During the course of a volleyball match there are certain plays that bring a crowd to its feet. It could be Kimberly Todd bouncing a ball on the 10-foot line or Jenn Brown blocking a ball straight down, but it probably will not be after Terri Angst makes a perfect pass to a setter.
Like the offensive line in football, the defensive players on a volleyball team are the legs on which the squad stands.
"I would primarily consider my job to be to get the ball to the target, point blank," said sophomore defender Hailey Viola. "The less the other girls have to worry about the better."
Getting the ball to the setter is arguably the most important objective in volleyball.
"The hitters know they can't do much without us," said junior defender Jessica Kieser. "My job is to motivate my teammates and dig as many balls as possible."
As the team's libero, Angst knows she is the player specifically designated to pass the ball perfectly and play scrappy defense, but she understands most of the attention goes to the other position players.
"It can kind of bother you, but it's nice knowing that as defensive players we're working together with the team as a whole," Angst said.
Although a great pass or dig may not fire up the crowd, the fact that they are appreciated by their coach helps the girls deal with being overshadowed.
"Our coach gives us credit where it's deserved, so that definitely helps," Kieser said.
After dropping the first two matches of the season, head coach Pati Rolf had little to be happy about, except the team's play on defense.
The Marquette volleyball team uses a three point scale to rate their passing, three being a perfect pass and zero being a shank. According to Rolf, in their losses against No. 17 BYU and Iowa, Marquette passed an astounding 2.5 as a team, largely because of the play of their defensive specialists.
"What we got out of that tournament was the fact that our back row is incredible," Rolf said. "We had probably the best passing I've ever seen in my whole life."
Before coming to Marquette, not one member of Marquette's defensive trio was exclusively a back row player. Kieser is a former setter, and Viola and Angst were outside hitters.
"I can relate to the stress hitters may feel if defensive players are not getting the job done, but I think that this understanding really motivates me to work even harder for my teammates," Viola said.
According to Rolf, most college programs only offer one scholarship for defensive players, so the competition as a smaller player can be rough, but being able to play other positions can be handy.
"I'm really a firm believer of well-rounded athletes and even kids who play multiple sports make better volleyball players," Rolf said. "Those who play multiple positions are definitely better players as well."