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Volleyball coach sees competition

By ANTONYA ENGLISH

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 1, 2000

TAMPA -- Nancy Mueller had a specific goal when recruiting for the volleyball team last year: Find some players who could compete instantly. "I didn't want our starters coming into the program this preseason thinking that just because they started last year they would this year," Mueller said. "I wanted to find players that could come in and challenge for a starting position right away, and I think we've done that."

Mueller will find out exactly what type of team she has beginning tonight.

USF kicks off the regular season with the South Florida Classic at the Corral. Boston College and Wisconsin-Milwaukee play at 5, followed by USF-Furman at 7. USF plays Boston College at 11 a.m. Saturday, Furman and Wisconsin-Milwaukee play at 1, Boston College and Furman play at 4, and USF plays Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 6.

The coaching staff has specific goals for the tournament.

"Right now, we're trying to get into a little bit of a comfort zone, test some players out and see which combination works best," Mueller said. "Having 14 players on the team has really helped us have some great competitiveness in practice."

Last season, Mueller's first, there were nine players on the team. Then Michelle Collier suffered a season-ending knee injury Sept. 10.

The biggest battles for starting roles are at middle hitter and setter. Kelly Mathiasmeier and Melanie Mueller are vying at setter, and freshman middle blocker Bonnye Glover and outside hitter Tally Payne are competing for starting time.

"Now we have added some depth to our program," Mueller said. "Players are getting pushed every day in practice to perform and every player has responded to the level of competition we've had in practice. It makes my job a little easier because I can see how people are responding to high-pressure situations."

NEW PITCHING COACH: Nelson North, who helped guide Tampa to three College World Series appearances in five seasons as a pitching coach, was hired Thursday as pitching coach at USF.

North, 37, succeeds Russ McNickle, who resigned Aug. 22 to become coach at Meridian (Miss.) Community College.

"I have always been impressed with his work while watching him at the University of Tampa," coach Eddie Cardieri said. "He has a great ability to recruit student-athletes. As I have spent more time visiting with Nelson, I became even more impressed with his ability to instruct."

Tampa won the Division II national championship in 1998 after finishing fifth in 1996 and third in 1997. The Spartans, 215-80 the past five seasons, were 45-12 in 2000. Tampa was ranked No. 2 in the nation heading into the 2000 Southeast Region and finished No. 12.

"I am very excited to be here," North said. "This is a Division I program that I think has tremendous potential to be very successful."

North coached at Belmont University in 1993 and 1994 and at Cumberland (Tenn.) University in 1995. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Mississippi in 1997. North was a four-year letterman for the Rebels.

USF started fall conditioning Monday. Fall practice begins Sept. 18.

PICKLE POWER: When football trainer Steve Walz heard a sideline reporter talking about pickle juice during Saturday's FSU-BYU game, he smiled and nodded in agreement.

He knew it fought off cramps. "At a conference (the National Athletic Trainers Meeting) this summer I heard that drinking pickle juice helps with heat cramps," Walz said. "I didn't believe it, but I thought I might as well try it, so we did it. I think last year they (USF) had eight to 10 people get IVs for cramps and things like that, but this year we only had one."

The formula is simple: 2 ounces for every body part that's cramped. Players who tend to cramp should take 2 full ounces before practice.

"It's straight dill pickle juice," Walz said. "Some of the guys like to eat the pickles too. I couldn't believe it (worked). I don't have any physiological reason, necessarily, but I got results."

- Contact Antonya English at (800) 333-7505 ext. 8810 or by e-mail at English@sptimes.com.

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