section!

 (Yes, I need this. My history in the Southland dictates this is necessary) This post was published BEFORE the official All-SLC teams were announced by the conference. I do this independently and DO NOT discuss my picks with coaches or representatives from the institutions beforehand (including SFA!!). Believe it or not, but years ago I got accused once or twice of actually influencing the voters because I would publish the lists before the coaches turned their rankings in. I found that claim absurd but started publishing the list the day or two before the league announced the real winners so that the voting would be over or ending. This list was published right before Noon on Tuesday, November 18. The schools had to submit their lists at Noon on that day.

 I have called on ESPN+ or on radio a match involving every team in the league, some multiple times. I have personally called and/or watched each team in the league play entire matches multiple times. Based on what I do for a living, statistical analysis weighs HEAVY in making my picks. But I've been calling collegiate volleyball for a dozen years now and so the "eyeball" test is in here too. But just know.. numbers/stats are what will always drive me. 

 

2025 SFA VolleyBlog 1st Team All-SLC (14 players)

Isabella Costantini, UTRGV (S, JR) [Player of the Year]

Kyra McKelvey, Southeastern La. (RS, JR)

Maja Malinowska, Lamar (OH, SO)

Dimitra Nanou, UTRGV (OH, FR) [Freshman of the Year]

India Bennett, Southeastern La. (MB, SR)

Katherine Holtman, SFA (RS, SO)

Martina Franco, UTRGV (OH, SO) [Newcomer of the Year]

Virginia Van Der Werff, AMCC (S, SO)

Calissa Allison, UIW (S/RS, SO)

Tamara Chavez, Nicholls (OH, GR)

Camryn Hill, SFA (OH, SR)

Jayden Flynn, SFA (S, SR)

Brooklyn Jaeger, AMCC (L, SO) [Libero of the Year]

Jordan Henderson, SFA (MB, SO)

 

Stat Pros:

Costantini: 1^st in a/s, 1^st in ace/s, 1^st in b/s for S, 2^nd in assists, 3^rd in k for S, 5-1 setter on co-champion team, 3X SOW

McKelvey: 1^st in k/s and kills for RS, Led SLC in att%, 3^rd in blocks for RS, 4^th in SLC in k/s, 5^th in SLC for pts/s

Malinowska: 1^st in kill and dig/s for OH, 2^nd in k/s in SLC, 2^nd in aces for OH, 6^th in blocks for OH, 2nd in SLC in pts/s

Nanou: 1^st in att% and aces for OH, 5^th in k/s and K for OH

Bennett: 1^st in b/s and blocks for MB, 2^nd in k/s for MB, 4^th in K, 6^th in att% for MB, 3X Defensive POW

Holtman: 4^th in k, k/s and blocks for RS, 5^th in k/s

Franco: 2^nd in att% for OH, 4^th in k/s for OH, top 10 among OH in k/s, k, att%, bl, d/s and aces, 4^th in aces/s in SLC

Van Der Werff: 2^nd in a/s, 1^st in assists, 2^nd in k for S, 5^th in aces/set in SLC, 5X SOW

Allison: 5^th in a/s, unique as S/RS, 1^st in K for S, 1^st in d/s for S/RS

Chavez: 1^st in k/s, 2^nd in K for OH, 4^th in att% for OH, Led SLC in k/s and pts/s

Hill: 5^th in att% for OH, 2^nd in d/s for OH, 3^rd in blocks for OH, 4^th in aces for OH

Flynn: 1^st in a/s for pure 6-2 S, primary S on co-champion team

Jaeger: 2^nd in d/s, 3^rd in dig, T2nd for aces for L

Henderson: 3^rd in b/s in SLC, 4^th in blocks and 7^th in att% for MB.

Stat Lows:

Malinowska: 14^th in att% for OH

Nanou: 18^th in blocks for OH

Hill: 16^th in k/s for OH

 

2025 SFA VolleyBlog 2nd Team All-SLC (7 players)

 

Julianna Bryant, UTRGV (MB, JR)

Alexis Logarbo, Southeastern La (RS, SR)

Aaliyah Snead, UTRGV (MB, JR)

Jade Washington, ETAMU (L, FR)

Kade Thomas, UIW (MB, SR)

Taisha Rhone, Lamar (Pin, JR)

Kyanna Creecy, SFA (MB, JR)

 

Stat Pros:

