Team Chemistry Front and Center for Young Volleyball Roster

When it comes to building a team, a coach can become more chef than sports subject matter expert. All the ingredients need just the right amount with just the right touch. Every piece plays a role, adding just the right flavor complement to something else in the dish.

"You try to bring players together," head coach Chris Campbell said. "It's something that happens early on in training camp. But it's a secret sauce with no known recipe. You've got to let it cook and simmer on its own."

With a roster featuring three upperclassmen, it's a sauce starting to come together in the pot. Playing over the proverbial open flame, a young Eagles' season is well underway, bringing with it tangible evidence, successes and challenges. Taking on some of the nation's competitive teams, it's a trial by fire, something that can pressure cook the team into the right tenderness as they get started on a road to Atlantic Coast Conference glory.

"We are an exceptionally young team," he said. "You could really see that through the first couple of matches. The team was learning how to really just play together since there's only so much we can simulate during practice. We've started getting better, and I anticipate everyone getting better throughout the season. It's just that process of getting used to playing with the same players next to you."

Forcing young players into match lineups can pay off in its own way. Already this year, athletes are gaining immeasurable experience early on and developing into team leaders. Sophomore Cat Balido is already averaging over three points per set, and freshman Clare Naughton joins her as two of the team's top three scorers. Blending with graduate student Lynn Braakhuis, senior Sol Calvete and junior McKenna Goss, the Eagles are seeing a core form. The goal then becomes refining that core over the course of their careers so the Eagles can begin the climb up the ACC ladder.

"Coming out of the preseason, we were definitely excited to implement the changes we made in our game," Goss said. "We were ready to try out our new freshmen. We came into the season a little bit jittery, and we took some losses early on. But we've worked through those kinks and I'm really proud of how we're continuing to work. It sets us up for the entire season."

It started immediately with the season's first weekend. BC opened its season against Fairfield, a mid-major powerhouse with four MAAC championships since 2010, including last season, and Providence, a team who opened 6-0 on the year as a shocking turnaround from last year's 13-win season. The next weekend, they hosted the Beantown Challenge against the defending Ivy League champion Princeton Tigers and a North Texas team already on a torrid, 5-1 pace.

Even so, BC managed to win a match each weekend, defeating Alabama-Birmingham and Bryant. It's a modest start, but it's laying the groundwork for the future. "We're still getting used to the speed of the game," Campbell said. "You can see the middle improving in their speed and volleyball IQ and reaction time. You could see a difference after the first couple of matches, just in being able to recognize certain situations when they're happening. We're finding out who has what job to do and trusting that you're going to do your job. We have a long way to go, but I think it's been an encouraging start (against tough competition)."

It's an aspect expected to battle-harden the Eagles before the start of conference play. Last year's Atlantic Coast Conference produced three national tournament qualifiers, including a nationally-seeded team in North Carolina. The seventh-ranked Tar Heels advanced to the Sweet 16, as did Florida State. Pittsburgh, the league's other entry, won its First Round match over Dayton before falling to in-state rival Penn State. It was the third straight year three teams advanced out of the First Round and the second straight year the league went undefeated in the round of 64.

"The biggest thing for us is to keep getting better every weekend," sophomore Jane DeJarld said. "Everyone on our team offers something different, which will help us as we get deeper into the season."

"Volleyball is such a social sport," Campbell said of getting his team ready for conference play. "You come together at the end of every play, and there's lot of team huddles. Chemistry is a nebulous thing. You can try and guide it, but it has to develop on its own."

Team Chemistry Front and Center for Young Volleyball Roster

Players Mentioned

Cat Balido

Lynn Braakhuis

Sol Calvete

Jane DeJarld

McKenna Goss

Clare Naughton

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