COMMENTARY: Team needs to find stability at setter, focus on different kinds of opponents

By: Rico Albarracin / Asst. Sports Director

The Golden Panthers are returning with a squad that is another year wiser, healthier and stronger.

All of this sounds great, until you get to the most important position on the team and the lack of certainty in who will fill that role.

It is a hole that must be filled quickly if FIU wants to get the season off to a solid start.

Redshirt junior Renele Forde and redshirt freshman Jessica Egan are currently competing for the starting setter position, the position vacated by All-American Natalia Valentin, who graduated over the summer.

According to Head Coach Danijela Tomic, the position battle is up for grabs, with Forde having the slight advantage.

Although this provides flexibility for a veteran team, the battle for the starting position creates issues for consistent team play. Without consistency from the setter, players such as middle blocker Andrea Lakovic and outside hitter Jovana Bjelica, both named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Team, will be less effective on the offensive side of the ball.

Less efficiency on offense leads to less scoring and puts greater pressure on the receiving game to limit their opponents to fewer scoring opportunities.

Although the Golden Panthers are more than capable to play tremendous defense, the team should not put themselves at a disadvantage and take the “wait and see” approach.

Coach Tomic must make the correct decision, and fast, so that the players on the team can establish a healthy rhythm with one another.

Not only will Forde and Egan be competing for, arguably, the most important position on the court, but they will have to try and replicate the productivity that Valentin provided for three years as a starter.

There is a certain comradery that must be established between teammates so that the team can run smoothly.

It will be no easy task replacing the 1270 assists that Valentin attained in her senior season, and both players will be adjusting to the game on the fly, but they are capable of providing a serviceable replacement for an All-American player.

Once the starting setter has been decided, and the team sticks to that setter, the Golden Panthers can put a championship-level team on the court of U.S. Century Bank Arena.

FOCUSING ON OPPONENTS 

Players, such as Lakovic and libero Chanel Araujo, mentioned that the Golden Panthers will be focusing on themselves, as oppose to being dictated by which opponent they face on any given day. Though the strategy may sound good in theory, it may not play out the same way in every match-up. Take this weekend’s road trip at the Cal Molten Invitational as an example.

The Golden Panthers face the University of California-Riverside, a team that put together a terrible 2-30 record last season. With a team that struggles, such as UC-Riverside, FIU can choose to focus on their strengths in their own game plan and enforce it upon their opponent.

On the other side, FIU will face UC-Berkeley, the defending PAC-10 champions and runner-ups to the 2010 NCAA championship season.

The Golden Panthers cannot expect to concentrate on improving themselves as a team when they are facing such a tough opponent. FIU must take the opportunity, when facing a difficult foe, to learn from their opponent, improve on their game plan and raise their game to a higher level of competition.

I have seen the Golden Panthers raise their level of play to compete with whatever opponent comes their way. This team may have experience, and they can compete for the SBC championship, but the setter position battle must be addressed quickly if they want to be a force when tournament time comes around.

Luckily, for the Golden Panthers, the season is only just starting.