Spikers Bower and Miller take divergent paths to work together
Dan FeldmanSeptember 27th, 2006
Michigan volleyball coach Mark Rosen doesn't like the NCAA's substitution rules.
He doesn't think the rules are strict enough, allowing almost-unlimited substitution. He thinks the current regulations take away from players developing their all-around game and remove a strategic element of coaching.
But that doesn't mean he won't take advantage of the rules.
Rosen has made frequent substitutions to platoon freshman Megan Bower and junior Lyndsay Miller, playing Bower in the back row and Miller in the front row.
When they sub for each other, they have a special ritual.
"We always hold up one finger, and we connect with our middle fingers because we always say we're the No. 1 sub," Bower said.
Said Miller: "She rocks it in the back row, and I rock it in the front row."
But a couple of years ago, the tag-team wouldn't have seemed possible. Miller was poised to become the offensive player she is, but so was Bower.
Bower was playing club volleyball for the Circle City team and was more of an offensive player. Before her junior year, she decided to change clubs to Munciana. The club has a reputation for producing strong defensive players, and is coached by former Cincinnati coach Mike Lingenfelter.
"(The switch of club teams) had everything in the world to do with (getting immediate playing time at Michigan)," Bower said. " . I love offense, but defense is a totally different thrill, because, instead of starting rallies, you're ending them. I love to play defense because it's putting me on the floor right now. Whatever is going to help my team win, I'm going to do. But I think the way things panned out this year, defense is my spot."
Rosen envisions Bower becoming a regular on both lines. When he first recruited her, he saw that she had the physical tools needed to succeed in college, so Rosen focused on Bower's mental game.
She is very competitive, disciplined, aggressive and has high self-esteem, Rosen said.
Bower is so intense on the court that she often looks angry during matches. But her menacing frown comes through most prominently during her serves.
"I'm just a very intense person," Bower said. "I'd say I have a lot of fire and energy in me, and I'm just very focused when I go back and serve."
Rosen said that her irate look is not indicative of her usual state of mind. If Bower is too mad, it can actually hurt the team.
"No matter how intense she gets, if she can connect it with her teammates, she does very well," Rosen said " . (Sometimes) she's going to get frustrated with herself and put a lot of pressure on herself. ... We've identified that when she becomes isolated a little bit because she's so on herself so hard, that hurts her.
"When she's being connected with her teammates, that's the line. As long she can have that intensity and still be very connected with her teammates, then I think she's in a good place."
The places Bower will be this weekend are Minnesota and Wisconsin, as the Wolverines look to rebound from their 0-2 Big Ten start after they finished the nonconference season 13-0.
Printed from www.michigandaily.com on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:18:34 -0500