Team hopes to mix up offense with Yang

With Julianna Klein out with an injury, Na Yang has stepped up in hitter position.

By Sam Wilson

Published Sept. 21, 2007

Senior outside hitter Na Yang has what many athletes want: She is her team's go-to offensive threat, especially now that sophomore Julianna Klein is out of the lineup with an injury.

On Wednesday night, Yang had 24 kills, double the total of any of her teammates. Whether she's having her best night of the year or she's in a slump, it seems as though Yang is the one who will be counted on to put points on the board.

"She's going to hit a lot of balls," sophomore setter Lei Wang said. "No matter what."

The problem with this seemingly perfect picture is that Wednesday's match was a five-game loss to rival Kansas.

After the match, coach Wayne Kreklow said his team needs another offensive threat.

"We have problems generating offense in other areas," he said. "What's happening to us right now is we don't have enough swings in places, so if we don't pass well, we're in trouble."

Yang said she can only do so much on her own.

"We really needed somebody to kill that ball, but nobody stepped up," she said.

Yang said if the team improves its passing, it will be able to spread the offense around.

"When we pass well, we're a different team," she said. "If we don't pass well, we don't have offense."

Kreklow said Kansas team members took note of his team's dependence on Yang and incorporated it into its strategy.

"Middles were just releasing to go to the outside, because we're so left-side heavy right now with Na," he said. " Right now, Na is the only swing we've got, and it's just too easy for other teams to just camp out."

Kreklow said it's going to be impossible for Yang to carry the offense when this is happening.

"She'll have her moments, but over the course of the night, it becomes really hard," he said. "And then what happens is when you want to go to somebody else, you haven't done it all game, and you make setting errors, or you make hitting errors."

The three players that came even close to Yang's production were sophomore Megan Wilson and freshmen Weiwen Wang and Catie Wilson.

All three had 12 kills each and hitting percentages below Yang's .200.

"We have to step up, do our part, do our job and learn that we shouldn't always depend on her," freshman middle blocker Catie Wilson said. "We should be able to step up and do our own role."

Yang said these three players have the potential to step up and further help her with the offense.

"I think they can improve a lot if they have the heart to do it," she said.

Wilson said the team would be ready in the future to face defenses focused on stopping Yang.

"I think we will be more mentally prepared and physically prepared, and we'll have to realize that we can't depend on one player," she said. "It takes a whole team to win a match."

As setter, Lei Wang's role is usually to set up other players for kills, but she said she is considering going on the attack more to help the team mix it up.

"Maybe I can help with something like hitting, although I don't physically look like a hitter," she said.

The next chance for the Tigers to try to diversify the offense will be on the road Saturday night against Iowa State.