Niners in the News

59ers snap losing skid, cruise past Pirates

August 27, 2009
By Tony Zezovski, Post-Tribune correspondent

MERRILLVILLE — After frustrating matches against Mishawaka Marion over the weekend and South Bend St. Joe on Monday, Andrean made the short trip down Broadway looking to work out its issues and snap a two-match slide.

The winless Pirates proved to be just what the doctor ordered as Andrean, in dominating fashion, handed Merrillville its seventh straight loss with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-15) victory.

“I thought we played well in the Mishawaka Marion game but they just had more experience than us and against South Bend St. Joe I thought we just didn’t show up,” first-year Andrean head coach Naveed Nezam said. “This was a good rebound for us after playing the way we did on Monday.

“Our serves were back on track and we were passing well.”

On Wednesday, the 59ers (2-2), who start four sophomores, not only showed up but also displayed their full arsenal of strategic serving and precise passing coupled with a well-rounded defense.

They easily took the first game 25-14 and never looked back as Merrillville struggled to find an answer for the 59ers attack.

“The game plan was that no matter what we wanted to play aggressive and consistent and we accomplished that,” Nezam said.

Leading the charge for Nezam’s offense was sophomore setter Ana Nicksic who had nine kills, 18 assists, went 8 of 9 severing with four aces and added four block kills to round off her night.

The 59ers took advantage of the 6-foot tall Nicksic’s height early and often.

“We really meshed great tonight as a team and that made things easy on us,” Nicksic said. “After the last two games, a win boosts our confidence, definitely.”

Merrillville (0-7) will have to go back to the drawing board and work on its confidence, but head coach Mark Ciesielski found positives and saw improvements from his young squad.

“They (Andrean) were in control of the entire game, there is no doubt about that,” Ciesielski said. “We have a lot of stuff to work and a lot of things to figure out where we need to be.

“We blocked decently today and we got a lot of hands on their shots. We’re taking our lumps here in the beginning but we are learning and getting better each and every game.”

The Pirates were led by sophomore MacKenzie Milon who had four kills and six digs.

Emily Kurzcynski and Mandy Banashak added seven and five assists respectively.

Andrean knocks off Portage in volleyball season opener

59ers spoil Plumley’s coaching debut with Indians

PORTAGE | On a night when Erin Plumley made her debut as the new Portage girls volleyball coach, Times No. 5 Andrean unveiled a new offense in a 3-1 victory over the Indians.

The 59ers shook off a close loss in the second game to win 25-23, 27-29, 25-14, 25-22 and in the process, gained a measure of revenge over the Indians, who beat Andrean in five games last season.

“I thought that we played phenomenal tonight,” Andrean coach Naveed Nizam said. “The girls never gave up. We made some mistakes, but we came back in the late games to win.”

Nizam installed a new offense during the opening weeks of practice that stressed a team concept in attacking the net. Andrean sophomore Taylor Mullen led a balanced attack with 16 kills as the 59ers (1-0) had a variety of players contributing on offense.

“I think if I was going to give a game ball, it would go to the entire team,” Nizam said. “That’s how we do things here. We are very team-orientated.”

Plumley, a Crown Point graduate, made her Portage coaching debut after taking over for Jessie Fox over the summer. The youthful Indians (0-1) were immediately battle-tested in the second game when the 59ers came from seven points down to take the lead, but Portage held on for a 29-27 win.

Perhaps fatigue set in during the next match as the 59ers coasted to a 25-14 victory before closing out the match 25-22 in the final game.

“It’s good that we’re going to be able to reflect back on what we did in the second game,” Plumley said. “We’ll be able to remember that and then use that to look at the times where we had some mistakes.”

Sophomore Haley Snyder played a strong game for the Indians with 11 kills and seven blocks. Senior libero Jordan Steiger added 43 digs.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

No. 5 Andrean 3, Portage 1

Sophomore Taylor Mullen led the 59ers with 16 kills.

Andrean volleyball’s new offense eliminates the ‘youth’ dimension

Andrean’s revamped offense eliminates the ‘youth’ dimension

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TONY V. MARTIN | THE TIMES Andrean volleyball has taken the bulk of the hitting pressure off of one single outside hitter, allowing a new lateral offense to play the position by committee. From left, junior Megan Thomas and sophomores Melissa Egert and Taylor Mullen will replace graduated Division-I recruit Meagan Ernd (not pictured) as the 59ers new-look outside hitters.

MERRILLVILLE | When Andrean participated in its first volleyball scrimmage, there were a few puzzled expressions at the new-look, lateral offense.

With the first touch of the ball, there’s movement. Everything from an outside hitter swinging one way or another to the back row rushing up prepared to hit.

“Instead of going straight ahead to the net, they’re all coming from the side,” 59ers coach Naveed Nizam said. “It allows our hitters to hit more than just one shot.

“This is a new generation seeing it. If they play club ball, they’ll have seen it. The casual fan might be going, what the heck’s he doing?”

Nizam, taking over a 59ers team this season that graduated its last proven outside hitter, opted to try an offense that can replace 2007 Times All-Area Player of the Year Meagan Ernd with a committee of three powerful hitters, all underclassmen.

A former Munster coach, Nizam ran the same offense with the Mustangs several years ago, and volleyball fans are used to seeing this on television, not consistently on Northwest Indiana volleyball courts.

The new 59ers will premiere their version of the “swing” when the IHSAA regular-season volleyball games begin Monday and Andrean travels to take on Portage. Junior Megan Thomas, along with sophomores Melissa Egert and Taylor Mullen, will take over the role of the outside hitter dominated at Andrean for the past three years by Ernd.

“We aren’t about single-dimensional offense, we’re about a multidimensional offense,” Nizam said. “Our hitters have to hit for us to work.”

The lateral movement allows for constant misdirection as all six players on the court can become a hitter.

“I like how it speeds up the tempo,” said Mullen, a former defensive specialist. “When we’re running our offense, the other side isn’t expecting a back row player to come up and attack. You get that as a surprise.”

Even more of the control is now in the hands of 6-foot sophomore setter Ana Niksic.

The 59ers say that what they like is the constant movement and the engaging of all six players on the court.

“Everyone is always involved,” Egert said. “We have a lot more players that can do everything, almost.”

With a young roster and the graduation of the bigger hitters, the 59ers have heard the rumors that this could be a down year on Broadway.

“After the scrimmage,” Thomas said, “my mom said that it just showed how much everyone has learned in this short amount of time.”