Bryant: 5^th in bl/s and blocks in SLC

Logarbo: 1^st in blocks for RS, 5^th in att% in SLC

Snead: 4^th in att% for MB, 6^th in block for MB

Washington: Led SLC in d/s, 2^nd in SLC in digs

Thomas: 4^th in att% in SLC, 7^th in b/s for MB

Rhone: Top 10 among pins in all of k/s, att% and blocks

Creecy: 2^nd in b/s in SLC and 3^rd in blocks

 

Stat Lows:

Thomas: 14^th in k/s for MB

Creecy: 21^st in k/s for MB, 17^th in K

 

Coach of the Year: Ariel Apolinario, Lamar

 

The following were under consideration for the final spots:  OH:  Gracie Campbell, ETAMU and Finley Evans, UIW. MB: Vanessa Eregie, UIW, Allana Archie, HCU and Daniella Udegbunam, Lamar. S: Peyton Fadal, HCU. L: Celianiz Cabranes, UTRGV and Gabby Baker, Lamar.

 

Quick Thoughts:

Many of the dominant scorers in the conference this year were on teams that were not among the top seeds in the SLC Tournament. So, this is a fantastic opportunity to recognize the setters among those top teams. This is the main reason I went with Costantini as Player of the Year. UTRGV has many talented players, but without Constantini I don’t think they are 15-1. SFA tends to spread offense around more and so I don’t think they will have the player of the year, but it is time to honor 6-2 setters more and this is why I elevated Flynn to the first team. I think Flynn, Hill and Holtman are really the combination that made SFA go. Although, the more I looked at the numbers, the more I realized SFA’s middles are underrated and deserve the merit here. Originally, I wasn’t so sure how high Henderson would rank, but her performance when compared to the conference middles stands up.

 I really wouldn’t have a problem with McKelvey winning player of the year. She is truly one of my favorite players to watch and that run of items on her “Stat Pros” above is completely convincing.

 Mark it down because you heard it here first:  The “X Factor” for the SLC Tourney later this week:  Martina Franco of UTRGV.

 How good is India Bennett? Those numbers are just ridiculous. Such an easy 1^st Team pick.

One player on 1^st Team and one player on 2^nd team whose numbers really surprised me when I started my analysis and kind of flew under my radar during the season:  Dimitra Nanou of UTRGV and Taisha Rhone of Lamar.

I won’t get into why certain individual players were left off or why those listed as "under consideration" didn’t make my teams. But the general concept is one-dimensionality in categories versus being near the top in several statistical categories.

 

Now, just for fun:  My favorite player to watch on all the non-SFA teams:

UTRGV:  Nadine Zech, OH

AMCC:  Brooklyn Jaeger, L

Southeastern La:  Kyra McKelvey, RS

Lamar:  Alexa Gonzalez, S

UIW: Kyla Malone, RS

HCU:  Peyton Fadal, S

ETAMU: Gracie Campbell, OH

McNeese: Mary-Alice Dohmann, DS/OH

Nicholls: Isabella Padilla, S

UNO: Defne Eciroglu, S

Northwestern St: Jade Longlad, S

 

 Finally, Methodology:

 OH: 40% related to kill stats, 25% related to hitting percentage/efficiency, 25% defense stats, 10% serving stats with adjustments made for 6 vs. 3 rotation usage and observation

 RS: 70% offense with half of that related to hitting percentage/efficiency, 30% blocking with slight adjustments made for observation

 MB: 60% blocking metrics, 40% offense with half of that related to hitting percentage/efficiency with slight adjustments made for observation

 S: assist metrics as they relate to 5-1 vs. 6-2 usage, serving, slight consideration of dig/set, significant adjustments for observation, no fixed percentage breakdown like OH, RS, MB

 L: dig/set, serving, significant adjustments for observation, no fixed percentage breakdown like OH, RS, MB.

 "Observation" includes all of the following:  notes taken while calling matches, conversations with coaches during year, appearance of leadership and demeanor while on court and on bench while watching/calling matches, decision making, interactions with teammates. All of these things are considered but would not move a particular player up or down more than one or two "slots" within position based on objective statistical measures.

 

Where Did I Leave My Three Points?

By ordinary measures, SFA Volleyball to this point in the year has been successful. While our Futures RPI at this writing sits at 109 and is lower than what it has been at this point in the year in recent seasons, a 16-7 overall record is a solid achievement. Zeroing in on the conference race, SFA controls its own destiny with an 11-1 record with just four matches remaining on the regular season slate. Obviously, SFA has taken care of its necessary business during conference play to this point.

