TicketsSept. 30, 2010
By Shawn Sell
GoBEARCATS.com
Annie Fesl is a leader. A four-year starter at setter, volleyball's most key position, Fesl has been thrust into the role since the day she stepped foot on the UC campus in 2007. And for her, she would have it no other way.
As the "quarterback" on the volleyball court for the Bearcats, Fesl is charged with the daunting task of keeping her team's offense on track and distributing the ball amongst the hitters to create the best scoring opportunities. If she is on her game, her team is likely to be as well.
"Annie runs our offense and she works hard," UC head coach Reed Sunahara says. "She has done a great job of working out in the off-season and I think she is probably at the best right now that she has been in four years. She is the catalyst of this team and the way she goes, we go."
During her career, Fesl has been on her game far more than not, as she has led her team to an 84-33 record entering this weekend. Earlier this season, she also took over the number two spot on UC's career assists chart and will finish her career as just one of two Bearcats ever with over 5,000 career assists. While the two-year team captain shows leadership with her stellar play, she is also arguably the most vocal of the team's players as well.
"I am a leader by nature and a lot of times its little things like keeping people in line and pushing them to get better," she says. "But I definitely like to lead by example as well in things like workouts. (Fellow captain Stephanie) Niemer and I try to be the ones leading the stretches and runs and things like that. On the court, I am really vocal, especially due to my position and the fact I've been doing it for four years now. It just comes naturally to me and I think that's just the way I am."
As her career has progressed at Cincinnati, Fesl has evolved in many ways, both on and off the court. Sunahara thinks Fesl's setting skills have shown the greatest improvement, while Fesl says it's her mental approach to the game. But perhaps the greatest evolution Fesl has undergone is her relationship with the hitters she sets up on every play. As an underclassman, Fesl was giving sets to older players like Jessie Nevitt, Jessica Elley and Jenny Custer and was perhaps more timid in her approach to those players. Now, as one of four seniors on the 2010 squad, she is a veteran and has learned how to approach each of her hitters.
"It is definitely different with each hitter and you have to know what motivates them," Fesl says. "If they make a mistake, do they want the ball back or should I go away from them? Are they a clutch player? Do they want the ball at the end of the game or do they want the ball in the middle where there is a comfortable point? I can see it in their attitudes while they are playing. If they are really frustrated that day, what can I say to them to make them not be so frustrated and get them the next kill? It is completely different for each player."
One factor that has helped Fesl develop into a two-time All-BIG EAST selection and one of the top setters in program history is the strong bond developed with assistant coach Erin Virtue. Virtue, an all-conference selection during her playing days at the University of Illinois who went on to train with the USA National Team has mentored Fesl every step of the way since both arrived on campus together in 2007. The relationship has been integral to Fesl's success.
"Erin and I have been working on the court together since my freshman year," Fesl says. "We came in together and right away she started teaching me a different way of setting then I did in high school. I just took everything she said to heart right away and ever since, we have been building on what she has taught me. I responded really well to her and she knows how to coach me well. She knows that I need direct instruction and now that we've been together for four years, we work more together then just her telling me what to do. She knows that I know a lot now and she can give better instructions to take my game to a higher level."
Another former playing standout that has influenced Fesl greatly is her older sister, Megan. The elder Fesl was a starter at BIG EAST rival Notre Dame and the sisters faced off at least once a year for the last three season. While Annie enjoyed the opportunity to battle her sister, her team didn't always find the greatest success.
"We played them four times and she won three of the four," Annie confesses. "It was really a neat experience and the first time I played her, I couldn't even look at her. It was really hard. After that, it was fun but really different because you really want your sister to do well but when you are playing her, you don't want her to at all. It's weird; I talked about it with Emily Hayden and Megan Turner because they both played against their sisters this year. It's something really hard to explain because you want them to do well, but they can't do well. It is really, really fun and unique."
It is hard to argue with the success Fesl and her Bearcat teammates have had in the last four years. With a BIG EAST Championship, two NCAA Tournament appearances and this year a national ranking, UC has been better off with Annie Fesl at setter and that is what being a leader is really all about.