The Michigan volleyball team and coach Mark Rosen refer to their first 12 games as the “preseason.”

Though its 11-1 non-conference record has just as legitimate an influence on Michigan’s postseason as Big Ten games do, the Wolverines have treated their first dozen games more like a warm-up than anything else.

Michigan used this preseason to get its younger players adjusted to Division I volleyball, to give the older players more experience working with the younger players and to give the coaches different ideas about how to rely less on the veterans.

Michigan started strong in the Rocket Classic by defeating Binghamton and Loyala 3-0. But in the tournament’s final match, Toledo upset the Wolverines, 3-2. After the game, Michigan coach Mark Rosen sat against the wall on the floor outside of the locker room. Nearly speechless, it was clear that Rosen did not intend for this to happen again. Maybe his team wasn't as good this season.

“In hindsight, the slip-up against Toledo was a good thing,” Rosen said this week. “We saw who we were, and we saw how we were. If we didn’t open our eyes to that we would not know where we are now.”

Michigan then played in the Active Ankle Challenge in Corvallis, Oregon one weekend and in the Michigan/Adidas tournament in Ann Arbor the next. The Wolverines walked away with a first-place finish in both. They defeated five of their six opponents 3-0. Oregon State provided the only challenge, but Michigan still had no trouble beating the Beavers 3-1.

The Wolverines used those six games to improve communication between a host of new and experienced players. It took some getting used to, but by the end of the six-game stretch, Michigan had played every person on its active roster.

“I think the freshmen are ready,” senior defensive specialist Maggie Busch said. “They have gotten comfortable with us. The game now is different then club and high school. Keeping with the pace … they have adjusted. And they have gotten used to the emotional side of it.”

Junior outside hitter Alex Hunt had the most kills in three of those games. Likewise, right side Claire McElheny and middle blockers Courtney Fletcher and Jennifer Cross each led the team in kills for one of those games, helping Hunt shoulder the load.

“All five of our freshmen have at one point or another impacted us and not all at the same time, and thank God,” Rosen said jokingly after practice on Tuesday. “But I don’t think we ever had a freshman class where all had impacted us. We're going to be young for a long time, but we are getting less young.”

Michigan learned three things in its preseason tournaments. First, the team no longer has to revolve around Hunt's hot hand, which was the expectation with such a young roster.

“There is no question that we will have to be balanced to be successful,” Busch said. “Alex is our big gun, and we will use her. But we trust our young girls. We do have the ability to be a well balanced team.”

Secondly, the freshmen have proven reliable. Cross and fellow freshman Lexi Erwin played valuable minutes and accounted for 137 kills in the “preseason.” That's 23 percent, overall.

Lastly, the freshmen got a chance to play with senior setter Lexi Zimmerman. The Wolverines run a nuanced offense, with only one setters. The entire team must know how that one setter plays. The experience the freshmen gained playing with Zimmerman will be needed when they are playing a fast-paced conference team.

The Wolverines traveled to Arizona for the ASU Sheraton tournament last weekend. Michigan defeated three of its toughest opponents each in 3-1 matches to finish in the most ideal way heading into conference play.

Big Ten play starts tonight against Iowa, as the Wolverines sit at fourth in the conference standings and the Hawkeyes rank last. But as the Wolverines know too well — you can never be too sure about your opponent.

“I told the girls today we want to have signature wins and afterward say, ‘That’s a good win right there,’ ” Rosen said on Tuesday. “We haven’t had signature wins yet because we haven’t played signature teams. We’ve only played the preseason. But now that we have the opportunity, (we’ll) have the chance to see what’s ahead of us.”