Anne Kordes built Saint Louis University into a national contender in women’s volleyball. It’s now first-year Head Coach Kent Miller and Senior Captain Alyssa Deno’s job to make sure that doesn’t change.
When Kordes announced on Jan. 7 that she would be leaving her position at SLU for the head coaching job at the University of Louisville, the SLU lost both a volleyball visionary and its most successful coach in the last five years. Kordes guided the program to three Atlantic 10 Conference titles and NCAA tournament births and its first-ever national ranking.
Replacing Kordes meant finding a coach who could recruit both the best national and local players, schedule the top programs in the nation and win. On April 4, Athletic Director Chris May announced that Kent Miller, an assistant at the University of Illinois, would now guide the Billikens.
With the pre-season in the books and the first tournament played, it’s like nothing has changed. Last weekend, Aug. 26-28, SLU traveled to the University of Iowa and conquered the Hawkeye Classic with wins against Marquette and tournament-host Iowa. The Kent Miller era of volleyball is off with a roar.
Although the story seems to be reading to script, many questions hung over the program as recently as three weeks ago: With a new coach, two incoming freshman, three transfer athletes and the loss of star setter Hannah Kvitle, would the BIllikens be able to compete for the A-10 championship?
Miller has no doubts.
“We have to make some strides before we can get there, but we certainly have the capability to,” Miller said. “We are trying to take care of the ball on our side of the net. We want to pressure the opponents and have good composure and aggressiveness.”
Though Miller’s style of play doesn’t differ greatly from what Kordes executed, the team has had to make some adjustments on both sides of the ball. During practice, the women spend more time working on their defense and their passing now than in the past years in order to stop opponents from scoring and to put the ball in the correct position to allow a strong offensive attack of their own.
The competition is taking notice.
“SLU plays hard, and they are well coached,” Hawkeye’s Head Coach Sharon Dingman said. “They understand and use their strengths efficiently. I would predict that they will have a very successful season and will do well in the A-10.”
Of course, the measure of success doesn’t end at the A-10 Championship. Miller and his squad are looking to take SLU back to the NCAA for the fourth time in six years. Whether or not they make it may have as much to do with team chemistry on the court as it does with team cohesiveness off the court.
Enter Deno.
Captain Deno, one of only two returning seniors, alongside Ashley Gailot, understands that in order for her team to achieve their many goals, they must do so as a team. It’s something her former head coach preached constantly.
“Our team chemistry is really good,” Deno said. “We have five new players this year, and it feels like there’s not any new players. We were all close right away, and we all mesh really well. Our closeness then reflects back on the court when we play.”
Deno is entering her senior, and final, year at SLU, and to most people this might mean added pressure to perform or a different mindset for the season. However as a captain last year as well, Deno feels her role has not changed entering this year. Her mindset is simply to perform at her highest level and to lead the team to its potential.
“Last year I was a captain, so I had a leadership role then,” Deno said. “As a senior captain now I have a lot of expectations for myself, but I like it.
“I am proud to lead this team.”
After wins against Marquette and Iowa already this season, and a Labor Day match-up set against Arkansas State at 2 p.m. in the Chaifetz Pavillion, SLU is ready to show the A-10 that, Kordes or not, they are ready to roar.
