University of Minnesota Athletics
Winning With Defense: Defensive Specialist Lisa Reinhart
11/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
In 2001, Minnesota registered its best team hitting percentage in school history at .275, led by seniors Lindsey Berg and Stephanie Hagen. However, the Golden Gophers finished sixth in the Big Ten with a 10-10 conference record.
One of the key reasons pinpointed by the coaching staff for the Golden Gophers struggles was their ball control defense. Minnesota's coaching staff went into the offseason feeling this area needed to be addressed. As one of the team's two returning defensive specialists, Lisa Reinhart felt the need to set the tone for her teammates during the offseason.
"We knew we had to improve our defense in the spring heading into 2002 season," said Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert. "Lisa (Reinhart) was one of the first players among our team to embrace the challenge of getting better on defense. She played at a high level defensively in the spring of 2002, which really helped set the tone for our team. This helped our team's growth in the defensive ball control aspect of the game. When Paula (Gentil) came in during the fall our defense went up another level, but Lisa played a big role in laying foundation for the success of our defense heading into the 2002 season."
"Before Paula arrived we were not as good of a team on defense," said Reinhart. "In the spring of 2002 we developed the mentality that we were going to be good defensively by doing whatever we needed to do to keep the ball off the ground, along with improving our ball control as a team. We worked on all the little things to make ourselves a better defensive team, and when Paula came we took it to the next level."
That level included marked improvements in the amount of digs the Golden Gopher came up with, and a drop in their opponent's hitting percentage. In one year, Minnesota moved its opponent's hitting percentage from .218 (in 2001) down to .160 (in 2002). The Golden Gophers also made a big leap in digs, going from 12.72 digs per game (in 2001) to 16.29 dpg (in 2002). Those marked improvements were key ingredients in Minnesota's 2002 Big Ten championship.
Reinhart played a big part of that playing in all 38 matches and finishing fourth on the team with 244 digs. In fact the spring of 2002 proved to be a turning point for both the team and Reinhart. "In high school a lot of things came easier to me," said Reinhart. "I did not play that much my freshman season, so I had to take a step back and look at my skills and what were my strengths. The spring of my freshman year provided me with that, and gave me a lot of confidence heading into the 2002 season."
Hebert picked up on a lot of those defensive instincts that Reinhart has when he saw her play in high school.
"When we recruited Lisa (Reinhart) out of high school I went and saw her play as a senior and she displayed a lot of natural defensive ability and good ball control instincts," said Hebert. "She made smart touches and was good at reading plays on defense. A big part of defense is the mental game and technique. Those were things that she displayed when we saw her play, and she has continued to improve those aspects of her game since she has been with our program."
Reinhart talks about instincts and court awareness as two of the key elements of a good defender.
"When you are playing defense you must always expect and be ready for the ball to be hit your way," said Reinhart. "Having an eye for where the ball is going to be hit is important so that you can react to what the opposing player does with the attack. Another big part of defense is positioning and always knowing where your teammates are going to be on the court. Communication with your teammates becomes crucial to our success defensively on the court."
Reinhart heads into the week having played in 62 of the Golden Gophers' last 64 matches. She is once again filling the role as one of the key defensive specialists this season, along with freshman Marci Peniata.
"Lisa struggled with her confidence as a freshman and a sophomore at times," said Hebert. "She had trouble putting the full package of everything she could do into matches consistently. However, about the third or fourth week of this season she started to play with a lot of confidence and is currently playing as well as she has at any point in her career with this program."
Reinhart and the other defensive players on the team take pride in turning what was once a weakness for the Golden Gophers into a strength.
"The defensive aspect of the game is something our team takes pride in," said Reinhart. "Sometimes it goes unnoticed, but good defense and passing is a key to winning. With Marci (Peniata), myself and Paula we have a competitive group of defensive players. We push ourselves to get better all the time and help each other out a lot."
With the rapid improvement of the Golden Gophers' on defense, it is no longer an aspect of the game that is overlooked.
