The Syracuse volleyball coaching staff has maneuvered itself into a dilemma.

Sophomore Noemie Lefebvre and senior captain Kacie MacTavish started all of last year as the Orange’s outside hitters. The team entered this season with MacTavish’s selection to the preseason All-Big East second team, and Lefebvre ready to pick up where she left off her freshman year.

But assistant coach Carol LaMarche said the Orange was not getting the kills the team needed from the outside in Syracuse’s first stretch of games. Heading into the Southern Methodist University Tournament on Sept. 18 and 19, the coaches decided to try junior middle blocker Hayley Todd on the outside. She delivered – impressing with a series of booming hits.

As Syracuse (11-5, 1-1) prepares to battle Rutgers tonight at 7 p.m. at Manley Field House, the experiment will be put on pause. Freshman middle blocker Samantha Hinz broke her finger a week ago so Todd will need to provide depth in the middle behind standout senior Sarah Morton. But when Hinz’s broken finger heals, head coach Jing Pu will have some decisions to make at the outside hitter position

LaMarche explained the differences in the players that she and Pu have to examine before making those decisions.

‘Kacie [MacTavish] and Noemie [Lefebvre] have really good ball control, but they win more on shots and not so much on power,’ she said. ‘Hayley [Todd] is more power and high contact. It’s a different option-a different look for the team maybe if Kacie or Noemie isn’t working.’

On Sept. 23 against Cornell, the Orange’s first game since the SMU Tournament and just before the injury to Hinz, the team struggled to pull away from the pesky Big Red in the first set. MacTavish was clearly not on her game, sending attacks out of play, missing on a few passes, and compiling a dreadful -0.091 attack percentage.

After Syracuse squeaked out the first set-win, the coaches pulled MacTavish in favor of Todd. The junior once again took advantage of the opportunity. She finished the game leading the team with 10 kills and appeared to be the spark for the Orange, blasting shots to the floor over a smaller Cornell team.

Todd’s performance on the outside clearly enhances the Syracuse attack, but takes away from the Orange defense. LaMarche said Lefebvre might be the best serve-receive passer on the team and MacTavish ranks second on Syracuse in digs.

For those reasons, the coaches have not made a change to the starting lineup. Instead, LaMarche said they want to watch how their outside hitters are playing and if one struggles from the outset, they will not hesitate to put Todd in.

LaMarche said she has not mentioned the move to the coaches and MacTavish was not available for comment. After the Cornell game, the senior seemed anything but fazed by her benching, trying to make Sarah Morton laugh while a TV crew interviewed the nation’s leading blocker.

Lefebvre also seems unconcerned about Todd’s new role. She switches to libero, a more defensive position, when Todd moves into outside hitter so her playing time has not dropped off significantly. She said if the team is winning, she will be happy.

‘I think Jing [Pu] knows what he’s doing,’ Lefebvre added. ‘He’s trying a lot of stuff to see what is going to work best for us. I’m not too worried about my role on the team.’

When the Orange opened Big East play last weekend, Todd stayed at middle blocker due to the Hinz injury. She, Lefebvre, and MacTavish all had eight kills in a 3-0 rout of West Virginia on Saturday. Todd led the team with a .412 attack percentage while Lefebvre and MacTavish finished first and third on the team in digs, respectively.

In the match Sunday against Pittsburgh, MacTavish led the team with 10 kills and Lefebvre added nine from the other side in the Orange’s 3-0 loss.

The Syracuse coaches will have to make some tough decisions when Hinz returns, but for now, LaMarche believes MacTavish and Lefebvre have bought into the team-first mentality.

‘I think they know that we need kills on the outside, and if they’re not getting the job done, they’re going to get subbed out,’ she said. ‘It’s a good thing for the team, and they know that.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

Published on October 1, 2009 at 12:00 pm