Nov. 12, 2008
Lobo Volleyball
What: Lobos at Air Force
When: 7 p.m., Thursday (Nov. 13)
Where: Clune Arena, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Up Next: Lobos vs. TCU, Nov. 21, Johnson Center
By Richard Stevens, Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
At a glance, you might think Jade Michaelsen has the easiest job on the University of New Mexico Lobos’ volleyball team.
After all, how difficult can it be to push the ball about 12 feet into the air and then get out of the way while Jeanne Fairchild smashes the ball down the throat of some helpless blocker?
Sure, on a perfect set, in a perfect situation, Michaelsen would be more than content to work that Fairchild scenario time and time again. But it just doesn’t work that way.
Michaelsen’s job is complicated and probably the most demanding position on the court.
She has to read the defense. She has to note where the opponent has positioned their quicker blockers, their taller blockers. She has to evaluate which Lobo hitter should be set up at which position. She has to change the height of her sets, the quickness of her sets. You have to mix things up, fool the enemy.
And you aren’t exactly in control of how, or where, the ball is going to be coming to you. Sometimes the play you called simply isn’t going to work. You have to adjust on the run.
It’s complicated.
“It’s a thinking position,” said Michaelsen, a 5-foot-11 sophomore from Tucson. “The setter is thought of as the quarterback of the team, but I’m not sure a lot of people really understand what the position does.”
As noted, the setter does a lot of things and often everything. She digs, blocks, sets and kills. And thinks a lot.
“I like the mind game part of it,” said Michaelsen. “I’m the type of personality who likes to be in charge, run the show. That’s the setter’s job. You get to chose where the ball goes.
“You don’t get a lot of glory. The hitters have the glory position. The ending, the kill, is what everyone sees and remembers.”
Of course, it’s not always that way with the appreciation factor. Michaelsen, No. 2 in the Mountain West Conference with 10.86 assists per game, was a MWC Player of The Week in September.
Still, it’s the hitters and the blockers, who often get the attention. “A setter gets their satisfaction internally,” she said.
Michaelsen said another demand that comes with the position goes beyond just adjusting where the ball goes during a game. She also has to evaluate changes that come with a long season.
“You have to continuously adjust to accommodate your hitters,” said Michaelsen. “They sometimes change as the season goes. You might give them a set that earlier was perfect, but now they want it higher or maybe lower or maybe quicker. Jeanne needs a high set because she can hit over a block. Lisa (Meeter) likes it quicker, so she can look for an angle.”
Michaelsen started her career in volleyball as a hitter at Salpointe Catholic High in Tucson. “I walked into the gym my freshman year and my coach said, `You’re tall. You’re going to play volleyball.’ So, I played volleyball.”
Michaelsen’s height also placed her at the net and she was a kill artist that freshman year before sliding over to the setter’s spot as a sophomore. As a tall setter in high school, she still got to do a lot of everything, but Michaelsen said she wasn’t a natural at the hitting position.
Her skills slowly drifted toward the quarterback position. She had 198 kills as a sophomore in high school, 110 as a junior and 74 kills as a senior. Her assist numbers jumped from 425 as a sophomore to 842 as a junior and 753 as a senior.
This was an important transition for Michaelsen. As a hitter, she was only an average major-college prospect. As a setter, she had potential.
“My coach knew that a tall setter was what colleges were starting to want,” said Michaelsen. “If I hadn’t become a setter, I might not be playing volleyball now. I didn’t see it then, but my coach did.
“The sport is getting taller. Even the liberos are getting taller. You look for the skills, but if you can combine the skill with height …”
And if you can add a quick mind and leadership qualities to skill and height, well, you have a setter, you have a Jade Michaelsen.
Editor’s note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous articles are available at The Richard Stevens Corner.