Looking across the league, there appears to be no dominant team in the Southland this season. So, there is every reason to believe that the Ladyjacks’ chances of winning the 2025 Southland Conference Tournament in three weeks is as good as any of our competition. One thing to watch down the stretch is how well the team performs in close sets. To date, this is one area that hasn’t quite gone Stephen. F. Austin’s way. The first time the ‘Jacks repeatedly struggled in close sets was in the teams’ first loss of the year – one that for me still rates as the biggest disappointment – the four set loss at home to Sam Houston. You’ll remember that every set in that match went to extra points and the ‘Jacks dropped Sets 2, 3 and 4 each by the minimum two points.

Just a week after the Sam Houston loss, SFA dropped another four-set match in Chicago to Bowling Green in eerily similar fashion. The ‘Jacks won the first set by the minimum two-point separation and then lost the remaining sets 23-25, 24-26 and 23-25. Flash forward just another week and SFA was swept by UTEP, who is having an outstanding season, and all three sets were extremely close. At that point in the season, the lack of winning close sets had become a point of multiple conversations.

Add it all up and when the non-conference part of our schedule was through, SFA had played 21 sets decided by three or fewer points. Of those 21 sets, the ‘Jacks went 8-13 (.381). Comparing those numbers to 2024, SFA played 21 sets decided by three points or less ALL SEASON and came out with essentially an even split going 10-11. Here, in 2025, the trend of losing close sets has continued into conference play. In eight sets played and decided by either two or three points, the ‘Jacks are just 2-6. Overall, this year our record in sets that tight is an underwhelming 10-19 (.345).

It's easy to take that 10-19 record in close sets and conjecture what might have been if things were more even at 14-15 or 15-14. Redistributing four or five set wins across the season easily could produce an overall season record of 19-4 or even 20-3, which of course, on paper, looks all the more stronger than 16-7. Fans that witnessed the Sam Houston and Bowling Green matches can easily point to those two that could have been flipped. The match against Loyola Chicago (we had match points) and the conference loss to UIW (17-19 in an insane 5^th set) also come to mind as two matches that could have been won had the team been able to find a missing two or three points here and there.

So, where did we leave our two or three points? Where did they go? What explains a 10-19 record in close sets so far?  Should we be thinking of this team as though it is a 20-3 team or is there an assignable cause to our showing in close sets that points to a shortcoming that just may be our undoing? Basically speaking, is this luck or is this real?

The answer is probably a little of both. The “bad luck” theory is at least backed up in one other statistic that is publicly available. This year, fans have heard me talk a little about evollve.net on the broadcasts and in casual conversations. This recommended website tracks some unique volleyball metrics and one of them is a statistic that they have actually named “Luck.” 

They look at the total points that a team has scored and given up and estimate what their season win-loss record should be from those totals. This is called the Pythagorean Expected Win-Loss Percentage. This statistic has actually become popular in other sports as well. For instance, it is readily trackable during the major league baseball season on ESPN’s standings page. The difference between the actual win-loss percentage and the expected Pythagorean percentage is called “Luck” at evollve.net. If your expected winning percentage is higher than actual, you’ve been “unlucky.”  If your expected winning percentage is lower than actual, then you’ve been “lucky.”  According to evollve, SFA’s expected Pythagorean winning percentage is .799, which would put us a little between 18-5 and 19-4. That sounds about right considering all that we’ve chronicled above regarding our close-set snafus.

What is really interesting however, is that evollve tracks this “Luck” concept for all 348 Division 1 schools and at this writing, we are ranked 332^nd in “Luck”. Put another way, we are the 17^th most unlucky school in the nation according to this one particular measure. Take that for what you will.

Now, there are other potential explanations other than simply “SFA has been unlucky in close sets.”  I have my theory on a few of them, and I am positive the coaching staff does as well. It’s not really my desire here to postulate, but instead just to point out something to watch for. At this point in the season, every single match has huge implications. Whether SFA winds up making a too early exit in the Southland Conference tournament, playing, and advancing in the NIVC, or playing and advancing in the NCAA Tournament could very well come down to one or two close sets decided by two or three points.

As you watch and listen to the ‘Jacks in the next month pay close attention to those situations where the set score is 20-18, 22-20, 23-22, etc. When those situations arise, how we close things out may very well dictate our fate.

