Behind Enemy Lines with Cornell volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose

Daily Pennsylvanian: What is your biggest strength as a team?

Batie-Smoose: Our biggest strength is our offense and our ability to spread it around. We’re not a predictable team because we have numerous hitters that have been effective this year.

DP: You’re 7-11 on the season, and 3-5 in Ivy play. Any reflections?

MBS: We’ve had moments of some really great volleyball, and we’ve had some moments where we definitely feel we fell short. We’ve competed and come really close, but sometimes it’s the little things. You can see we’ve had numerous five-set matches, which shows that we’re competing and the differences in our win/losses come down to like ... three points in a lot of the games' matches. We know we’re capable - it’s just about finishing.

DP: Your team has already competed in eight five-set matches. What accounts for so many close games?

MBS: I think we are competing, and we are talented. We’re just young. And with youth comes a lot of mistakes. I’ve never had a season where I’ve had this many five-setters. It shows we are competitive, and a few less errors would make our record a little bit different. Sometimes we have five freshmen on the floor. We’ve gotta learn to compete at the next level.

DP: Two games currently separate second and seventh place in the Ivy League. Why is it so close this year?

MBS: That’s what’s fun about it. Besides Yale, from top to bottom it’s a very competitive conference. You have to plan and prepare for everyone. That’s what keeps the records so close, anything can happen any night. Like any sport, defense is the key to winning, and the Ivy League is heavily defense-oriented. We are way better at defense this year. We are third in the conference at digs per set and that’s great because last year we were last. It’s fun, and competitive every week.

DP: What are you expecting against Penn and Princeton this weekend?

MBS: Last time we played Penn, it came down to two errors on our part right at the end that lost the game for us. We match up very well against them and it will always be a battle. It’s always a huge rivalry between us for some unknown reason, so I think this weekend will be a lot of fun. We are coming off a win on the road, which we have had generally a hard time with, so I think that’s positive for our team. I think Princeton is a much better team at home, so we have to be prepared for that – they play much better than on the road. It’ll be a challenging weekend, but we feel we have the opportunity to do the little things and come out on top.

DP: What Penn players is your coaching staff looking out for?

MBS: Penn is kind of like our lineup this year. Due to injuries and other things there hasn’t been a set lineup and that’s been the case for us to. So we don’t have a particular player in mind. One of the people we had a hard time with last time – the right side hitter – must be injured or something but she’s not currently playing. We struggled against her last time. They also have a libero that digs a lot of balls. So our overall strategy is more about defending their hitters, regardless of who is hitting it.

DP: What players have performed the strongest for you this season?

MBS: Natasha Rowland [Ivy leader in digs] has had a huge year. She’s a junior libero for us, and last year she didn’t even have that full role. This year, she took charge of that spot and no one has been able to touch it. Last season the girl from Penn [Dani Shepherd] was first in the Ivy League and Defensive Player of the Year and now she’s sitting below Natasha. It’s amazing. She’s been kind of that stable person to consistently bring defense and a calm demeanor to the games when we need her. She’s been very vocal and a leader on the team.

Breanna Wong [second in kills in Ivy play] is a sophomore this year. She played well last year and so we had high expectations for her coming into this season. She wasn’t getting the ball much on the right, so we moved her to the left, and she’s been amazing for us down the stretch. She’s very competitive and confident in tight situations. Give her the ball and she will … terminate it.

Rachel D'Epagnier [Ivy leader in blocks per set] is a huge impact for our team. As a middle she can hit the ball. If we can get her going she’s going to score for us. Defense has been her focus this year, and she helps those in the back through her presence on the front. Teams have to structure what they’re gonna do around Rachel, and that helps us.

Alyssa Phelps [Ivy leader in assists per set] For a freshman to come into any league, especially as a freshman setter, that’s one of the hardest positions to come into. You won’t see many. She’s done an amazing job, she’s a very steady player, and no matter the stress level or where we’re at with points - it’s a huge reason we compete down the stretch, whether we win or lose. She always wants to come in and do extra reps – whatever it takes to be better.

DP: Is anyone catching Yale?

MBS: You know, right now, you play the matches because there is a possibility. But at this point in the season they’ve only lost a couple sets, let alone games. I just think that right now they are in the position where everyone is beating up on each other and it’s going to be hard to catch up with the amount of games we have left. I definitely think they’re beatable, but it’s just a given that we’d have to be a full team with everyone healthy, playing very well. It’s still possible, and I think some teams will give them a little bit of a challenge.

- Ike Onyeador