Key Contributor
August 03, 2010 10:00 AM | General
August 3, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - The distance from Canyon Lakes, Calif., to Morgantown, W.Va., is 2,445 miles. For West Virginia University senior middle blocker Lauren Evans, that great distance is actually one of the major reasons why she decided to transfer to WVU.
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| Senior Lauren Evans is expected to be a key contributor for the Mountaineer volleyball team during their quest to reach post-season play this season.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
After spending her freshman and sophomore seasons playing volleyball at Concordia-Irvine (a Golden State Athletic Conference and NAIA member institution) Lauren felt that it was time to leave the Golden State.
“I wanted to move far away,” she said recently. “I needed a change because I kind of regretted not leaving after high school and I wanted to get out. I had my two years at home, and I wanted my two years away.”
When she found out the coach at Concordia was leaving, combined with the requests she received from two current WVU volleyball team members that had played with Lauren, increased the appeal of transferring to West Virginia.
“My coach left Concordia, and that was the whole reason I went there,” she said. “I already knew Bonnie (West) and Kylie (Armbruster) who were on the team here, and they asked me to come and play for WVU.”
Evans also already knew assistant coach Bakeer Ganes, who had originally recruited her out of high school. Those things ended up sealing the deal.
“Lauren was already a very well developed player out of high school,” mentioned Ganes. “She was very court smart and had a high volleyball IQ as well as great overall volleyball technique.”
Lauren transferred during a crucial time for the Mountaineer volleyball program. West Virginia finished 7-21 in 2008, a record that didn’t sit well with members of the team. Things began to turn around during the 2009 season, however, the team finishing 17-13 and coming within one game of advancing to the BIG EAST Championships.
Part of the team’s success can be attributed to Lauren’s stellar play. She quickly became WVU’s top player in 2009, leading the team in kills (270), hitting percentage (.291), service aces (37) and total blocks (121). She was named to the all-tournament team at the Denver and Akron, and was also selected most valuable player at the WVU Invitational. Evans became the first WVU player since Julie Hockenson in 2005 to be named second team all-BIG EAST.
“Lauren is a very solid player,” said Ganes. “She worked with an Olympic coach in California. Since she’s been here we’ve worked on her hitting and strength and conditioning, but she’s already very technically sound.”
With six new players joining the program in time for the 2010 season, the Mountaineers are hopeful that even more improvement can be made, transitioning a program from rebuilding mode to one ready for a standout season.
“All but two of the new players are already here, so they’ve been working out with us. We’ve been very open to the new girls, and I think they’re going to fit in perfectly with team chemistry,” Evans mentioned.
Team conditioning includes waking up daily at 5:15 a.m. to make it into the gym for lifting exercises and conditioning. While the team hasn’t been in the gym as much as they’d like because they don’t have a set time when they can play unsupervised matches in the Coliseum, they are looking forward to being able to practice together when fall camp begins Aug. 10. The only factor that makes this preseason different from any other is the recent retirement of Coach Veronica Hammersmith, who had been with the Mountaineers for 35 seasons.
“It’s going to be a change, because we don’t know what to expect,” Evans said. “I think that we’re all mature enough to respect a new coach coming in and can follow their game plan. As long as we’re on the same page, this situation shouldn’t really affect our play.”
Despite Hammersmith’s recent announcement, the team remains optimistic and hopeful toward the upcoming season.
“We’re going to miss her as a coach,” Lauren remarked. “But there’s nothing we can do about the situation, and we’re hopeful that things will work out for the best.”
In the meantime, the Mountaineers are focused on improving overall play in order to prepare for their home opener against Howard in the WVU Volleyball Classic on Aug. 28.
“We need to get our plays down, prepare the offense and get everybody back on the same page,” Evans commented. “Getting back into volleyball shape over the next month will really help us.”
For her senior season, Lauren has her own goal of improving upon her statistics from last year, and helping to encourage other team members to grow as players as well.
“I think that’s what we missed out on last year. A lot of us were just looking out for ourselves instead of looking out for the team. We can be a much better team if we help each other out,” she said.
