I remember being impressed with Alyssa Miller the handful of times she was on the court her first two years at UD. That time was transitional for the setter position as several players were working to solidify themselves as the starter. Miller was the youngest, but she came with a decorated pedigree having won Kansas POY and both Open Division Club and High School State Championships. She also arrived with a reputation as being very athletic.

If I had to describe her in one word those early years, it was “smooth.” Setter is the one position on the court that is asked to execute every phase of the game. Miller seemed to transition seamlessly between digging, passing, serving, serve receive, attacking, blocking and of course setting. She is now a senior and squarely the starting quarterback of this program the last two years. Today I find the word “explosive” is a better fit. And, boy is she having a moment.

Let’s start with her primary responsibility, which is to take the second touch and deliver a set to one of her hitters, putting them in a position to terminate their attack. Five matches into the season, the Flyers currently have the 5th best Team Hitting Percentage in the nation at .322. There are only eight teams in the country hitting over .300. It’s a very difficult marker for a team to achieve. We are going up against three tough teams this weekend, and two of them put up a big block. It will be a real test for Miller & Comapny. Her setting coach, Tim Balice says she will rely on doing three things really well.

“Her decision making on who to set and when has come a long way,” her coach explained. “She is executing a pretty complex offense at a high level.

“Alyssa has also been an integral attacker which has allowed our offense to generate more single blocks for other attackers.” And finally, “She has really connected well with our middles and right side which both position groups have hit for an extremely high efficiency.”

Since the end of last season, Liana Sarkissian moved to MB, MB Alia Williams transferred in and Brooke Smith has taken over the OPP spot. A lot of time and work is needed between Miller and these three hitters who are new or playing new positions. The work by all is paying off.

“The hitter connections and relationships take constant TLC and communication,” Balice stated. “Starting in the spring and continuing into the summer, the three hitters were constantly working on their rhythm (with Miller). This involves a lot of repetitions but also watching a lot of film.”

For three rotations, Miller is also a blocker. In an era where Top 50 teams have setters who are 6-foot or taller, Miller is a couple inches shorter and yet is a good blocker. I’ve seen shorter MBs that have extraordinarily long arms, which help their blocking skills. Miller doesn’t have extra-long arms. And yet, she is currently blocking at .88 blocks/set – the best I have ever seen from a setter. She is truly living up to her athletic reputation. Coach Balice shared some insight.

“Alyssa is an elite athlete and truly moves like a gymnast. She has focused on her explosiveness, that translates really well to her ability to slow down attacks at the net,” he said. “She has done a great job improving her vision as a blocker which allows her to line up well versus the attackers.”

In our one-setter system, Miller plays all six rotations. That includes the three backrow rotations. As the setter, the coaches stack and move players so the setter is always in the back right zone allowing her to move forward to the front right position – the natural setting spot. You do not want your setter taking the first touch. You want them available to take the second touch which is the set. But opponents will target a good setter on serves and attacks to deny her that second touch. Miller has seen a lot of this so far, which is the greatest compliment to her setting abilities. Opponents are trying to take her out of the offense and they are doing it a lot. In one match she led the Flyers in digs.

“Opponents are simply targeting the right side of the court to take her out of our offense while she is back row,” Balice explained. “Opponents are also sending a lot of off-speed attacks and free balls to her side of the court. But she has spent a lot of time working on her defending and her blocking.”

Finally, Miller has delivered from the service line. Last year she finished at .33 aces/set. This year she and Lexie Almodovar are leading the Flyers at .35 SA/S.

And, her hitting percentage is .290. Again, a very solid number that only looks small because she is doing such a great job getting the ball to the correct hitter resulting in a .322 team Hitting Percentage.

So Alyssa is having a moment for sure. This weekend, Illinois, Western Kentucky and Marquette are all NCAA 2nd Round caliber matches. As Chris R. said, we can go 0-3 or 3-0 and everything in between. For a program looking to WIN a 2nd Round NCAA match, it’s exactly the kind of scheduling we need. And if Miller & Company can turn the moment she is having so far this year into another strong weekend, she and her teammates will be in the driver’s seat to turn “having a moment” into having a season.

Note: Coach Balice provided some insight into each of the three teams we play this weekend. I will post those comments in the WKY Hyatt Invitational Thread.