By Jim Lamar

Like so many other programs on campus, the volleyball team is playing in new facilities this season. Sort of.

Tully Gym, for years the home of FSU volleyball, had its floor replaced this off-season. The Seminoles will now play on a state-of-the-art Nike suspension floor, which is a much more forgiving surface than the old floor in Tully.

“I don’t know how we could keep going on the old floor,” FSU coach Todd Kress. “This has been such a tremendous improvement. The kids can feel the difference because we’re really going hard. They’re sore, but it’s nothing like last year.”

Kress and sophomore outside hitter Cassie McLaughlin both said the old floor, which had been sandblasted and re-finished so many times through the years, had taken its toll on the players.

“I think last year, it might have accelerated a couple of injuries we had,” Kress said. “It was basically an eighth of an inch of wood on top of concrete. We’ve got the new Nike suspension floor, so it’s a tremendous upgrade to the facility.”

Kress said he not only notices a difference when his players go through drills but that he feels much better after a workout.

“My back is horrible,” Kress said. “My knees are bad. I don’t feel anything standing on the new floor out here. I couldn’t take it last year. I’d pull a chair up every practice. You can see it even when the kids train. You can see the floor give. It’s first class.”

Though the lighting is still the same, the lighter floor has brightened the entire interior of the gym. FSU facilities personnel have added new banners in Tully to recognize FSU’s NCAA and ACC accomplishments in volleyball. School logos for Miami and Virginia Tech were also added to the lineup of ACC teams hanging from the ceiling.

“We’re just trying to make Tully look like a volleyball facility,” Kress said. “Obviously, it still houses a number of things as far as campus recreation and intramurals and things that are important to the University, but we’re still trying to make it look like a volleyball facility.”

A new floor isn’t the only addition to the program.

Four newcomers, including two nationally rated freshmen, join the team. But four injured players from last year’s squad also return healthy, including talented senior Amanda Santos.

And they join new assistant coach Rita Buck-Crockett, who left the head coaching position at Iowa to serve as Kress’ top aide.

It’s enough to make McLaughlin, the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year, feel pretty good about where things are headed.

“We’re healthier,” McLaughlin said. “We’re very athletic. We have such a positive attitude this year. Bringing Rita into the program has really helped because we’re seeing things differently and we’re playing differently. Our whole attitude as a program and as a team has come around.

“The new energy, the new blood and I think the new year have us pretty excited. I just think we got really discouraged at the end of the year. We got run down. I think we lost the edge we needed. I think coming back fresh and healthy is really going to make the program better.”

Injuries crippled FSU last season and forced four freshmen to log a lot of minutes. Though having the freshmen on the floor wasn’t necessarily a problem, Kress said he’s happy to have more options on the depth chart this fall.

“This is the first year since I’ve been here that we have depth,” Kress said. “My first year, we were heavy with upperclassmen and we had four seniors carry the load. Last year, we had all the freshmen that carried the load. This year, we really have a good mix. A couple of the junior college transfers have come in to help us plus a couple more freshmen to join the freshmen from last year. It’s a good mix.”

But it’s more than simply new faces that grace the FSU roster. Kress and his staff signed four players with versatile skills – and with size.

Three newcomers – junior college transfers Lauren Scott and Andreza Santos and freshman Danielle McDonald – stand at least 6-foot-1. The fourth scholarship newcomer, Boca Raton’s Summer Weissing, is “only” 5-foot-9 – but she just happened to be one of the Top 50 players in the country as a high school senior.

In total, 11 FSU players stand 6-foot-1 or taller. Each of them brings versatile skills to the court.

“That’s what we want,” Kress said. “We want physical, athletic kids who can come out here and help us in any facet of the game. We don’t want girls who are just going to play one position. We’re going to be able to throw them in to any number of positions. That’s what we have right now. We’ve got a lot of very good athletes. Now we need to fine-tune some skills.”

Though other players on the team can fill in at the position, sophomore Jessica Skower enters her first season as the full-time setter.

She replaces Jennifer Anderson, FSU’s career leader in assists.

“This is kind of going to be her freshman year, which is a little scary,” Kress said. “Last year, she only set front row when Jennifer set back row. She’s never set full-time and been in charge of the (team).”

But that doesn’t mean Skower isn’t capable of doing the job.

A highly regarded signee out of Naples a year ago, Skower was considered one of the top setters in the country as a high school senior. At 6-foot-1, she is also a skilled blocker at the net. Last year, she finished fourth on the team in blocks with 70.

“It’s rare that you sign a setter that big and she was very sought-after when we signed her,” Kress said.

“Jessica is a tremendous blocker with her size, which you normally don’t get out of your setter.”