I’ve got my fingers crossed and high hopes that whether by luck or by skill or both, we can find where we have left our three points.

A Place of Silence Becomes a Place of Joy

 Last Thursday, SFA Volleyball was focused on not looking past the University of New Orleans before the circled date on the calendar versus Southeastern Louisiana emerged a few days later. Personally, I was focused on not looking past all the work on the academic and consulting side of my life before two matches to call and then preparation for the current Louisiana road trip. Deadlines were building up, my wife had slipped and broken her foot while the team was in Corpus Christi the week before, the pile of tests to grade had grown tall and my beloved San Diego Padres had been eliminated from the MLB playoffs.

Currently, we are right smack in the middle of both the volleyball season and the Fall semester. The calendar turning to October signals that life probably won’t begin to slow down until Thanksgiving Break settles in. Among the busyness, the wonderful people I work with on the athletics staff had constructed a set of promotional themed days to generate interest from fans in anticipation of certain matches. One night we gave out team posters, another date celebrated Parent’s Weekend and yet another had a Western theme. But one that resonated with me – 80’s Rock Day – was scheduled to go down last Saturday. We advertised it as “Turn up the volume for a retro blast from the past. The first 100 fans will receive inflatable guitars to rock out in the stands.” 

I weaseled my way into both helping to pick the track list for the songs that would be played before and during the match and (probably wrongfully) convinced a few folks to let me lead a hype promo video for the date. Our volleyball SID and Assistant Director of Communications Amanda Paver had set up a time on Thursday before the UNO match for me to meet with the uber-talented Sarah Williams, our Director of Creative Video to shoot the promo video. Equipped with my giveaway inflatable guitar, my vintage Rush concert T-shirt and my usual bravado behind any mic or camera, I showed up early to the meeting in Shelton Gym with Sarah.

Then something happened.

Alone in Shelton Gym I found myself wandering to center court. I stood there by myself, right about where the “star” that signifies Nacogdoches in the SFA logo was painted on our new Taraflex floor. I took a few deep breaths and let the built-up stress of the aforementioned events and deadlines go. It was a moment of silence.

I could hear the echo of my cough and the shuffle of my shoes radiate through the gym. It was bright and that illumination somehow temporarily washed away the to-do list. My mind quickly changed over to how lucky I am to get to “do this” – to do all of what I am fortunate to do at home and at SFA. I knew later that day it would not be silent in that gym and that our gals – and our opponents – would be moving around on the same spaces where I stood silently taking the whole empty gym atmosphere in.

Have you ever had one of those moments where you just stand still and let silence pour over you and it feels like weight just floats away? The serenity of being in that space, in the center of that floor with the stands idly looking down at me was just a moment for me to recenter myself and if you’ll allow – to count my blessings a bit. It was kind of like a small dream. 

Then, I woke up.

My mind said “Why are you standing out here in the middle of this floor looking like you are doing a commercial for laundry detergent? Twirling all around looking at lights and dreaming fanciful things? Wake up, you big idiot.”

Then, I went and sat down again, almost half embarrassed that I had my little private moment out on the floor. What if someone saw me? I’m sure I looked weird standing there gazing at the ceiling and scoreboards and stands. Oh well, Sarah will be here soon, and we’ll do this hype video.

Sure enough, Amanda texted that Sarah was on her way. Once she arrived, two takes later and we had a crazy video of me yelling about Van Halen and inflatable guitars and rocking out and whatever else I said.

I’ve never been afraid to put myself out there and make myself a target. My reasoning is always – it’s for “them.”  It’s for the team. If it’s ridiculous, who cares? Be willing to make fun of yourself. Amanda texted later in the day and said she cracked up when she watched the recording. I wrote her back and said that I make it a conscious priority to try to have as many days where I am both “serious” and “ridiculous” in adjacent moments. I had at least succeeded in that endeavor while in Shelton Gym filming that promo video.

A few hours later, it was back to serious as Brittany Castledine and I were in full “prepare for battle” mode going over television notes and graphics before the ESPN+ broadcast of the UNO match. The inflatable guitar had been traded for my laptop and the concert T-shirt replaced by a light red long-sleeve button down shirt. The aggressive yelling about “rockin’ with Dokken” had been changed out for less aggressive yelling about how we were going to come on the air with feature player videos. Honestly, I had forgotten about the Cinderella moment on the star at midcourt hours earlier.

But then… in Set 2… “Now into the match for your Ladyjacks, #9, Izabella Ortiz”.

