There is no doubt about it, 2016 will be a season of change for the Point Loma volleyball team. PLNU fans and coach Jonathan Scott were blessed to have a core of six players that were big contributors for their four seasons, but now they are all graduated, and it is time for a new group of Sea Lions to take the court. Christin Fisher and Marissa Hageman are back as Point Loma’s lone seniors. They have been joined by seven returners and seven newcomers to form the next generation of PLNU volleyball.
 
Schedule
The Sea Lions will open the season with two tournaments, their annual Seaside Invitational and the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase, hosted by UC San Diego. PLNU will play four matches per tournament. The D2 Showcase features the teams that finished third and fourth in 2015 PacWest, GNAC and CCAA conference standings. PLNU will open PacWest play on Sept. 16 at Dixie State.
“NCAA Division II does things a bit uniquely and we are starting to get a grasp on how important these first two weekends are,” said Scott. “We play eight matches that are very significant for our playoff hopes.”
 
The PacWest
Last year, Point Loma finished tied for second in the PacWest with a 14-6 record (20-10 overall), marking the third straight season the Sea Lions have finished in the top 3 in the standings. PLNU hoping to keep that streak going in 2016 and it was recently picked to finish third in the PacWest preseason coaches’ poll. Click here to see the PacWest preseason poll.
“The last few years we have been in the small top tier of the conference,” said the third year head coach. “One of our goals is to not just stay there, but separate ourselves, not just this season but as the norm. It is what we strive for.
“With that said, there are a couple really solid teams in this league that return some very good players,” he added.
 
Returners
All-PacWest selection Christin Fisher (4.96 digs/set) returns to her starting libero role, which she has been in since stepping foot on campus. She has the PLNU career digs record in her sights and will anchor the backline. Hageman, who started 16 matches last year, will be back to patrol the middle. She averaged 1.61 kills and 0.62 blocks per set last year. Others returning include juniors Itali Andrade, Stephanie Aviles and Brianna Winbigler, along with sophomores Alyssa Rifilato, Dana Williams and Sierra Bates.
“We don’t return a lot in terms of stats (returning),” explained Scott. “Christin Fisher is our only all season-long starter returning, and I think she is going to have an outstanding season. We have quite a few others that have been waiting for their turn to step up.”
 
Newcomers
With the loss of so many key players from the 2015 team, coach Scott had to reload quickly and went the transfer route more than he has in years. He brought in Brianna Sizemore, Samantha Krakower and Megan Angerstein as juniors. He also added freshmen Cara Keturakis, Ashlynn Fresques, Hailey Kenyon, Emily Coleman to comprise the next class of Sea Lions.
“We have a good group of freshmen and transfers that are ready to step into a role,” Scott explained. “We are confident in their abilities.
“It is very different flavor when it comes to team personalities (than in years past),” Scott continued. “We lost a significant group from last year’s team that established our culture, and that is not necessarily good or bad, but now there is a lot of ‘blank space’ to be filled. The incoming players whether they are ready or not, are going to have a great influence on that.”
 
Offense
The Sea Lions are looking to replace their setter and top four scorers from the2015, team, which paced the PacWest in kills and assists. This year many individuals will be asked to step up or into different roles to get the offense clicking once again.
“Our offense will depend on a couple of things,” Scott explained. “We have a competition at setter, and we don’t know how that will work out, but depending how it does we will determine our offensive scheme. Once we get that settled, and I don’t know if it will be early or midseason, it will help us choose our offensive identity.”
 
Defense
One of the strengths of Point Loma under coach Scott has been their play on defensive. Last season, PLNU led the PacWest in digs, and despite some personnel losses, coach Scott expects the Sea Lions should be near the top of the pack once again.
“Defense is going to be our strong point,” Scott explained. “We have the mindset, skill and ability, now it is just a matter of putting in the work every day. I think our defense will keep us in every match.”
 
Strengths
The Sea Lions expect to feed off their defense all season and hope that intensity will filter down to all aspects of their game.
“We are going to have tenacity to the way we play,” Scott said. “We are going to be gritty and we are going to be the team no one wants to play because of how hard we will work.”
 
Weakness
With so many inexperienced players and new faces, coach Scott still has a few question marks surrounding the implementation of his system on the floor, but an exactly who will step into certain roles.
“It is hard to call them weaknesses, they are more unknowns,” he said. “The question is; ‘Who will be reliable?’ We know it could be several of the women we just don’t know who that is going to be.”
 
Goals
Despite having to replace nearly the entire starting lineup, coach Scott has not let up on the expectations of success that this team has fostered over the past few years.
“We want to continue on the path have lain,” said Scott. “We made a lot of changes in culture and who we are. It is not necessarily an on-court identity, although it does transfer there, so it is keeping on that path and establishing it with the newcomers.
“(On the court) we always have the goal of winning conference,” he continued. “We also want to do very well in these first two tournaments and put ourselves in a position where we control our own destiny to get to the NCAA Regional and beyond…we do have Tampa on the calendar.”
 
Conclusion
With change comes new opportunity, and there have been tons of changes for PLNU volleyball in the past year. This season’s success will depend on how quickly the team can find consistency on offense and the ability of every student-athlete to take one step forward in their development.