Player development is crucial for any coach to maintain success.
LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory said she wants to develop and bring along another player each week of the season until her whole team is firing on all cylinders.
Last week, she got more than she expected from freshman outside hitter Mimi Eugene.
Flory experimented using Eugene in the back row against Florida and Arkansas on Oct. 3 and 5, respectively, but the freshman wasn’t a fan of the move.
“I think Mimi was concerned about her opportunities to swing because we used her as a defensive specialist or back row player for Gina [Tillis], and that frustrated her a bit,” Flory said.
So when LSU faced Mississippi State on Wednesday, Flory put Eugene back in the front row, and she responded with attitude.
“She played with a point to prove,” Flory said. “She wanted to say, ‘Hey, I’m not just a [defensive specialist]. I’m somebody who can finish for you and terminate.”
Eugene set a new LSU season high for kills in a three-match set, tallying 15 kills, and led the Tigers in kills every set of the match.
Senior setter Malorie Pardo said she saw a difference in Eugene before they even took the court.
“[Eugene’s] whole aura and her energy was so different,” Pardo said. “I felt like I could put the ball anywhere in her range, and she would get a kill. For a setter to have that feeling back and forth with an outside [hitter], it was amazing.
Like most freshmen, Eugene faced a steep learning curve, especially during conference play. The Tigers’ first four SEC games were against some of the best defensive teams in the league.
Flory said Eugene isn’t ready to face the bigger blocking teams in the league, but when Flory sees a good matchup, Eugene can dominate.
The biggest concern with freshmen in this situation is making sure they understand why the coach is rotating them around, but Eugene doesn’t let it bother her, Flory said.
She said Eugene’s mental strength is her most-improved asset.
“When [Eugene] first came here, she was easily frustrated,” Flory said. “She thought through things way too far and allowed it to affect her performance … We all said when she came back in the summer, she was the new and improved Mimi.”
Eugene’s experiences in high school made her believe that when she made a mistake, she let the whole team down, Flory said.
Since her arrival at LSU, Eugene said she’s let her self-described “goofy self” show on the court. That goofy personality showed against Mississippi State on a service error when the freshman put her hands to her mouth and giggled.
“I think I deal better with it if I laugh it off a little and just get to the next point,” Eugene said.