Wait.

Did I hear the public address announcement correct through my headphones? After all, listening to all that Def Leppard and Ozzy Osbourne as a teen (and adult) has left me with some measure of hearing loss. Were my eyes deceiving me here as well? No. They were not. Bella is back. Last year, in November, Bella had a season ending knee injury just weeks before the 2024 Southland Conference Tournament. 

You could feel the energy in that gym. Brittany and I were stunned yet elated. I knew Bella was getting close to returning as she had said as much to me at a practice in Corpus Christi the week before. But I didn’t know that she would play that night. And play she did. It would have been enough if she had just got in the match and successfully ran a few plays and attempted to block a few balls. Instead, an instant impact was made. In her one-and-a-half sets, she knocked down five kills on eight swings without an error. She also chipped in on a stuff block right in front of where Brittany and I were stationed across from the benches. It was glorious.

When the match ended in a quick sweep of the Privateers, it was clear that my post-match interview needed to be with Ortiz – just to get her thoughts on making the long journey back. The team huddled up and listened to Coach Humphreys make her comments about the night’s work. I signed off the broadcast, grabbed my interview microphone out of my backpack, and began to drift over towards the team circle. They talked. I found where Bella was standing. I waited. They prayed. I turned on the interview mic and stood about ten feet behind where Bella had circled up. The team prayer ended, and she turned around after releasing hands with her teammates in the circle.

Then I knew.

Then I knew why earlier in the day I had stood out there by myself and gazed. Then I knew why I had wandered out to that star at center court and thought about blessings and what I “get to do” and experience. The moment became a full circle.

When Bella turned to walk away I was there with the microphone, but also with a hug of support. I, actually we, were standing in the same place I had been hours earlier by myself. At center court – right at the painted star in the SFA logo. I can only assume that she needed that moment of cathartic release. There is no telling all that she must have been thinking in that instant, but we all knew it was the end of a long road back -and the beginning of a new chapter. That hug lasted a while. It had tears. It had smiles.

I was just the lucky one. I was just there. Someone she knew. Someone that was a familiar face. Just one of the “support” staff. A title I gladly wear. I was just the person in the right spot at the right time to receive some of the outpouring of all that emotion that was welled up inside that needed a place to go. Among all the moments that we’ve had in the 2025 season so far and all the ones that I hope we will have in the next few months, that hug with Bella will stay with me for a long time. At that moment, it wasn’t about stats, numbers, charts, and graphs and all the things I love to explore regarding volleyball. It was about joy.

A place of silence had become a place of joy.

I highly recommend wandering among stars and being still. It might just increase your joy.

 

 

Flexibility, Depth or Both?

I've been thinking this week about the meaning of a "flexible roster" versus a "deep team" as SFA travels to San Antonio to get the 2025 campaign underway.  Both phrases are common to hear in pre-season interviews with players and coaches.  You've heard it before: "I think we have a really flexible roster this year and I think it will pay dividends as we get closer to November".  Or, maybe: "We have a deep team.  I can count on my teammates to pick me up if I have an off night."

But, what do these terms really mean?  Or, are they just fun words players, coaches and fans like to throw out there to keep the conversations going?  Everybody always just nods their heads and moves on when someone starts talking about roster depth or team flexibility.

So, let's try and get into this because I think possibly our club this year may possess both characteristics.  But first, let me state that I don't think these two terms are the same.  They do sometimes get used interchangeably, but I really think we are talking about two different things here.

For instance, a team might have two athletes that are regular starters and each is fully capable of holding down either a right side or middle blocker spot.  The issue isn't whether one will play often - the issue is which will play MB and which will play RS.  This isn't a depth situation.  This only calls into focus these two players ability to be flexible across two positions that share some measure of similarity in that they require a strong blocking presence.

So, with the acceptance that the terms aren't necessarily the same, let's explore both concepts for the 2025 roster here at SFA.  Three examples of flexibility that come to mind for our squad are Molly Cravens, Kennedy Jones and Caroline Kahle.  Both at the end of last year and in the recent scrimmage, these athletes have shown fluidity between various positions.  Jones was deployed on the left side during '24, but in part because of Cravens shift to the middle, Jones now has an avenue to playing time as a right side attacker.  On the topic of Cravens, let me say that she is one of the players that jumped out to me when I first started watching a few fall practices.  She is clearly stronger and appears slightly quicker.  Her conditioning between last year and this fall clearly has paid dividends.  I like what I see from her shifting to the middle and I feel like she'll be quite at home there.  Now, concerning Kahle, we saw last year that she is flexible enough to both hold down the libero jersey if called on there or to play on the outside, albeit with more of a ball control focus than being a huge scoring threat.

