Baldwin targets playoff berth
Currently 7-2 on the season, Baldwin girls’ volleyball coach Tuan Nguyen still sees room for improvement for the Bruins.
“We’re doing good so far,” he said. “We keep progressing, we keep getting better every single game.”
After losing their season opener in a five-set battle, the Bruins went on a three-game win streak, halted by Sewanhaka not even two weeks after the season started. At this point, Nguyen and Co. knew it was time for a change.
“First game of the season, you’re still trying to figure out what position is best for each player,” he explained. “We’re still figuring out along the way what rotation we should employ for [each] match.”
After having graduated seniors as majority of Baldwin’s front row players, it’s the most fluctuating part of the roster. The setter, junior Mia Randazzo, paired with junior outside hitters Sabrah Folkes and Kennedy Thompson are, literally, at the front of the action.
In their most recent match, a five-set win over Jericho, Folkes lead the offense with nine kills and six service aces.
“It’s still a learning process because they haven’t gotten used to the setter yet,” Nguyen explained, adding that while the setter is experienced, the hitters next to her are juniors who still have to adjust slightly.
Better yet, with the Bruins just halfway through the season, Nguyen knows they are incredibly capable.
“I would love to see more from them,” he explained. “They’re still learning right now. They haven’t gotten the timing of the hitting. They have the power, they have the ability to do that, but right now we’re still working on the timing.”
The back line is anchored by senior libero Blaine Harding, with freshman Shelly Rivera, and sophomore Summer Hamilton and Casey “CJ” Keryc sharing the defensive load.
“[Shelly] is going pretty good, she’s got good skill,” Nguyen pointedly mentioned. “She’s pretty good at passing the ball, got good basic skills for this level.”
In that same Jericho match, Rivera had eight service aces and 18 digs to help her team get the win.
Without missing a beat, Nguyen knows exactly what he wants to see more of from his back line to help push the team more to winning-streak days by stressing defensive fundamentals.
“We pretty much focus on the basics,” Nguyen said for the entire team, both offense and defense. “We focus a lot more on serving and receiving the ball, that’s the two most important skills. Hitting is going to take time, probably the whole season, to develop that timing, but once we have that, we should be good.”
After last week, the Bruins showed their own coaching staff the sky’s the limit.
“Hopefully we try to make the playoffs,” Nguyen said. “That’s our goal, make the top 3 for the playoffs in our conference, that’s our goal for the season. The girls are aware of that, I’ve spoken to them about that, they know what we have to do to get that done.”