Written by Media Relations Volleyball Contact Steve Geller. He welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu
It is an old adage in sports that offense can win games, but defense wins championships. In volleyball, like in other sports, the offensive end of the game produces a lot of the glamour highlights and stats, but in the end a team needs to have a sound defense to be able to advance to an elite level.
In 2001, Minnesota registered its best team hitting percentage in school history at .275, led by seniors Lindsey Berg and Stephanie Hagen. However, the Golden Gophers finished sixth in the Big Ten with a 10-10 conference record.
One of the key reasons pinpointed by the coaching staff for the Golden Gophers struggles was their ball control defense. Minnesota's coaching staff went into the offseason feeling this area needed to be addressed. As one of the team's two returning defensive specialists, Lisa Reinhart felt the need to set the tone for her teammates during the offseason.
"We knew we had to improve our defense in the spring heading into 2002 season," said Minnesota head coach Mike Hebert. "Lisa (Reinhart) was one of the first players among our team to embrace the challenge of getting better on defense. She played at a high level defensively in the spring of 2002, which really helped set the tone for our team. This helped our team's growth in the defensive ball control aspect of the game. When Paula (Gentil) came in during the fall our defense went up another level, but Lisa played a big role in laying foundation for the success of our defense heading into the 2002 season."
"Before Paula arrived we were not as good of a team on defense," said Reinhart. "In the spring of 2002 we developed the mentality that we were going to be good defensively by doing whatever we needed to do to keep the ball off the ground, along with improving our ball control as a team. We worked on all the little things to make ourselves a better defensive team, and when Paula came we took it to the next level."
That level included marked improvements in the amount of digs the Golden Gopher came up with, and a drop in their opponent's hitting percentage. In one year, Minnesota moved its opponent's hitting percentage from .218 (in 2001) down to .160 (in 2002). The Golden Gophers also made a big leap in digs, going from 12.72 digs per game (in 2001) to 16.29 dpg (in 2002). Those marked improvements were key ingredients in Minnesota's 2002 Big Ten championship.
Reinhart played a big part of that playing in all 38 matches and finishing fourth on the team with 244 digs. In fact the spring of 2002 proved to be a turning point for both the team and Reinhart. "In high school a lot of things came easier to me," said Reinhart. "I did not play that much my freshman season, so I had to take a step back and look at my skills and what were my strengths. The spring of my freshman year provided me with that, and gave me a lot of confidence heading into the 2002 season."
Hebert picked up on a lot of those defensive instincts that Reinhart has when he saw her play in high school.
"When we recruited Lisa (Reinhart) out of high school I went and saw her play as a senior and she displayed a lot of natural defensive ability and good ball control instincts," said Hebert. "She made smart touches and was good at reading plays on defense. A big part of defense is the mental game and technique. Those were things that she displayed when we saw her play, and she has continued to improve those aspects of her game since she has been with our program."
Reinhart talks about instincts and court awareness as two of the key elements of a good defender.
"When you are playing defense you must always expect and be ready for the ball to be hit your way," said Reinhart. "Having an eye for where the ball is going to be hit is important so that you can react to what the opposing player does with the attack. Another big part of defense is positioning and always knowing where your teammates are going to be on the court. Communication with your teammates becomes crucial to our success defensively on the court."
Reinhart heads into the week having played in 62 of the Golden Gophers' last 64 matches. She is once again filling the role as one of the key defensive specialists this season, along with freshman Marci Peniata.
"Lisa struggled with her confidence as a freshman and a sophomore at times," said Hebert. "She had trouble putting the full package of everything she could do into matches consistently. However, about the third or fourth week of this season she started to play with a lot of confidence and is currently playing as well as she has at any point in her career with this program."
Reinhart and the other defensive players on the team take pride in turning what was once a weakness for the Golden Gophers into a strength.
"The defensive aspect of the game is something our team takes pride in," said Reinhart. "Sometimes it goes unnoticed, but good defense and passing is a key to winning. With Marci (Peniata), myself and Paula we have a competitive group of defensive players. We push ourselves to get better all the time and help each other out a lot."
With the rapid improvement of the Golden Gophers' on defense, it is no longer an aspect of the game that is overlooked.
Written by Media Relations Volleyball Contact Steve Geller. He welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu
