Spring Break
Student coach sets up season for club teams
Men's, women's volleyball clubs led by ambitious male player
Phil Hausmann
Issue date: 10/8/08 Section: SPORTS
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But that's not the only club Stevens coaches. Last year, he restarted the NT Men's Volleyball Club, which had been disbanded in 1996, he said.
Now he is not only head coach of both the men and women's clubs; he's also the men's club president and plays the setter position.
Along with the rest of the 12-man roster - including five freshmen - Stevens hopes to put a strong competitive team onto the indoor court, he said.
"I expect us to able to compete at a level that the Texas teams compete at," Stevens said of his young team.
On the women's end of the spectrum, fashion design sophomore Erica Pflughoft has played volleyball since she was in the fifth grade.
"I figured I should use my height for something," the 6-foot-2-inch Pflughoft said, "and I ended up loving it."
Pflughoft, the club's president, started the Women's Volleyball Club in January 2008 - the second semester of her freshman year. When Pflughoft had questions about the initial steps to take in starting the club, she approached Stevens.
"Eventually it just kind of evolved into me coaching," Stevens said.
While men's volleyball focuses on an offensive attack approach, women's volleyball focuses more on defense and a strong base, he said.
"Men's volleyball is a much quicker game, so you have to be able to react," Stevens said. "Women's volleyball involves a lot more thought. You have to be able to read and understand what the other players are going to do."
Stevens has high expectations for the 24-player roster of the women's club, he said.
"They are one of the strongest teams in the state," Stevens said, "and they have a good chance of making it to nationals and being able to place in the top 10 this year at the National tournament."
Pflughoft - who plays middle blocker for her team - echoes her coach's expectations of the club this season.
"I expect us to work really hard and compete at a high level and ultimately come out on top at nationals," Pflughoft said.
The women's club practices Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:45 p.m. to 11:45 p.m., and the men's club practices Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., both in the Ken Bahnsen Gym behind the Physical Education Building.
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