Q and A with Laurie Duffy
Ohio assistant volleyball coach Anne Botica is no stranger to national recognition. As an outside hitter at Ohio State from 1998-2002, she led the Buckeyes to four NCAA tournament appearances and a No. 12 national ranking. She sat down with The Post's Laurie Duffy to discuss her new role with Ohio and the team's season progression.
The Post: How does your experience at a big volleyball program like Ohio State transfer over to your experiences here at Ohio?
Botica: The only difference between the two programs, obviously, is financially and Ohio is a little bit less known, but in terms of the girls' performance and the way they play, it's pretty similar. I just think that the difference is that the people in the Big Ten and other well-known schools walk with a little swagger. They are perceived a little bit better, but in the end, these girls (at Ohio) can compete with any of those big teams.
The Post: You have had a lot of experience in the Big Ten and going to the NCAA Tournament. Do you give the girls advice as to how they should approach some of the bigger games?
Botica: The biggest thing with this team is that they are a very humble bunch and they didn't necessarily believe that they were good enough or deserved to be with those teams. I think that they looked at their previous playing experience - not making it to the NCAA or winning the MAC - and I just said that you're good enough to play with all of these teams, and as we started winning, the girls started believing it.
The Post: As a coaching staff, are you pleased with the progression so far?
Botica: Very much so. I knew that our middles were our strong point - Laura (Hageman) and Julia (Winkfield) just do a great job in the middle - but I was really impressed with the way that the outsides - Holly (Schetzsle) and Lindsay (Judice), especially - have stepped up. I think Lindsay brings experience on the court. She's just very much of a smart player, a finesse player. I'm just really happy with those two especially because I have taken the outsides as my position and trained them. (Coach) Geoff (Carlston) takes the middles and (graduate assistant coach) Leah (Mercer) takes the liberos. It's nice to see them progress from the first game to how they're doing right now.
The Post: You're very young compared with many MAC coaches. Do you see your relationship with the players as a coach or more of a friend?
Botica: That's a tough thing. I wouldn't consider myself a friend because as a coach you need to set up certain boundaries. But at the same time, I think the girls feel comfortable enough to come and talk to me like I'm a friend. But, there's time to console someone, but I'm their coach, and I'm going to give them feedback whether it's going to be something that may hurt their ego a bit or not. So yes and no - there is a fine line in between there._
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Laurie Duffy
