This was supposed to be Don Hardin's deepest Illinois volleyball team in years. Then an injury bug that has bitten the Illini far too often in recent seasons reared its pestering head again.
It actually started before the opening serve, when freshman Keelin Bourne - prepvolleyball.com's No. 59-ranked recruit in the class of 2008 - required hip surgery. With that, Illinois lost the two-time Nebraska All-Stater for the year.
Then Nicole Kump suffered a foot injury that has sidelined the sophomore since the Illini played the second of two matches on Sept. 12 during a tournament in Tennessee. Kump continues to wear a boot on her right foot and isn't expected back until later this month at the earliest.
Then senior Kayani Turner sprained her left ankle in a biking accident last Friday. She attempted to play that night against Minnesota but went to the bench for good after the first set. The team's athletic trainer, Randy Ballard, said Wednesday Turner's availability for matches this weekend at Ohio State and Michigan is questionable.
What do these three players have in common beyond being teammates? They all are right-side hitters, leaving freshman Michelle Bartsch the last Illini standing at that position.
When Hardin was asked after Friday's match if he had run out of replacements on the right side, the Illini coach rightly pointed out he had run out of hitters/blockers ... period. For the outside/right side/middle positions in his lineup, he has five available players at this point.
With Turner out, Hardin improvised a patchwork lineup for his two-setter offense.
In the so-called 6-2 attack, setters Hillary Haen and Lizzie Bazzetta alternate time on the court in the back row only. Whenever one is scheduled to rotate into the front row, Hardin makes a double-switch. The other setter enters at a back-row spot, and the setter leaving the match is replaced in the front row by a right-side hitter.
Thus, in the 6-2, two setters and two right-side hitters regularly rotate into and out of a match.
Now, however, Illinois is down to one right-side hitter:. And since freshman Bartsch, at least at this point in her college career, lacks the digging and passing skills to play back row, she leaves the match whenever it's her time to rotate out of the front row.
Bazzetta enters at this point in the back row. But with no other right sides besides Bartsch, Haen now remains on the court full time, playing front row as well as back.
In that role, the 5-foot-10 Haen contributed a block assist against Minnesota and two block assists the next night against Iowa.
Playing at the net is a role both Haen and Bazzetta are experienced in since each has played in a one-setter attack most of their careers.
"I love playing in the front row," Haen said after Saturday's match. "It's really fun for me. Obviously, I would love Kay to come back because she's big, and in a situation like (Friday) night, when you have big (opposing) hitters, it's frustrating when they're hitting over you. But for the time being, I enjoy it."
Hardin's move to a 6-2 was based primarily on getting a bigger, more effective block. It also keeps three hitters/blockers in the front row at all times when the Illini are on offense.
When Haen is in the front row now, of course, she's hardly the preferred option for taking a swing. Truth be told, this setter-turned temporary right-side hitter is the last option. But there were a few times last weekend when opposing blocks completely ignored Haen, and she made them pay. The Crystal Lake native belted a combined three kills in seven swings in the two matches and did not have a hitting error.
"I think I'm (swinging) every once in a great while to keep (the opposing block) honest," Haen said. "If they're just completely leaving me and I have an open net, then (Bazzetta will) give me the ball. But mostly my job is just to get touches on the block."
Hardin noted that Haen had the highest attack percentage on the team against Iowa (.400)
"She was smart when we did give her the opportunity (to hit)," He said. "We also have not had time to practice (setting) to Hillary that much. But I have confidence in her. She's smart with the ball."
As someone who has spent virtually her entire career setting the ball to others, does Haen secretly harbor the desire to make like a hitter and bash the ball to the floor?
"Definitely," she said. "It's fun to score when you're not used to it, when you normally don't get to.
"In practice a lot times we play 2 on 2 and you get to have a lot of swings. So we (setters) do get the practice there. So when you get a chance in a game to rip one it's great."
Hardin even suggested, tongue in cheek of course, that Haen could teach a thing or two to her outside hitter teammates.
Haen picked up on that comment with a joking reference to Laura DeBruler, who currently ranks 12th in the nation in kills per set.
"Yeah, this is how you do it, Laura," Haen said.