Rob Hardin / Chief Photographer / rh124104@ohiou.edu

A new coach, new game plans and new attitudes are just some of the changes the Ohio volleyball program has made for the upcoming season.

Ryan Theis was chosen to replace Geoff Carlston on March 17 and since has instilled new philosophies in his team and provided new views.

“I think our team has worked well off of his philosophies,” setter Jill DeArmond said. “We really buy into what he wants to do for us and I think we can go the furthest under coach Theis.”

Jane Sytsma, middle blocker and a second team selection All-MAC last season as a sophomore, said she really felt the team and the new coaching staff has done a great job of transitioning and blending together.

The coaching staff didn’t impose more new ideas than necessary and the team didn’t try to resist the new ideas.

“I think we just did a great job of melding together to come up with new styles and types of playing — kind of a new attitude for volleyball,” Sytsma said.

DeArmond said Theis has provided the team with all around skills as well as tweaking personal attributes.

“I think he has great ideas and underneath him I think we are going to do a great job,” DeArmond said.

The team’s first preseason event was the annual Green and White scrimmage, which the green team won 2-0.

The Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic will kick off the team’s busy season.  They will play No. 6 UCLA, No. 12 Hawaii and No. 1 Penn State in the Classic.

“It’s going to be a great trip, a great experience and a great competition,” Theis said.

The Classic is a great opportunity for the team to really gauge the competition, and see the level they need to be at going into November and December, DeArmond said.

Outside hitter Ellen Herman echoed DeArmond’s sentiments and added that the team hopes to live up to the goals they set before the tournament.

“We’re all really excited for Hawaii.  We have some expectations we want to meet when we’re there and improve as a team,” Herman said.

Upon returning from Hawaii the team will be thrust into their busy non-conference schedule of 16 matches plus a conference tournament. 

The team is facing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country, Theis said. He added that the team is looking forward to the challenge and hopes it will push them to get better.

Herman, a 2008 USA Adult Open Volleyball Championships MVP, said seeing the preseason schedule makes it exciting to see what challenges the team will face.

“We’re all really excited to get things started, get a move on and get our feet on the ground and get ready to play some heavy duty volleyball,” Herman said.

Theis said the team tries not to feel the daunting pressure of the MAC and instead works to focus on playing their best.

“We talk about it as our goal as to winning six consecutive conference championships and to be playing our best volleyball at the end of the season,” Theis said.