Which way, Wolverine?

Michigan was 24-11 in 2008, including a mild upset of the curiously-seeded Colorado State in the second round of the NCAAs. Unfortunately, they followed that win with a sound thrashing at the paws of the eventual national champion Lions of Nittany, the Penn State cruel cats, in the round of 16.

The question we ask, right there in the title of this post as a matter of fact, is “Which way, Wolverine?” Can they build upon the successes of 2007, in spite of some significant departures (see Significant departures below) or will the wounds of December fester and ooze, with accompanying nasty fevers and foamy mouths? In short, will the Wolverine need to be put down, figuratively speaking, like Ol’ Yeller or Chuck Erbe?

First of all, a look at the roster.


Significant departures

Katie (Spell that!) Bruzdzinski, outside hitter (595 kills)
Sarah Draves, rightside
Lyndsay Miller, middle (374 kills, .296)
Stesha Selsky, libero/setter (762 digs, 5.95 dpg)

Gregg Whittis, Assistant Coach (to Tennessee)


Significant arrivals

Sloane (Ranger) Donhoff, 5’10” rightside from Louisville, KY (#47 in PrepVolleyball.com Senior Aces)
Courtney Fletcher, 6’5” middle blocker from Duluth, GA (PVb #75)
Alex Hunt, 6’1” rightside from South Bend, IN (PVb #56)
Claire (The Loon) McEleheny, 6’4” middle blocker from Indianapolis, IN (PVb #58)

A new assistant coach, yet to be hired [Amanda Ault announced as new assistant coach 2/10/08]


Projected lineup

Lexi Zimmerman, sophomore setter
Veronica Rood, junior outside hitter
Beth Karpiak, senior middle hitter
Megan Bower, junior opposite
Kerry Hance, senior libero

And then it becomes interesting. No other returning player participated in more than 10 games, other than Maggie Busch (64 games). Karlee Bruck appears to have been redshirted in 2007. So who steps in as the other outside and middle hitters? Do Bower and Hance have a lock on their positions?


Unsolicited opinions

*I think the Wolverine have a tough road to hoe. They only wish it were just a row. No, this is a black-topped hoe-buster, no doubt about it. Sure, they have the fabulous Lexi and a sturdy Karpiak, but they need too many inexperienced players to come through for them.

*On the other hand, 2009 could see another formidable Maize and Blue club. Maize and Blue, right?

*On the other other hand, 2009 could be more of the same if the youngsters do not develop.

*I don’t care what anyone else says, I think the converted swimming pool is cool.


Projected results

There is no schedule posted for Michigan yet, so I’ll just go with 8-12 in the Big Ten. That’s my prediction. Deal with it!