While there is some additional flexibility present in some of the newcomers to the team, the primary root of flexibility comes in some shape or form through Cravens, Jones and Kahle.  So, what are the questions related to this quality?  First, will Jones settle in and play consistently as a right side?  Can she contribute both offensively and defensively and shore up the reps opposite Katherine Holtman's trips across the front row?  If yes, super.  The right side should be all six rotation strong.  If not, will that necessitate Cravens shifting back or one of the young guns stepping up into the roll?

Secondly, where will Cravens fall in the middle blocker depth?  Let's wait on that, because Molly is involved in both the flex and depth part of my breakdown.  So, third:  Will TWU transfer Luna Franca stay steady in the libero jersey?  If so, Kahle can stand ready to stabilize passing and sub for an off outside hitter when called on off the bench.  To use a basketball analogy, Kahle can comfortably be the teams' "sixth man" - able to flexibly fill multiple needs as a "first off the bench" type piece.  One thing to really like about Franca:  she's a good court communicator and aggressive in her back row approach.  It's easy to see a maturity there and so the issue should rest rather firmly with her ability to consistently pass so we can run the offense at the speed desired. Okay, that seems to cover the nucleus of the flexibility.

Alright, what about depth?  Here, we are talking about multiple players able to play the SAME role rather than changing to have differing responsibilities.  Since Cravens is in the overlap, let's state that right now the middle for SFA does look at least cleanly three deep.  Which pair of 2024 SLC 1st teamer Kyanna Creecy, Cravens and returning sophomore Jordan Henderson holds down the two starting middle spots could be interesting to watch as the season progresses.  By nature of Creecy's previous accomplishments I think she rightfully deserves the space to stay atop the depth chart, but Henderson should push for playing time and the team may encounter periods during the year where differing combinations of middles are flip-flopped and tried to see which is most efficient.  This position gets ridiculously deep again once senior Bella Ortiz is ready to go.

Setter?  Again, there seems to be three-fold depth.  Flynn is playing every night she's healthy.  But again, similar to second and third on the depth chart in the middle, sophomore Cambry Saul and transfer sophomore Zoe Gun give the team options for the second setter in our 6-2.  Saul got the nod in the scrimmage, and I expect her to get the start to open the season. Gun got a lot of reps in the spring season since she was on campus and so her connection with the majority of the hitters is also well established.  One weapon that gives Cambry an edge could be her serve.  Saul put up 21 aces last year and had some memorable runs behind the service line.  To push Saul aside, Gun would need to both run the offense well and play solid floor defense.  I don't think it unrealistic that there could be some mixing and matching at this spot during the year, especially considering how demanding it is to be a setter in this system.

Any depth to be found in left side attack would probably have to come from either Jones moving back to that spot - either by necessity or when Ty Joseph would return and earn court time again - or from newcomers.  As is sits, the left-side attack is fairly straightforward.  Senior Cam Hill and UTRGV grad transfer Illana DeAssis have the two spots covered.  We've seen Hill be productive for three years and DeAssis was stellar in the valley earning first team all conference honors last year.  More than that, DeAssis was second in the Southland in kills per set, so it would take a lot to move either off their role.  With really only Jones having experience in purple on the left, if Kennedy takes hold of the right, then the depth on the left would be tested in anything unforeseen happens to either Hill or DeAssis.  Again, behind the tandem of their experience is just newcomers that show promise but would be thrown into a pretty demanding scenario minus Cam or Illana.

There also is not much depth at libero.  It's Franca or Kahle right now.  It's a stretch - at least at this point - to see anyone else having that assignment. The team would love to see Franca seize the role and never look back. 

So, in summary for the depth concept:  At middle and setter, it appears some nice level of depth is there.  When Bella Ortiz and Ty Joseph get back the depth at middle and right side obviously increases.  The left side is for Hill and DeAssis to run with having both potential and question marks behind and libero is Franca's to get with Kahle able to stabilize.

So, do the 'Jacks have more flexibility than depth?  More depth than flex?  Or, do they have both?  Flexibility, Depth or Both?  I guess that's for you to interpret for now and all of us to discover between now and Thanksgiving.

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