When libero Stephanie Keller graduated last season, the women's volleyball team knew it would have a big hole to fill.
The team's best returning defensive player was junior Stephanie Bacan, who has had recurring knee problems and probably could have only played one night each weekend.
The team was in need of another defensive player, and this summer, it found one. News had been circulating that Amanda McCormick was going to leave the University of Nebraska, where she was a team captain and libero her sophomore year.
McCormick is a native of Muncie and played high school volleyball at Burris. According to NCAA regulations, a coach can't contact a player who is considering a transfer; the player has to contact the team first. So, for head coach Randy Litchfield, the news of McCormick's presence in Muncie was frustrating.
"All I really knew was that she was probably leaving Nebraska, and people had told me that she was in Muncie and was unsure of what she was going to do," Litchfield said. "I had even heard the rumor that she was not going to play anymore, that she was just going to pursue a medical degree."
Then, Litchfield said he started hearing rumors that she was thinking about playing.
"Low and behold, her dad made contact, and we got the release from Nebraska in great form. They were very cooperative," Litchfield said.
After McCormick made a visit to campus, the Cardinals had a new teammate.
"The bug is in her to play, so we're elated to have her," Litchfield said.
McCormick said she considered a few other schools, but they just didn't feel right or were too far away.
"Coming closer to home was something that I really wanted to do, and I wanted to go somewhere where I could have the opportunity to play right away," she said.
Senior Sarah Obras saw McCormick over the summer and helped convince her to talk to Litchfield by telling her about the loss of Keller.
"I'm so excited that she's here to play," Obras said. "You can't replace Steph Keller, but Amanda's as close as we can come."
Litchfield said he's not looking for a replacement to Keller; he just wants a new libero who can figure out her own style.
"We've never considered attempting to replace the player and person that Steph Keller was," Litchfield said. "I'm also a believer that a different person from Steph Keller -- whether it's Amanda McCormick or Steph Bacan -- can do just as good of a job with their own formulas."
McCormick brings a special type of experience to the Cardinal volleyball team. The Cornhuskers went to the postseason both years that McCormick was on the team, and she wants to make sure Ball State gets there this season.
"I have an idea of how you have to play, the level that you have to reach to get to the tournament and to be successful in the tournament," McCormick said. "I think this team doesn't have a lot of NCAA tournament experience, so I think the fact that I've been there twice before and that I've gone so far in the tournament, that will be a big asset."
Only three of the current players on the team have participated in an NCAA Tournament game, and that NCAA tournament experience was in 2002.
By having both McCormick and Bacan, Litchfield said he might try some creative things in the backcourt this fall.
"I think Steph Bacan is a better passer than she is a defensive player. I think Amanda McCormick is a better defensive player than she is a passer," he said. "If you look at those two as one player, we can do some matchup things, and we think we've got, in those two players, one heck of a great player."
Bacan said that McCormick has a great attitude and has had no problem fitting in with the team.
"We're working together really well, so I think it's good the backcourts are really meshing well together," Bacan said.
Obras said McCormick will provide the type of leadership the team needs and that with her and Bacan, the backcourt is in good shape.
"With her and Steph Bacan in the backcourt, I don't have any doubt whatsoever that our backcourt will be taken care of," Obras said.
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