SE: Dixon’s Development Key in K-State Volleyball’s 4-1 Start to Season, Earns Her Big 12 Honors
Sep 04, 2018 | Volleyball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
K-State volleyball head coach Suzie Fritz can best describe Sarah Dixon's improvement as a setter in two words, sometimes with one — situational awareness and feel.
Both, more or less, mean the same thing. When it comes to running K-State's offense, the junior setter has improved everywhere.
"I was very excited about Sarah last spring. I thought we saw a significant jump for her," Fritz said. "We talk to our setters a lot about just situational awareness. There's so many situations that they have, so many adaptations they have to make in trying to make adjustments in terms of location and tempo and speed and timing. A lot of their job is about feel, and Sarah's feel, her awareness of what hitters need in particular situations, has really, really grown. I'm excited about where she's at."
Fritz made this assessment before K-State's 2018 season started. Five matches in, the 18th-year head coach's praise has been validated.
Dixon has recorded career highs for assists in a three-set (40) and four-set (46) match, tallying 40-plus assists in K-State's last three outings to earn her Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors. She has averaged 11.88 assists per set so far this season, nearly doubling her 6.38 mark last season and currently ranking first in the Big 12 and seventh in the country.
A large part of Dixon's statistical jump is due to K-State returning to a 5-1 rotation, where she serves as its lone setter. She shared the job for much of last season in a 6-2, so there's simply more opportunities for assists now.
Still, Dixon's assist average is better than last year's combined total with her counterpart. Even more, the Wildcats are averaging 14.53 kills per set this season to rank 17th in the country. In 2017, they finished with a 12.43 average.
K-State's also started 4-1, sweeping Hawaii twice and only losing to 25th-ranked Marquette in a 2-1 trip to St. Louis, Missouri, last weekend.
"Sarah's gotten astronomically better," said senior outside hitter Kylee Zumach, whose Wildcats open their home schedule on Tuesday against Missouri State, followed by the K-State Invitational this weekend. "She's working harder than ever. She is a shorter setter but she makes up for it in every other place."
Namely, situational awareness and feel. Dixon, at 5-foot-9, said the one-in-the-same assets boil down to training, experience and chemistry, and all three are tied together.
"The training we do every day helps prepare you for games. So once you get into it, everything slows down," Dixon said. "A big focus I've had is getting my hitters in a good position to score, so finding one-on-ones and working with the passes to create good opportunities. It just goes back to practice, so being able to locate balls from any situation and feeling out what rhythm and what tempo your hitters need, depending on where the pass is and what the block's doing."
The experience factor, with Dixon in her third year at K-State, has benefitted the Chino Hills, California, native in two major ways, she said.
Dixon transferred to K-State from Arizona, where she played one season that included minimal court time. She redshirted at K-State in 2016, learning from All-American Katie Brand. This also made last season her first in a major role since high school, which left her with a list of areas to improve in this past offseason.
"I wanted to make sure that in first swing we're in really good rhythm. We worked a lot on hitter rhythm, hitter tempo. We have a lot of different types of hitters, so what they need can be different," she said. "And, in transition, having situational awareness. I think just having a good feel is very important, but also training to the point where you have a foundation to where you can execute those sets."
This, she added, is where practice ties back in.
"For setters, I think it's a lot about footwork and consistency, in terms of how you get to the ball and how you prepare," Dixon said. "So I really focused on my preparation and then, from that, being able to make different sets and knowing what the hitters need once I get there."
Another important piece of Dixon's progression has been the consistency around her. K-State only graduated one senior last season, so she's setting to a majority of the same hitters.
"A lot of it has to do with chemistry and connection. Good communication and feedback eventually gets you to the point where you're, like, 'In this situation, I know exactly what you're going to need and where you're going to be,'" Dixon said. "I know what my hitters need and I think it's more of, now, I don't have to think about it anymore. It's more of a feeling on the court. You kind of feel out where different people are going to be in different situations."
K-State volleyball head coach Suzie Fritz can best describe Sarah Dixon's improvement as a setter in two words, sometimes with one — situational awareness and feel.
Both, more or less, mean the same thing. When it comes to running K-State's offense, the junior setter has improved everywhere.
"I was very excited about Sarah last spring. I thought we saw a significant jump for her," Fritz said. "We talk to our setters a lot about just situational awareness. There's so many situations that they have, so many adaptations they have to make in trying to make adjustments in terms of location and tempo and speed and timing. A lot of their job is about feel, and Sarah's feel, her awareness of what hitters need in particular situations, has really, really grown. I'm excited about where she's at."
Fritz made this assessment before K-State's 2018 season started. Five matches in, the 18th-year head coach's praise has been validated.
Dixon has recorded career highs for assists in a three-set (40) and four-set (46) match, tallying 40-plus assists in K-State's last three outings to earn her Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors. She has averaged 11.88 assists per set so far this season, nearly doubling her 6.38 mark last season and currently ranking first in the Big 12 and seventh in the country.
A large part of Dixon's statistical jump is due to K-State returning to a 5-1 rotation, where she serves as its lone setter. She shared the job for much of last season in a 6-2, so there's simply more opportunities for assists now.
Still, Dixon's assist average is better than last year's combined total with her counterpart. Even more, the Wildcats are averaging 14.53 kills per set this season to rank 17th in the country. In 2017, they finished with a 12.43 average.
K-State's also started 4-1, sweeping Hawaii twice and only losing to 25th-ranked Marquette in a 2-1 trip to St. Louis, Missouri, last weekend.
"Sarah's gotten astronomically better," said senior outside hitter Kylee Zumach, whose Wildcats open their home schedule on Tuesday against Missouri State, followed by the K-State Invitational this weekend. "She's working harder than ever. She is a shorter setter but she makes up for it in every other place."
Namely, situational awareness and feel. Dixon, at 5-foot-9, said the one-in-the-same assets boil down to training, experience and chemistry, and all three are tied together.
"The training we do every day helps prepare you for games. So once you get into it, everything slows down," Dixon said. "A big focus I've had is getting my hitters in a good position to score, so finding one-on-ones and working with the passes to create good opportunities. It just goes back to practice, so being able to locate balls from any situation and feeling out what rhythm and what tempo your hitters need, depending on where the pass is and what the block's doing."
The experience factor, with Dixon in her third year at K-State, has benefitted the Chino Hills, California, native in two major ways, she said.
Dixon transferred to K-State from Arizona, where she played one season that included minimal court time. She redshirted at K-State in 2016, learning from All-American Katie Brand. This also made last season her first in a major role since high school, which left her with a list of areas to improve in this past offseason.
"I wanted to make sure that in first swing we're in really good rhythm. We worked a lot on hitter rhythm, hitter tempo. We have a lot of different types of hitters, so what they need can be different," she said. "And, in transition, having situational awareness. I think just having a good feel is very important, but also training to the point where you have a foundation to where you can execute those sets."
This, she added, is where practice ties back in.
"For setters, I think it's a lot about footwork and consistency, in terms of how you get to the ball and how you prepare," Dixon said. "So I really focused on my preparation and then, from that, being able to make different sets and knowing what the hitters need once I get there."
Another important piece of Dixon's progression has been the consistency around her. K-State only graduated one senior last season, so she's setting to a majority of the same hitters.
"A lot of it has to do with chemistry and connection. Good communication and feedback eventually gets you to the point where you're, like, 'In this situation, I know exactly what you're going to need and where you're going to be,'" Dixon said. "I know what my hitters need and I think it's more of, now, I don't have to think about it anymore. It's more of a feeling on the court. You kind of feel out where different people are going to be in different situations."
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